More movies, less fringe: Film Fest Ghent kicks off today

“This has forced us to thoroughly consider what is absolutely necessary for this festival to happen and what is ‘extra’ – the tent, the receptions, the business events,” he says. “We usually host those every night, and this year we don’t have any. Nada. And that means that the film really takes centre stage. Maybe it’s not so bad that that is the case.”

The problem is that those “extras” generate a lot of income. The business events see local companies buying packages for their employees or business contacts. They all come to see a movie together – in the best seats in the house – and attend a champagne reception afterwards.

While one-third of the festival’s income comes from subsidies from the government of Flanders, two-thirds comes from ticket sales, sponsorships and those business events. It was difficult to imagine being able to host the festival without that income.

Fortunately, an emergency grant came through from the Flemish Audio-Visual Fund. This will allow the festival to at least programme movies, host some talks, bring in a couple of special guests and offer a livestream version of the World Soundtrack Awards – and probably still break even.

“We have always said that the cinema itself is at the heart of a film festival,” emphasises De Witte. “The cinema experience was the top priority, that was always going to be first in line. That is what a festival does; it promotes going to the cinema. We have an online platform this year, but that can’t take over. It still has to remain a festival.”

So, despite all of the hurdles, the festival kicks off tonight with more than 100 feature films on the programme. Ghent will not be rolling out the traditional red carpet to 2,000 invited guests for a chic opening night gala, but tickets sales are brisk to the rest of the programme are brisk.

And he even drops a couple of titles. First Cow is the new film by Kelly Reichardt, whose previous Certain Women was one of the strongest movies to come out of the US in 2016. First Cow is set more than 150 years earlier in the American west but is built not from gunshots and revenge but from motives far more complicated to express. It’s a buddy western, a heist film, a critique of capitalism and a quiet reflection on what it’s really like to depend on the land.

De Witte other suggestion is Gagarine, which comes in at the other end of the spectrum, as a young man tries to save his aging housing estate in suburban Paris from demolition. The impressive feature debut by French filmmakers Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh isn’t your average gritty drama, however, because this teenager has a few fantastical tricks – and a parallel universe – up his sleeve. The directors of Gagarine will be at the screenings on 16 and 17 October to talk to the audience about the movie.

De Witte also speaks enthusiastically about Women Make Film, a 14-hour(!) documentary that leaps with wild abandon through the history of cinema made by women. Intriguing narrators like Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda and Thandie Newton talk technique, subject matter and atmosphere in British film journalist Mark Cousins fantastic lesson on making movies. And on movies that get forgotten because, as Swinton says: “Film history has been sexist by omission.” The festival is showing Women Make Film in its entirety in blocks of two to three hours.

Mortensen is driving in from his home in Madrid to talk on 18 October about his new movie Falling. He wrote, directed and stars in the drama about a happily married gay man in LA forced to take in his elderly, homophobic father.

Another notable guest is French director Maïwenn Le Besco (known simply as Maïwenn), who will talk about her new movie DNA. She stars in the film that explores her own Algerian roots through the bickering of an extended family when the patriarch dies.

Still, De Witte is sympathetic to those who are concerned about safety. “If people are worried about it, then they shouldn’t come,” he says matter-of-factly. “What I will say is that we have done absolutely everything we can to see that things run smoothly and safely. I have never heard any information up to now about any infections that were traced to cinemas or to theatres.”

There is also more time being scheduled between screenings – at least an hour and sometimes more – to prevent too many people in the cinema at any one time and to allow for extra cleaning. But those who prefer to catch their movies at home for now will be happy to know that a selection of films from the festival have been put online, and for a reduced price.

The only awards in the world dedicated to music in film, WSA normally sees cinema’s top composers traveling in for the annual ceremony that rewards the Composer of the Year as well as nominees in other categories such as Best Original Song and Discovery of the Year.

Anyone can tune in on 24 October to see which composers the international jury has chosen to win the big prizes, with scores from films such as Little Women, Joker and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker among them.

Photo top: Women Make Film ©Dogwoof