TONY CURTIS AT FLANDERS FILM FESTIVAL

Other international guests include Jeanne Moreau, Vanessa Redgrave, Stephen Frears, Patrick Doyle, Stephen Warbeck, and Peter Greenaway among others. Like previous years, 'The impact of music on film' will play a major role in this year's International Competition, the presentation of the World Soundtrack Awards and the publication of the book Moving Music.

The Flanders International Film Festival is extremely honoured to welcome Hollywood legend Tony Curtis. Tony Curtis, who started his career in the movies in 1944, has featured in more than a 100 movies. One of his most well known role is that of Josephine, along side of Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe in Some like it Hot. Tony Curtis will attend the screening on October 18th. In 1958, Tony Curtis received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Defiant Ones. To pay tribute to his outstanding merits, Tony Curtis will be presented the Special Joseph Plateau Holemans Award, a delicate piece of juwelry by Belgian's number 1 juweller, at the closing night on October 18th.

Since 1985, the Flanders International Film Festival organizes an International Competition with 'The impact of music on film' as theme. This year the competition consists of 13 films, and will be judged by an international jury and will be chaired by the famous French actrice Jeanne Moreau. She will be accompanied by Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love), Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth and The Four Feathers), director Ahmed Imamovic, composer Daan Stuyven, French PR-agent Denise Breton and director Gaston Kaboré among others. At the official award ceremony on the 18th of October, the jury will announce the winners of The Grand Prize of the Flemish Community for Best Film, The Georges Delerue Award for Best Music, The Sabbam Prize for Best Screenplay, and The Robert Wise Award for Best Director.

This year's Film Festival will also include different Shortfilm competitions: Prix UIP, Prize for Best Recent Belgian Short, the ACE-award for Best Flemish Student Short and a special anniversary prize for Flemish shorts.

At their 3rd Annual World Soundtrack Awards ceremony in Ghent, Belgium on October 12, the Flanders Film Festival is proud to welcome guest of honour Maurice Jarre. Jarre, who composed the Oscar winning music for the films Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, will receive a World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award. Jarre's scores for Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey and A Walk in the Clouds won him Golden Globe Awards, as did his music for Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India.

Oscar nominated composer Patrick Doyle (Bridget Jones's Diary, Gosford Park and Sense and Sensibility), will conduct a concert at the World Soundtrack Awards ceremony. Doyle will be joined by composer and 2002 World Soundtrack Discovery of the Year Klaus Badelt, (Pirates of the Caribbean, Time Machine, The Recruit), and the Belgian pop group Hooverphonic, whose music was used in films such as Stealing Beauty and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a composer whose achievements have earned him a distinct place in the history of international filmmaking. Jarre was preceded by Elmer Bernstein and Sir George Martin. Awards will also be presented for Best Original Soundtrack, Best Original Song, Best Composer and Discovery of the Year.

Other special events and highlights of the 30th edition of the Flanders International Film Festival include the Unicef benefit-screening of Julia in the presence of Vanessa Redgrave, the concert by Nicola Piovani at the closing ceremony, the screening of the Tulse Luper Suitcase: The Moab Story and The Antwerp Story after which director Peter Greenaway will give a lecture, and concerts by Belgian heroes Daan Stuyven and Vidiots, and Raymond van het Groenewoud to name but a few.

Exclusively for Unicef, the Flanders International Film Festival organizes a benefit-screening of Julia starring Vanessa Redgrave, a performance for which she was awarded an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. This unique event takes place on October 18 and the entire proceeds will go directly to Unicef.

Oscar winner Nicola Piovani (Life is Beautiful) will wrap up the festival during the closing ceremony on October 18 with a unique and enthralling concert presenting some fabulous scores of Italian movie history. This will be a musical journey through the films of the Taviani brothers, Federico Fellini, Nanni Moretti and Roberto Benigni.

On October 13, Peter Greenaway will explain the first parts of his Tulse Luper Project. Central person in this project is the writer/nature-historian Tulse Luper, who travels around the world from one prison to the other.

Jury-member Daan Stuyven and the audio-visual collective Vidiots will present a spectacular confrontation between image and sound. This concert, consisting of live music mixed with so-called visuals, takes place on October 10 in Vooruit. On October 10 and 11, more music will be provided by the godfather of Flemish rock Raymond van het Groenewoud in cooperation with the Flemish Radio Orchestra. Straight forward rock songs, written for several Flemish and Dutch films, are transformed into symphonic little master pieces. Raymond van het Groenewoud also contributed to the book Moving Music

The festival will focus on film music by publishing a unique book, Moving Music, highlighting interviews with some 20 film music composers including many who have appeared live in concert at the festival, such as Ennio Morricone, Elmer Bernstein, the late Georges Delerue and numerous Belgian artists.

'The core of the festival will, as always, be the film competition,' says Jacques Dubrulle, Secretary-General of the festival. 'A maximum of 13 very different films will be selected for the International Competition.' The president of this year's international jury is French actress and screen legend Jeanne Moreau. Additional members confirmed for the international Jury are UK composer and Oscar winner Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare In Love), director Ahmed Imamovic, composer Daan Stuyven, and director Gaston Kaboré.

This year the total prize money from the festival will be increased up to 81.000 Euro. The money will entirely go to the Benelux distributors of the winning movies. This way the festival hopes to alleviate the crisis among art house distributors. Up untill now the prize money was shared by distributor, director, composer and screenplay writer.

For more information about the music events: www.worldsoundtrackawards.com

30th Flanders International Film Festival-Ghent www.filmfestival.be