09/10/2012 - Ten days of competition (three Belgian contenders) and prestigious premieres (including a great Cannes trio) at the Gand film fest

The 39th edition of the Gand International Film Festival starts today in Belgium. Since its creation in 1974, the festival has become one of Europe's major cinematic events. Every year, it offers on average 130,000 spectators the chance to watch about 100 features and 30 shorts. The festival also proudly intertwines music and cinema. Since 2001, it has notably organised the World Soundtrack Awards. And with Almost Cinema, the festival is also hosting a programme dedicated the the artists working in the margins of cinema.

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Fifteen films are to take part in the international competition, including Olivier Assayas's new film Something in the Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile], Brillante Mendoza's Captive [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Brillante Mendoza
interview: Isabelle Huppert
film profile], Umut Dag's Kuma [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: UmutDağ
film profile] and Emin Alper's Beyond the Hill from Turkey, Lore [+see also:
trailer
interview: Saskia Rosendahl
film profile], the German-British co-production directed by Cate Shortland, Anja Salomonowitz's Spanien [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Austria), and Portuguese director Miguel Gomes's Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] (a finalist for the European Parliament's LUX Prize this year). Three Belgian films are also in the competition: Jessica Woodworth and Peter Brosens's The Fifth Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth
film profile] (discovered in Venice), and two novelties. Kid, Patrice Toye's new film, once again explores the theme of family mourning. While in Unspoken [+see also:
trailer
film profile], his previous film, it was that of two parents, here it is that of a seven-year-old boy who clings on to hope of one day finding his mother again. As for Peter Monsaert, he is back after 10 years of absence with Offline, a film noir about a former convict's attempt at redemption, as he seeks to renew ties with his ex-wife and daughter. The film notably stars Wim Willaert and Anémone Valcke.

Beside the competition, numerous films are to make their premiere at the festival, including the following Belgian films: Stefan Streker's The World Belongs to Us (Streker also made Michael Blanco), a film that animated the crowds in Montreal, and Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes's Rain, a documentary about Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's first choreography, as well as a host of Cannes titles, of which Michael Haneke's Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Haneke
film profile], Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Vinterberg
interview: Thomas Vinterberg
film profile], and Christian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cosmina Stratan
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile].

(Translated from French)