48e Film Fest Gent 2021

The festival poster depicts Efthymis Filippou, the Greek screenwriter who regularly collaborates with Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster). Looking back at a tumultuous past, the ‘Classics’ are entirely devoted to the oeuvre of Theo Angelopoulos. For the first time ever, his complete oeuvre can be seen in Belgium. The festival opens with the explosive Belgian thriller La Civil by Teodora Ana Mihai. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch closes the programme. With the programme tag ‘Why We Fight’, the festival draws attention to positive aggression while supporting non-profit organisation Touché. Gaspar Noé’s emotionally overwhelming film Vortex wins the Grand Prix. Film Fest Gent honours two directors with a Joseph Plateau Honorary Award: Andrea Arnold and Harry Kümel. Notable guests at FFG2021 include Pablo Larraín, Leos Carax, Ari Folman, Miguel Gomes, Radu Jude and Avi Mograbi. Exceptionally, the Courtisane Festival runs parallel to the final days of Film Fest Gent, leading to a very diverse programme. The World Soundtrack Awards welcome Max Richter as guest of honour and celebrates Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou. The top prize at the WSA goes to Daniel Pemberton.