Film Fest Gent Talkies
Talkies 2026
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Programme
- Meeuwen sterven in de haven: Bjorn Gabriels, Wouter Hessels & Tomas Leyers | 16.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- Breendonk: Filip Lenaerts, Koen De Bouw & Jolan De Bouw | 15.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry: Frederike Migom & Daniel Lambo | 14.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- FilmFix, Flaneur Uitgevers & FILM: Ruben Nollet, Bert Potvliege, Johannes De Breuker, Anke Brouwers & Elias Voskamp | 13.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- FFG Talkies invite FC Vertigo Steven Tuffin | 12.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- Siempre soy tu animal materno | Valentina Maurel | 10.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café | English
- Jonah Was Here: Nathalie Teirlinck, Koen De Bouw, An Pierlé & Mirek Coutigny | 09.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- Coward: Lukas Dhont & Henk De Smaele | 08.10 | 12:30 | Film Fest Café
- Piet Arfeuille | 29.01 | 19:30 | De Krook
- Anemone Valcke | 26.02 | 19:30 | De Krook
- Liesa Van der Aa | 26.03 | 19:30 | De Krook
- Koen De Bouw | 30.04 | 19:30 | De Krook
- Björn Soenens | 28.05 | 19:30 | De Krook
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Location
- Library De Krook (Miriam Makebaplein 1, Ghent)
- Film Fest Café (next to Kinepolis Ghent, Ter Platen 12, Ghent)
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Tickets
Tickets for the Talkies are free with reservation. You can find the reservation link next to the Talkies on this page. During the fesival, you don't have to register; you are welcome to join the Talkie in the Film Fest Café.
Talkies FFG 2026
Coward: Lukas Dhont & Henk De Smaele | 8 October
Lukas Dhont heads with his film Coward to the trenches of the First World War. Where he gives his signature sensitivity a far broader canvas, allowing the classic war film to blossom into something unexpectedly sensual and tender. Lukas Dhont and researcher Henk De Smaele discuss the process of creating a historically accurate world, from the story and research to the film’s sets and details.
Jonah Was Here: Nathalie Teirlinck, Koen De Bouw, An Pierlé & Mirek Coutigny | 9 October
When grieving Bob moves into his late son's student room, he finds himself living among his son's friends, habits and half-finished life. Jonah Was Here turns a father's unwillingness to let go into an intimate study of loss. Nathalie Teirlinck and Koen De Bouw discuss grief in film and their collaborative creative process as director and actor. Joining them are composers An Pierlé and Mirek Coutigny, who talk about the role of music in depicting loss.
Siempre soy tu animal materno: Valentina Maurel | 10 October
Costa Rican director Valentina Maurel paints a vivid portrait of an eccentric family and their profusion of uncertain desires, ambiguous intentions and an overarching need for change. Here, reaching adulthood does not mark the end of the process of growing up, but rather its messy and equally painful and fascinating continuation.
FilmFix, Flaneur Uitgevers & FILM: Ruben Nollet, Bert Potvliege, Johannes De Breuker, Anke Brouwers & Elias Voskamp | 12 October
What does film criticism mean today, and how can we create space for thoughtful reflection on cinema? Ruben Nollet, Bert Potvliege, Johannes De Breuker, Anke Brouwers and Elias Voskamp, as authors and editors, bring together FilmFix magazine, Flaneur uitgevers with their 24 frames bookseries and the relaunched FILM magazine for a conversation about writing, publishing and thinking about film.
Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry: Frederike Migom & Daniel Lambo | 14 October
On a sweltering summer day, almost 13-year-old Bianca finds an unlikely confidante in her idol Billie King, a soap star who suddenly appears on her sofa. Frederike Migom, turned Bart Moeyaert's beloved novel into a sun-drenched reverie on growing up, feeling invisible and the aching desire to be truly seen. Director Migom and screenwriter Daniel Lambo adiscuss the journey from beloved novel to feature film and the process of bringing Bianca's story to the screen.
Breendonk: Filip Lenaerts, Koen De Bouw & Jolan De Bouw | 15 October
Belgium under Nazi occupation, 1942. Resistance fighter Rik and his father Leon are imprisoned in the brutal Breendonk camp, where survival comes at a devastating price. A powerful television series inspired by true events. Director Filip Lenaerts and actors Koen and Jolan De Bouw discuss the making of the series and its portrayal of war, moral choices and human behaviour.
Breendonk: Filip Lenaerts, Koen De Bouw & Jolan De Bouw | 15 October
Meeuwen sterven in de haven (Seagulls Die in the Harbour) follows a drifter haunted by a terrible crime. Wandering through Antwerp’s docks and backstreets, he searches for redemption while crossing paths with unexpected companions. Following the restoration of this post-war classic and the publication of Cinema in Post-War Belgium: Rebuilding Screens and Identities, 1944–1967, Bjorn Gabriels, Wouter Hessels and Tomas Leyers discuss the film and its restoration, situating it within the broader context of Belgian cinema in the years after the war.
Talkies Spring 2026
Piet Arfeuille | 29 January
Piet Arfeuille is a multi-talent both on and off the stage. He is well known in the theatre world as an actor and director, and made his breakthrough with his adaptations of classical works Raadseltjes based on the Oedipus tragedy, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet) for HETPALEIS in Antwerp. Since 2010, he has been artistic director at Theater Malpertuis in Tielt. Arfeuille discusses Pier Paolo Pasolini's oeuvre based on excerpts from the films Il Decamerone (1971), Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975) and Oedipus Rex (1967).
Anemone Valcke | 26 February
Anemone Valcke is a Belgian actress who performs in theatre, film and television series. You may know her from television series such as Putain (2025), Styx (2024) and Storm Lara (2021), and films such as Cool Abdoul (2021), Offline (2021) and Aanrijding in Moskou (2008). Her portrayal of “Vicky” in Offline earned her the award for best actress at the Amiens International Film Festival. She is currently performing alongside Verona Verbakel in their theatre production Het Ego.
Liesa Van der Aa | 26 March
Liesa Van der Aa is a composer, violinist, singer, director and actress. She is a multidisciplinary artist who explores the boundaries between music, image and art. At the end of 2025, her sixth album Caramel was released, described as “softness that folds around sharp edges, but never lets itself be cut”. Van der Aa has also composed for several (short) film productions. She won the Ensor Award for Best Soundtrack for her music for the film Cargo (Gilles Coulier, 2017). She also wrote music for Baloji's Augure (2023), screened at Film Fest Gent.
Koen De Bouw | 30 April
Koen De Bouw is a Belgian actor who has taken on countless roles in theatre, film and television productions, both nationally and internationally. In Belgium, he is best known for his leading roles in the films of director Erik van Looy: De zaak Alzheimer (2003), Loft (2008) and De premier (2016). More recently, De Bouw played the eccentric main character in the series Professor T., which was remade in France and Germany. In 2024, he attended Film Fest Gent for the premiere of Julie Zwijgt, Leonardo van Dijl's debut film in which De Bouw plays the father role of “Tom”.
Björn Soenens | 28 May
Björn Soenens is a Belgian journalist and author. He is best known for his work as a VRT correspondent in America. He has written six books about the country, where he lived for eight years (including De lengte van een oceaan (2020) and De laatste walvis (2024), made documentaries and started a podcast (Björn in the USA). In 2025 he toured Flanders with his theatre show Allemaal Amerikaans.
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