The Brussels World Fair of 1958 was an important moment in the post-war history of Belgium. It was also an important monument in honour of a modern utopian era which was to bring peace and reconciliation to mankind, with the help of new technologies. Belgium was well served when it came to world fairs in the twentieth century: as well as Expo 58, there were fairs in Brussels in 1935, in Antwerp and Liège in 1930, in Ghent in 1913 and again in Brussels in 1910. A mixture of futurism, exoticism and traditionalism defined these fairs. They fixed their respective epochs, including the dreams, obsessions and anxieties that came with them. As of 1910, these historical snapshots were themselves fixed on film by a varied range of directors. The Royal Belgian Film Archive is browsing in its collection.

151 minutes of exclusive audiovisual material: news reports, newsreels, documentaries as well as amateur films. A booklet (French, Dutch and English) accompanies the DVD and contains an essay written by art historian Johan Pas on the World Fairs’ phenomenon together with film descriptions.