Park Abbey Heverlee (1964)

At the start of his long career within the Belgian public broadcasting system, Jef Cornelis produced a total of three films about historic buildings: the Landcommanderij at Alden Biesen, a military castle in Bilzen; and the Abdij van het Park, a monastery in Heverlee; and the Kasteel de Merode, a bourgeois castle in Westerlo. The second film in the series, Abdij van het Park Heverlee, was first broadcast on 25 December 1964. The camera slides along walls and balustrades, carefully climbs upstairs and captures the Norbertine monks moving along in formations. The camera work, as it were, emphasizes the eternal truth of faith. Yet what starts as a true ode to this centuries-old heritage ends in an act of unmasking.