The Soundman

This film is part of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival screenings in JCCSF’s Kanbar Hall.

The beginning of Soundman also feels like the end of something. Hitler’s forces are just days away from invading Belgium, and the only form of escape for a dread-consumed Brussels is the national radio broadcast. Rival political forces battle for the airwaves at a radio station where Berre (Jef Helleman) has just started as an intern. A deeply introverted audiophile, Berre is pulled out of his isolation by Elza, a Jewish radio actress. When they meet, Elza criticizes Berre: ”You face where you came from. I prefer looking to where I’m going.” But Berre retorts: “It makes no difference which direction you look in – the sound is exactly the same.”

Soundman is a romantic portrait about the need to create even at the precipice of destruction.  The film’s period is beautifully rendered through surreal photography and imaginative sound design; these are the final transmissions of a sinking ship, the last beams of light at the edge of a black hole. —David Cohn

Frank Van Passel is a Belgian film director, writer, and producer. His debut feature Manneken Pis (1995) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week and won multiple awards, launching an internationally recognized career. He has since directed features including Villa des Roses (2001) and The Soundman (2025), a period drama set in 1940 Brussels that follows a young sound technician and a radio actress as their lives intersect on the eve of war. He is also a producer and co-founder of the production company Caviar.

Frank Van Passel, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, 118 min, West Coast Premiere

All seating is first come, first served.

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