Keen to impress expats and tourists alike with the best of what Belgium has to offer, the federal government has produced a 15-minute promotional DVD.

The video was produced in connection with this year's celebrations of 175 years of Belgian independence and 25 years of federalism.

The chief of the creative and distribution department at the Belgian prime minister's office, Monique Wylock, says the film replaces an older "obsolete" 45-minute film which had become too pedagogical.

"We needed something more lively and up to date," she says.

And the project is a success.

Light-hearted approach

The promotional video is fresh and easily consumable. Audiences need just 15 minutes to learn more about the country they are heading for — or already living in.

Starting with a foreigner's arrival at Zaventem Airport in Brussels, the video follows his discoveries of Belgium, moving from politics, to landscape, music, fashion, transport and education. It is fast moving and colourful.

The video is divided into four broad themes: the federal model of governance; landscape, national heritage and history; working in Belgium and lifestyle.

And while similar promotional videos flirt with the danger of becoming cringe factor, this one, 'Belgium … at first sight', manages to avoid the pitfalls with its light-hearted approach.

It does not overstate what it sets out to do and does not ensnare viewers with overwhelming facts and figures. Instead, it entertains and the images displayed are enticing.

Despite the lightness of its content, the video also offers surprising facts, revealing to this writer that the inventor of the saxophone, Adolf Sax, was Belgian.

"The film does not strive for comprehensiveness, but wanted to create an atmospheric picture of a land where life is good, where good eating and drinking and open heartedness are coupled with an age-old generosity and a know-how that people envy far beyond our borders," a government press release says.

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