Culture of Belgium architecture in Belgium and abroad. Belgian literature was more cohesive in the past but is now divided between a Flemish literature and a Belgian Francophone literature. Until the mid-20th century, Belgian writers more often wrote in French even if they were Flemish, due both to the then-dominant position of that language in worldwide culture and its dominant position within Belgium itself (e.g. Suzanne Lilar, Emile Verhaeren or Maurice Maeterlinck), and many French-speaking individuals come from originally Dutch-speaking families (particularly in Brussels, e.g. Jacques Brel). As the Flemish movement grew in importance, Dutch-penned authors became more and more prominent in Flanders
Cinema of Belgium Cinema of Belgium Cinema of Belgium refers to the film industry based in Belgium. Belgium is essentially a bi-lingual country divided into the Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and the French-speaking south. There is also a small community of German speakers in the border region with Germany. Belgium is further a federal country made up of three regions (the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region) and three language communities (the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking), the French (i.e., French-speaking) Community and the German-speaking Community). Due to these linguistic and political divisions it is difficult to speak of a national, unified Cinema