Every year in October, more than a 100 feature films and 30 short films from all over the world are presented at Film Fest Gent. The festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors every edition. However, the festival stands for more than just film. The festival also organises film music concerts, giving composers of film scores the platform they deserve. Previous guests include: Ennio Morricone, Gabriel Yared, Elmer Bernstein, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Howard Shore, Georges Delerue, Hans Zimmer, Maurice Jarre, Craig Armstrong, Harry Gregson-Williams, Mychael Danna en Gustavo Santaolalla.

Since 2001, Film Fest Gent has been organising the World Soundtrack Awards, which are the most prestigious soundtrack awards in the world. Each year, the best composers of film music are honoured and receive international recognition for their work. This pioneering role has certainly had an impact. Ghent has grown into a meeting point for established and up-and-coming musical talent.

This particular focus won Film Fest Gent international respect and a unique position among the many thousands of other film festivals around the globe. Trade paper Variety placed the festival in its top 50 must attend festivals because of this focus on (film) music. It was the only Benelux festival listed in the overview. Additionally, American financial newspaper The Wall Street Journal called the festival one of the five European Film Festivals with character.

With its focus on film music, Film Fest Gent is listed among the top 5 European festivals with character, after Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

Yet, there’s even more to Film Fest Gent. The film festival’s international allure has made it possible to welcome many international stars. Catherine Deneuve, Kathleen Turner, Woody Harrelson, Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg, Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Jeanne Moreau, Gina Lollobrigida, Tom Tykwer, Lord Richard Attenborough, Todd Haynes, Sir Peter Ustinov, Walter Hill, Danny Glover, Sidney Pollack, Jane Birkin, Luc Besson, Mike Figgis, Morgan Freeman, Faith Akin, Andy Garcia, Melanie Griffith, Robert Altman, Juliette Binoche, Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, Colin Farrell, Ken Loach and Michael Haneke are only some of the guests we have had the privilege to welcome in the past.

In addition to the screenings, Film Fest Gent also organises film-related exhibitions. The prestigious Stanley Kubrick exhibition, for example, which was previously shown in Berlin, Melbourne and Frankfurt-am-Main, was brought to Ghent before it went on display in other world cities such as Rome, Paris and London. Film fans  have also been able to see exhibitions of film-maker Peter Greenaway, animation film-maker Raoul Servais, French film-maker Jacques Tati, and the large exhibition Cités-Cinés, which received over 450,000 visitors.