International Jury
The International Jury considers the Official Competition of the festival and, at the end, oresebrs two of Film Fest Gent's most important film awards: the Grand Prix for Best Film and the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack or Sound Design. The Official Competition has been a part of FFG since 1985 and aims to highlight the impact of music on cinema.
Bas Devos
Since his debut feature Violet (2014), Bas Devos has been steadily building his intimist oeuvre full of patient, poetic stories set in and around Brussels. With Hellhole and Ghost Tropic (2019), he earned selections for the Berlinale and the Cannes Film Festival in the same year. At last year’s Berlinale, he won the top prize in Encounters with Here, which had its Belgian premiere at FFG2023.
© Bas Bogaerts
Lu Huang
With her striking performances in Blind Mountain (2007), Golden Leopard-winner She, a Chinese (2009), Blind Massage (2014), and Summer of Changsha (2019), Lu Huang has cemented her position as one of China’s most exciting acting talents. A graduate from Beijing Film Academy, she has also starred in acclaimed films Suburban Birds (FFG2018) and How to Describe a Cloud.
© Kris Dewitte
Marija Kavtaradze
Graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2014, Marija Kavtaradze made her feature debut with Summer Survivors in 2018, followed by last year’s Slow, which earned her the Explore Award by Film Fest Gent’s youth jury and the Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival. She has received widespread acclaim for her tender approach to her characters.
© Bas Bogaerts
Valentina Maurel
French-Costa Rican director studied cinema in Belgium and electrified her career in 2022 with her feature debut Tengo sueños eléctricos, which received a Special Mention at FFG from the jury and won three awards at Locarno. Her interest lies in intimate, character-driven storytelling, something already evident in Cannes Cinéfondation winner Paul est là (2017).
© Bas Bogaerts
Rodrigo Moreno
Rodrigo Moreno, whose early work was part of the Nuevo Cine Argentino of the 90s, has a knack for unconventional narrative structures and loves to spin lyrical tales of everyday life. He was awarded at the Berlinale in 2006 for El custodio, competed for the Golden Bear with Un mundo misterioso, and won the FFG 2023 Grand Prix with his beguiling heist film Los delincuentes.
Robbie Ryan
Two-time Oscar and BAFTA nominee Robbie Ryan is one of Ireland's most prolific cinematographers and has earned acclaim for his collaborations with directors Ken Loach, Andrea Arnold, Noah Baumbach, and Yorgos Lanthimos. Pushing creative boundaries on each project he takes on, Ryan has worked on more than 25 features, including Arnold’s latest, Bird.
© Bas Bogaerts
International Short Film Jury
The jury that will select the winners in the International Short Film Competition and the Competition for Belgian Student Shorts consists of animator Nienke Deutz, filmmaker Isadora Neves Marques and director and cinematographer Faraz Fesharaki.
Nienke Deutz
Dutch director and animator Nienke Deutz’ work often revolves around human experiences, with alienation and discomfort being recurring themes. Her films Bloeistraat 11 (2018) and The Miracle (2023) received global recognition, the former winning the Cristal for Best Short Film at Annecy.
Isadora Neves Marques
Lisbon-born filmmaker, visual artist, and writer Isadora Neves Marques subverts genres and disciplines. In her work - shown at major festivals such as NYFF, TIFF and IFFR - storytelling, science fiction, and the political role of intimacy, gender and emotions are key to imagine other futures.
Faraz Fesharaki
Alumnus of Abbas Kiarostami’s workshop, Faraz Fesharaki is a director and cinematographer working from Berlin and Tehran. Graduating as a DoP with A. Koberidze’s What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?, he now makes his feature debut as a director with What Did You Dream Last Night, Parajanov?
