‘Small Things Like These’
kicks off 51st edition
Film Fest Gent
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
In the presence of the cast and crew of opening film Small Things Like These, the 51st edition of Film Fest Gent has officially started. Until Sunday 20 Oct., the festival will showcase work by both international and homegrown talents, welcoming many cast and crew members to the red carpet. For her exceptional contribution to cinema, actor Emily Watson has received a Joseph Plateau Honorary Award - an honour that tomorrow also falls to director Michel Khleifi. With the annual WSA Film Music Days (15 - 17 Oct.) the festival lifts composers out of the shadows of their studio and puts them in the spotlight.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
124 feature films, 29 short films, two symphonic concerts, a series of eclectic musical trips, numerous talks and panels and an unforgettable Closing Party. The 51st edition of Film Fest Gent will celebrate film in all its shapes and colours. For the next eleven days Ghent is the festive stage and meeting place for all those who have fallen in love with cinema: from film lovers, makers, students, press to composers, because music is in the festival's blood. With the James Horner Tribute Concert and the 24th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards - both part of the WSA Film Music Days -, the festival's music section is more than ever something to look forward to.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
‘Small Things Like These’ kick-starts FFG2024
With female forces leading the way, Small Things Like These has officially opened the festival. Alongside Belgian director Tim Mielants, actresses Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh and Zara Devlin are present to introduce this intimate drama to the public. Taking a closer look at a dark page of Ireland's catholic history, Small Things Like These tells the story of a coal merchant whose peaceful existence is disrupted when he discovers a secret in the local convent, headed by Sister Mary.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
British actress Emily Watson, known from Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York and awarded series like Chernobyl, brings the complex character of Sister Mary alive. For her impressive performance in Mielants' third feature film and her acting career as a whole, she has received a Joseph Plateau Honorary Award tonight. This award is presented to festival guests who have made significant contributions to the art of filmmaking.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
"Hearing this tribute, it all sounds like I had a plan, but it was a big adventure. I'm very proud to be here with Tim Mielants. He's an incredible filmmaker and I feel honoured." Emily Watson, actress Small Things Like These.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
(Inter)national guests
As of tonight, the festival welcomes the cast and crew of many of the films on the programme to the red carpet.
Directors and actors like Noémie Merlant (Les femmes au balcon), Adèle Exarchopoulos (L’amour ouf), Ariane Labed (September Says) and Miguel Gomes (Grand Tour) will mount the steps in front of Kinepolis Gent and present their work. Homegrown talents like Leonardo van Dijl (Julie Keeps Quiet), Fabrice du Welz (Maldoror), Dimitri Verhulst (The Weeping Walk) and Ish Ait Hamou & Monir Ait Hamou (BXL) will make an appearance.
© Mary Mc Cartney. Emily Watson
During the annual WSA Film Music Days, the festival welcomes the crème de la crème of the international film music industry. Among others, Oscar-nominee Jerskin Fendrix (Poor Things), Emmy-winning game music composer Nainita Desai (Call of Duty), Oscar-winner Elliot Goldenthal (Frida) and The Crown-composer Martin Phipps will be present for the musical highlight of the year: the World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert.
Adèle Exarchopoulos. © Arno Lam
Alain Guiraudie; © Hélène Bamberger
Dimitri-Verhulst; © Michiel Hendryckx
Eileen Walsh, Zara Devlin, Tim Mielants et Emily Watson
Competition - Impact of Music & Sound on Cinema
In line with the festival's DNA, the film competition has carried the theme "Impact of Music & Sound on Cinema" for decades. The twelve films in this competition cover all corners of the film industry, including both well-known names and debuting newcomers, minimalist stories and mesmerising drama’s.
On Sunday night, 13 September, Tyler Taormina will open the Official Competition with his atypical Christmas film Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point. Starring Francesca Scorsese and Sawyer Spielberg - daughter and son of -, this film thoughtfully pushes to the extremes the tensions around the Christmas dinner table. With Grand Tour, Portuguese director Miguel Gomes stands another chance, after winning the competition in 2012 with Tabu. His Cannes awarded new film follows a melancholic man searching for love in 20th century Asia. The Swiss-Cape Verdean Denise Fernandes will present her poetical, dreamy refugee drama Hanami, and actress Ariane Labed presents her directing debut with the sinister, Cannes-nominated September Says.
Joining them in the Official Competition are two Belgian directors exploring two very different key moments in the land’s recent history. In his thought provoking documentary hold on to her, Robin Vanbesien explores the long lasting impression of two year old Mawda Shawri, who was shot dead during a police chase in 2018. With Maldoror, Fabrice du Welz has made the first feature film about the infamous Dutroux Case, following a police officer who is prohibited to follow up on a suspicious lead.
Facing yet another historic turning point, Maura Delporo draws a compelling portrait of a family falling apart as the Second World War comes to an end. With Vermiglio, the Italian director was inspired by her own captivating family history. Evenly captivating is the story told by the director’s duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz in their fifth collaboration Des Teufels Bad. Their Berlin nominated film - a 18th century depiction of the despair that comes with depression - reveals a little known side of Europe’s dark ages.
In Super Happy Forever, by Japanese director Kohei Igarashi, boundaries of time blur while the main character re-experiences the grief over his wife, who died five years earlier. Also part of the Official Competition are Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language, a surreal depiction of a Canadian village where Farsi is the common language, and two cinematic journeys. In Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, an alcoholic played by Saoirse Ronan travels to the desolate Orkney Islands to come to terms with herself and her past. And in To a Land Unknown, a social-realist thriller by Palestinian-Danish director Mahdi Fleifel, two Palestinian cousins find themselves stranded in Athens, where they get absorbed in a spiral of violence.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
Joseph Plateau Honorary Awards
Besides actress Emily Watson, Film Fest Gent will also present a Joseph Plateau Honorary Award to screenwriter and director Michel Khleifi. With this award the festival honours the Brussels based, Palestinian filmmaker who has been praised for the interplay of documentary and narrative elements in his films, and for the way he portrays the complex Palestinian situation. Khleifi has the courage to speak up when others remain silent.
On Thursday night, 10 Oct., the director-screenwriter will be present for a retrospective of his groundbreaking work, including his debutFertile Memory, the first ever feature film shot at the Palestinian West Bank, and his fiction debut Noce en Galilée, which was awarded the International Critics Prize in Cannes and the Golden Shell in San Sebastián. The retrospective will be followed by a Director’s Talk, during which Khleifi will look back at the milestones of his career.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
24th World Soundtrack Awards
No Film Fest Gent without music. As every year, the top of the international film, television and game music industry gathers in Ghent for the WSA Film Music Days. During numerous panels, composers and other professionals will discuss the state of the industry, its current challenges and changes. On Wednesday 16 October, the prestigious World Soundtrack Awards will be presented to the best scores written for the big and small screen the past year. Honouring the composer of iconic scores like Titanic, Braveheart and Avatar, the James Horner Tribute Concert will conclude this musical three-day celebration.
(c) Martin Corlazzoli
ROYAL ARTS VISIONS; ‘Small Things Like These’ kicks off 51st edition Film Fest Gent