'Jonah Was Here' wins the North Sea Port Audience Award at Film Fest Gent 2026

The international juries had already announced their winners last weekend, but, as always, the audience at Film Fest Gent had the final say. Until Monday afternoon, 19 October, at exactly 12:00 p.m., every festival-goer could cast their vote for the North Sea Port Audience Award. It remained a tight race for two weeks, with Jonah Was Here ultimately finishing just ahead of Wildwood (Travis Knight) and Everybody to Kenmure Street (Felipe Bustos Sierra). With a score of 4.83 out of 5, Jonah Was Here takes home the North Sea Port Audience Award.

Jonah Was Here

When grieving neurologist Bob moves into his late son's student room, the fifty-something finds himself living among his son's friends, habits and half-finished life. Nathalie Teirlinck's sophomore feature, with a captivating Koen De Bouw in the lead role, turns a father's unwillingness to let go into an intimate study of loss.

‘You can’t just clear him out,’ Bob shouts as his ex-wife empties out their late son’s student flat. We all grieve and find comfort in different ways. This is also true for the divorced neurologist, who, overcome by grief, immerses himself in his son’s student room and student life. Suddenly, Bob finds himself back amongst the students, getting to know his son’s flatmates and meeting his son’s suspected crush. Seven years after her poetic debut film Le passé devant nous, director and KASK alumna Nathalie Teirlinck returns with a unique, tender grief-themed drama – partly filmed in Ghent – about a man who stubbornly clings to the last remnants of his son. A simple yet clever screenplay penned by Teirlinck herself supports a tormented Koen De Bouw in the lead role. He shines as the confused, yet recognisable and endearing father. Amidst the student rooms and the belongings left behind, Bob learns that grieving, too, is an art in its own right.

The film had its Belgian premiere on 8 October at Film Fest Gent, attended by director Nathalie Teirlinck and the entire cast. During a Q&A following the screening and a 'Talkie' session the next day, Teirlinck and Koen De Bouw discussed the theme of grief in film, as well as their collaborative creative process as director and actor.

Audience Award top 10

1. Jonah Was Here by Nathalie Teirlinck (4.83)
2. Wildwood by Travis Knight (4.82)
3. Everybody to Kenmure Street by Felipe Bustos Sierra (4.81)
4. Siri Hustvedt - Dance Around the Self by Sabine Lidl (4.8)
5. Gugu's world by Allan Deberton (4.8)
6. The Other Side of the Sun by Tawfik Sabouni (4.79)
7. Jean by Jolke Van Aerde (4.75)
8. Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry by Frederike Migom (4.75)
9. La bola negra by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (4.74)
10. Memory by Vladlena Sandu (4.73)