34th Ghent Film Festival focuses on Argentina and film music

The link between film and music gives the Ghent Film Festival a unique place among international festivals. For more than two decades, this competitive festival has been geared towards the 'impact of music on film'. Every year, the festival organises the World Soundtrack Awards, and world-renowned composers such as Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre, Gabriel Yared, Hans Zimmer, Zbigniew Preisner and Craig Armstrong have already taken to the stage here, performing music live with a symphonic orchestra. Film music is still the key element in the extensive programme of the 34th Ghent Film Festival. For the first time, all film music initiatives are to be bundled into a three-day event at the end of the festival. On 18 October, Argentinean composer and double Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel, Brokeback Mountain, Motorcyle Diaries, 21 Grams) will hold an Argentinean fiesta together with his Bajofondo Tango Club, a fiery mix of tango and dance. Santaolalla will also play excerpts from his award-winning film scores. Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias, known from his many years of collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar (Volver, Hable Con Ella, La Mala Educación, Todo Sobre Mi Madre), will give a special concert of a selection of his works with the Flemish Radio Orchestra on 19 October. The three-day film music event will conclude with the 7th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, which are now the most prestigious soundtrack awards in the world. In short, Ghent will be a meeting point for established and up-and-coming musical talent in October. Yet there is more to this festival than film music alone: more than 200 feature films and short films are presented every year. The focus this year will be on contemporary Argentinean cinema. Despite the country's unstable economic climate, there are many film makers on the international scene with strong, independent productions, such as Ariel Otter's El Otro, which scooped two Silver Bears at the recent Berlin Film Festival. Argentinean films will be presented in the different festival categories, and Argentinean film makers have been invited and debates organised. The Ghent Film Festival keeps its finger on the pulse of new development in the film industry. The "Almost Cinema" programme, in conjunction with Vooruit Arts Centre, pushes the boundaries of film, media art and music. During the festival, Vooruit will present a 10-day programme with film makers, musicians and media artists that work in the world of cinema. "A Look Apart" is a series of films curated by Cis Bierinckx, director of the Brussels Beursschouwburg arts centre, which explores film in its own way. Concert tickets: www.teleticketservice.be