Ben X

Ben is a secondary school student with Asperger syndrome and the target of methodical bullying. The only place he feels competent is an online game, where he is strong and skilled; outside it, the simplest social rule is hostile terrain. Nic Balthazar adapted his own novel, which he had written from the real case of a Belgian student harassed into suicide. The title is a code: in Flemish it reads as ben niks, I am nothing. The film blends the game interface, the camera's point of view and Ben's internal commentary until the audience is stuck inside his perception rather than watching it. Belgium submitted it for the foreign language Oscar. Who it is for: viewers who want films about bullying and neurological difference that take formal risks too. Who it is not for: anyone who prefers to observe the subject from a safe distance.