Beursschouwburg

Grands travaux is situated at the Institute Anneessens-Funck, a Dutch-speaking vocational school in the centre of Brussels where young students have come to learn an occupation. The film documents and stages that which gives shape to their lives: the practical assignments and classes at school, football, the ups and downs of their love lives, as well as the ongoing search for housing and employment. Depicting the daily life within the school walls, Grands travaux also aims at sketching an image of Brussels today, placing its youngsters at the very centre.

Four women, four stories: Anissa, Fatiha, Malika and Sarah share in intimate portraits their journey of practicing the youyou or zaghareed, the cries of joy and emotion that women express in North Africa and West Asia. Through their life stories, interspersed with songs and personal narratives, they express the strength they draw from their voices and the legacy they carry with them.

In the back room of a flower shop, Tomi, Rasto and Mižu are digging a tunnel in order to break into the safe of the National Bank. After heavy rainfall, the underground maze gets submerged by water and they are forced to stop working.