27/09/2022 - The new edition of the festival is set to fly the flag for Belgium, with two young promising talents - Lukas Dhont and Valentina Maurel - opening the programme and its competition respectively

On the occasion of a 49th edition which looks set to be one of quality, Film Fest Gent has chosen to shine a light on the young generation of Belgian filmmakers by opening the festivities with Lukas Dhont’s wonderful second feature film Close [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eden Dambrine
interview: Lukas Dhont
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile] - which won the Grand Jury Prize in Cannes and is set to represent Belgium at the upcoming Oscars - and by opening the Official Competition with the brilliant debut film by the Costa Rican director based in Belgium Valentina Maurel, Tengo sueños eléctricos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentina Maurel
film profile]. A co-production between Belgium, France and Costa Rica, the movie scooped the Best Director, Best Female Performance and Best Male Performances trophies in Locarno, as well as recently nabbing the Horizontes Latinos Award in San Sebastián.

The festival’s Competition, unfolding between 11 and 22 October, will consist of 12 international feature films - including Tengo sueños eléctricos - which have previously been uncovered in major festivals. Arriving straight from the Lido, the festival will host a Belgian premiere of Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile], which is the debut feature film by French director Alice Diop who made a splash in Venice when she walked away with the Grand Prize. Likewise in the running, we find To the North [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mihai Mincan
film profile] by Romania’s Mihai Mincan, and Trenque Lauquen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Citarella
film profile] by Argentina’s Laura Citarella, which were both unveiled in the Orizzonti line-up. But Venice isn’t the only festival well-represented in this section, since 5 films revealed to the world in Cannes are also on the agenda: One Fine Morning [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mia-Hansen Love (favoured by the Directors’ Fortnight); Tarik Saleh’s implacable Boy from Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tarik Saleh
film profile], screened in the Official Competition alongside Albert Serra’s Pacifiction [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile]; Corsage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Kreutzer
interview: Marie Kreutzer
film profile] by Marie Kreutzer, which left an impression in the Un Certain Regard section; and Are You Lonesome Tonight by Chinese director Shipei Wen, which was presented in a Special Screening last year. The Competition will also feature A Piece of Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile] by Switzerland’s Michael Koch and Klondike [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maryna Er Gorbach
film profile] by Ukrainian filmmaker Marina Er Gorbach. The final film selected to compete is an animated film unveiled in Annecy: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pierre Földes
film profile] by Pierre Földes, which is based upon Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s similarly named short stories.

In all, no less than 116 feature films, 3 series and 40 shorts will be offered up to audiences. A number of thematic sections will also run in parallel to the Competition, as well as a focus on South Korean film, a tribute to the pioneer of Belgian animation Raoul Servais, and various films screening in Belgian premieres, notably including the Berlinale’s most recent Golden Bear winner (Alcarràs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carla Simón
interview: Carla Simón
interview: Giovanni Pompili
film profile] by Carla Simón) and new films by Sam Mendes (Empire of Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Cristian Mungiu (R.M.N. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Judith State
film profile]) and Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Zar Amir Ebrahimi
film profile]).

Last but not least, a raft of encounters are in the offing, including a Directors’ Talk involving Céline Sciamma and Lukas Dhont, and, of course, the World Soundtrack Awards, which are scheduled for 22 October and which will see a Lifetime Achievement Award handed to French composer Bruno Coulais (Microcosmos, Crimson Rivers, The Chorus [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Coraline).

(Translated from French)