Jean-Luc Godard lives on at 49th edition Film Fest Gent: two films on FFG programme

Jean-Luc Godard's importance as a rebellious iconoclast can hardly be overestimated. Together with François Truffaut, he was at the cradle of the French nouvelle vague, a wave that marked a caesura in film history and not only honoured Hollywood directors, but also influenced them. À bout de souffle (1960) threw out all the rules and made a star out of Jean-Paul Belmondo. Godard has always remained a radical filmmaker. Even in 2014, he managed to give the art of film a new twist, with the cryptic 3D film Adieu au langage. More than a filmmaker, he was also a militant, an intellectual and someone who spent his whole life idolising alternative political movements. But above all, he told his truth - cinema - in 24 frames per second.

In 1985, for the very first time, Film Fest Gent organised a film competition dedicated to "the influence of music on film". Jean Luc-Godard, with his own version of a film noir, Détective, won the prize for the best score (the forerunner of the Georges Delerue Award).

FFG2022 screens two films about JLG

No one breathed more cinema than Jean-Luc Godard, which is why Film Fest Gent presents two brand new films about the filmmaker in the 'Artists on Film' programme section.

À vendredi Robinson

À vendredi, Robinson by Mitra Farahani is not only a reevaluation of forgotten Iranian writer and director Ebrahim Golestan, but also a tribute to Godard. Golestan would initially meet JLG at a film festival in the 1960s, but ultimately their paths would never cross. At the request of documentary filmmaker Mitra Farahani, the two men then started a correspondence several years ago. They exchanged weekly e-mails: Golestan sent mostly text, Godard sent photos, films and cryptic quotes. Farahani filmed this exchange and the result is as elusive as a Godard film.

Godard seul le cinéma

Whatever the subject of a Godard film, in the end they were all about the same thing: cinema. Cyril Leuthy's documentary Godard seul le cinéma is an illuminating portrait of one of cinema's masters. He charts JLG's particularly erratic trajectory - since his debut À bout de souffle. Godard speaks exclusively through archive material, but Leuthy interviews a select group of connoisseurs. From biographers to former collaborators, such as actress Nathalie Baye.

On Tuesday 18.10, À vendredi, Robinson and Godard seul le cinéma will be screened as a double bill, followed by a talk with among others Patrick Duynslaegher on the work and life of Jean-Luc Godard.