For many years now, Film Fest Gent has been imposing itself as an unmissable event for Belgian cinephiles, who are treated to sneak-peaks of around a hundred feature films, spanning prizewinners from major international festivals to high-profile Belgian premieres. Running 7 to 18 October, this 53rd edition of the festival will continue in this vein, allowing audiences to discover films from close to 50 countries. In addition to spotlighting these new titles, the festival will also pay tribute to Éric Rohmer, programming no fewer than 18 films by the French filmmaker, and it will also host the 26th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, alongside an array of other surprises.

Twelve films will screen within the competition section, most of which have already triumphed in Cannes or Berlin. Among them are La Gradiva by French director Marine Atlan, which won Critics’ Week’s Grand Prize; Minotaur by Russian filmmaker Andreï Zviaguintsev, which scooped the Grand Prize in Cannes’ Competition section and which has been chosen to represent France in the Oscars race; Fatherland by Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski, who was the co-winner of the Best Director trophy in Cannes; and Everytime by Austrian filmmaker Sandra Wollner, which nabbed the Un Certain Regard Prize in Cannes. Fresh from Venice, Stéphane Brizé will present A Good Little Soldier (awarded Best Screenplay), while Greek director Jacqueline Lentzou won Best Director in the Orizzonti line-up for A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra. From the Berlinale, the festival has selected Dao by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis, as well as the Silver Bear – Jury Prize winner Queen at Sea by Lance Hammer, No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat and Sad Girlz by Fernanda Tovar. Likewise set to screen is the South African film Variations on a Theme by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, which scooped the Tiger Award in the IFFR. And, last but not least and flying the local flag, Belgian filmmaker Jolke Van Aerde will be something of an outsider, presenting the world premiere of her debut feature documentary, Jean, in competition.

Around 30 feature films will be showcased in the festival’s Galas, which boast some hotly anticipated titles and an impressive contingent from Cannes: Palme d’Or winner Fjord by Cristian Mungiu; La Bola Negra by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, which won them Best Director in Cannes, and All Of A Sudden by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, which earned Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto the Best Actress Award, alongside The Diary of a Chambermaid by Radu Jude, Forever Your Eternal Animal by Valentina Maurel and Gabin by Maxence Voiseux… The Official Selection, for its part, will offer up an eclectic line-up of around 40 films.

Last but not least, the festival is set to open and close in style with two long-awaited Belgian titles: on 7 October, the gathering will host the Belgian premiere of Coward by Lukas Dhont, which secured Cannes’ Best Actor trophy for Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, while on 18 October, the Belgian premiere of Michaël R. Roskam’s new feature, Le Faux Soir, will unspool, fresh from Toronto.