03/09/2010

The Ostende Film Festival opened this evening and will run until September 11. Opening the festival is a preview screening of Adem, a debut feature by Flemish director Hans Van Nuffel, presented last week in competition at the Montreal World Film Festival and set for Belgian release next week.

The Oostende Film Festival, a non competitive festival, provides a perfect opportunity to offer to the public a selection of prestige preview screening, between big Hollywood titles and Cannes revelations. Aside from the Golden Palm, the festival is also proposing the deliciously caustic Tamara Drewe [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] by Stephan Frears, as well as the serious and magrave and majestic Of Gods and Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Beauvois
film profile] by Xavier Beauvois, which is also screening next week. The festival will give locals a chance to gear up for the new cinema season, by screening some titles due for release in coming years, such as Giuseppe Capotondi’s Italian thriller The Double Hour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giuseppe Capotondi
film profile], unveiled last year at Venice, or Johan Timmers’s family drama The Odd One Out [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (the Netherlands). In order to remove any suspicions of exclusivity, the festival is also programming two new European titles, Dorris Dörrie’s German comedy drama The Hairdresser [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which screened at Berlin, and a cheeky comedy on terrorism 4 Lions, directed by British helmer Christopher Morris. Belgian title Marieke, Marieke by Sophie Schoukens is also making a preview screening and will also take part in the international competition at the San Sebastian Festival at the end of the month.

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Parallel to this film programme, the festival takes on a contemporary air, proposing to the public to (re)discover the best television productions, essentially American, which are contributing to redefining the contours of the audiovisual area today (from Mad Men to Treme). European titles are also represented, since the festival has chosen to honour is also represented, since the Festival has chosen to honour two British directors distinguished by the BBC, Rik Mayall (The New Statesman) and Ben Elton (Blackadder, Mr Fowler).

(Translated from French)