41st Film Fest Gent
Another year, another Film Fest Gent. This was our program for this year.
Wednesday 15 October
Macondo
Acclaimed documentary director Sudabeh Mortezai launches her fictional debute with this drama about refugees in Vienna. The story follows the life of an 11-year old Chechen child called Ramasan, who lives with his mother, after the death of his father in combat. When an ex-soldier who served alongside his dad shows up in his life, Ramasan can’t help but wonder about the father he barely knew.
Friday 17 October
Réalité (Reality)
The story of three people: a young girl who finds a mysterious VHS, a failed filmmaker shooting his first horror movie, and a culinary TV host who loses his self-confidence because of an imaginary disease. Quentin Dupieux, a cult hero for many due to his arthouse style, has always stated : “I make my movies to make people laugh”. The film was screened at Venice Film Festival.
Saturday 18 October
Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The way he looks)
Daniel Ribeiro won two awards for ‘The Way he Looks’ at the Berlin Film Festival. A blind teenager wants to escape his everyday life by going on an exchange programme, but the arrival of Gabriel, a new student, makes him change his plans. Raisa Rossi of Almanaque Virtual said that it was “hard not to be moved by such a light and true story, which nullifies any kind of prejudice”.
Στο Σπίτι (At home)
A wealthy Greek family employs Nadja, a Georgian immigrant and devoted housekeeper, but when the father runs into financial difficulties and Nadja becomes seriously ill, the situation suddenly changes and she gets fired. This gripping drama is already the third film from acclaimed director Athanasios Karanikolas.
Sunday 19 October
Plemya (The tribe)
Winner of 3 awards at the Festival of Cannes, the film follows a boy at a school for the deaf in Ukraine. The school is ruled by corruption, prostitution and violence and the young man tries to navigate through all those events. Variety writes: “Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s prize-winning debut feature is an audacious coup de cinema.”
Monday 20 October
Amour fou
The story of German writer Heinrich von Kleist and his lover Henriette Vogel in the final stages of their lives. This movie was screened at Cannes Film Festival in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section. “The tragedy of ‘Amour Fou’ is of the quiet variety, and it’s one which Hausner has pitched almost perfectly”, CineVue’s John Bleasdale is enchanted.
Tuesday 21 October
Leviafan (Leviathan)
A Russian family is terrorized by their mayor. The father of the family calls a lawyer friend from Moscow and together they start to rebel. Eric Kohn’s, Indiewire: “Rather than building towards the finality of a single climax, Leviathan injects several of them into the tapestry of its elegant design”. Won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes Film Festival.
Wednesday 22 October
Platina Blues
A touching confrontation with death. The frontman of the Dutch band The Scene describes a night in the hospital. When the morphine starts kicking in, the fear of death also sets in. In his hallucinations, he travels across a web of memories, images and emotions, until he almost reaches a state of resignation. A new day begins. Or is it heaven?
Friday 24 October
Charlie’s Country
With no way to live a traditional lifestyle in his Aboriginal community, the ageing Charlie struggles to make his own way in life. Loosely based on the real life of the leading actor David Gulpilil, who won the award for Best Actor Award at Un Certain Regard in Cannes. This movie marks Rolf de Heer’s return to Film Fest Gent; where he won the main award for ‘Ten Canoes’ in 2006.
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