The Wall Street Journal: Ghent ranked among the top European film festivals
07 Jan 2008
According to the prestigious American business daily, The Wall Street Journal, the Ghent Film Festival is among the top five European film festivals with character, largely due to its particular focus on film music compared with major festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Berlin. This accolade from a newspaper that is also popular in the business world adds to the compliment paid by the film trade magazine Variety when it stated that Ghent was among the fifty "must attend" film festivals worldwide.
The Wall Street Journal praised the Ghent Film Festival for the fact that it offers world-class films, obtainable tickets and even the opportunity to meet a star or two while you're there.
Ghent is now considered to be a breeding ground for future Academy Award winners thanks to the performance by headliner Gustavo Santaolalla. The newspaper also emphasized the fact that giants in the world of film such as Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, Howard Shore and Gabriel Yared have all performed during the festival.
There is also praise for the young audience, which contributes to the character of the festival. Highlights of the festival include the presentation of the World Soundtrack Awards and the film concerts with the Flemish Radio Orchestra, The Wall Street Journal added.
Other festivals mentioned included the Sitges Festival in Spain with its focus on the Fantasy genre as well as Rotterdam with its experimental films, Karlovy Vary with its emphasis on Eastern European productions and the London Raindance with its indie productions. The Wall Street Journal praised these festivals for their character and included them in the top ten ranking of European Film Festivals.