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On 11 October the 38th edition of the Ghent Film Festival kicked off with a spectacular opening night, drawing huge interest from the media and the general public. The red carpet was rolled out at the Kinepolis complex for Tomas Alfredson, Alberto Iglesias and Benedict Cumberbatch, the director, composer and actor respectively of this year's opening film, the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Meanwhile, the documentary, Magic Trip, about a legendary road trip across the USA, was shown at Arts Centre Vooruit. So there was something for everyone on this opening night making it the ideal kick-off to twelve days of compelling films, amazing concerts and the highlight of the festival, on 22 October 22: the World Soundtrack Awards.

The Ingmar Bergman exhibition, "Truth and Lies" opened on Thursday evening with the press, the authorities and numerous guests in attendance. Curator Kristina Jaspers told us, "It's really a master class in the art of film making", which is why young people should also visit this exhibition. The exhibition aims to paint a picture of the method of this leading Swedish film maker, using scenarios, the director's own notes, costumes from his films, rushes, interviews, etc., allowing visitors to gain an insight into how a film is actually made. An exhibition which is bound to appeal to young people too.

The Ghent Film Festival is one of the victims of the never-ending tribulations between the Iranian authorities and filmmakers. The Iranian government won't allow the film Absolutely Tame is a Horse to leave the country. The distributor of the film even lost his sales licence. The film is being replaced by Jafar Panahi's This is not a film. The venue and time of the screening remain unchanged.

Today Bar Ingmar hosted the first of seven concerts. Following the performance of Paola Marquez and Bart Vervaeck, DJ Ben Glossy Urbain wowed the crowd with a selection of soundtracks. In the next few days, you'll enjoy DJ sets by, among others, Lady Linn, Isolde Lasoen and Teddiedrum.

On Saturday 15 October, Belgian director Gust Van den Berghe presented Blue Bird, his film about two African children on a quest to find their lost bird. This is the second part of a trilogy and a follow-up to the successful Little Baby Jesus of Flanders (Dutch title: En waar de sterre bleef stille staan).

With Blue Bird by Gust Van den Berghe and L'Hiver Dernier by John Shank, the first weekend of the Ghent Film Festival is entirely dedicated to local films. Both directors are incredibly talented; they are masters at using original and innovating imagery. Their scripts are characterised by a unique, pure density. Almost timeless.

The screening of Medianeras on Thursday 20 October at 8 p.m. in Kinepolis 9 is reserved for singles only. This film by Gustavo Taretto is no typical Hollywood romantic comedy, but a film for urban singles. StuBru presenter Kirsten Lemaire will provide a short introduction. After the screening, you can soak up the atmosphere and get to know each other at the festival café Bar Ingmar, with music by DJs Gus and Sense & Black. And since singles have to survive on one salary, tickets are exceptionally good value at 6 euro only! Admission only upon presentation of a printout of your Facebook profile showing your status as "single"! Register here!

Today, October 19th, Director Andrei Zvyagintsev's feature film Elena won the Grand Prix for Best Film at the 38th Ghent Film Festival. The international festival jury, chaired by Jessica Woodworth, announced the results of the jury's deliberations at Ghent's town hall. The other films that received awards are Nicolas Provost's feature film, The Invader, (Best Music and sound design) and Pauline Gay's short film, Demain, Ce Sera Bien. Mr Alexander Petrachkov (Consul General of the Russian Federation in Antwerp), Alexander Stebakov (Consul at the Russian Embassy) and Alexey Grigoriev (First Secretary, Cultural Attaché at the Russian Embassy) accepted the award on behalf of Andrei Zvyagintsev.

If you're visiting the exhibition 'Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies' at the Caermersklooster Provincial Cultural Centre in December or January, you'll get free access to the play 'Herfstsonate' ('Autumn Sonata') in February. This play is an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's eponymous work by Piet Arfeuille, a co-production of Theater Malpertuis and 't ARSENAAL. The main characters are played by Tania Van der Sanden, Ingrid De Vos and Wim Danckaert. The exhibition 'Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies' can be visited till 15th January 2012.

On Tuesday 9 October 2012 Felix van Groeningen's fourth feature film, 'The Broken Circle Breakdown', will open the 39th Ghent Film Festival at Kinepolis Ghent. The film is based on the eponymous play by Johan Heldenbergh, who plays the lead in the film production by Menuet, together with actress Veerle Baetens. 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' marks van Groeningen's fourth collaboration with producer Dirk Impens after 'Steve + Sky' (2004), 'Dagen zonder lief (With Friends Like These)' (2007) and 'De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates)' (2009).