Film Fest Gent Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary Edition with Absurd Yet Captivating Campaign Video

Film Fest Gent celebrates its 50th anniversary edition with a campaign video that highlights the golden jubilee in an absurd yet captivating manner. The campaign video for the 50th Film Fest Gent has been written and directed by Lionel Goldstein for production company Czar Brussels. 

The cinematic campaign draws inspiration from the very first edition in 1974 when the now-legendary Rainer Werner Fassbinder (then 28 years old) opened the inau gural festival with his film ‘Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten.’

“The campaign film revolves around the world of cinema. The life of the central character, Rainer, is entirely intertwined with film due to certain circumstances. In a humorous and touching manner, and with a deep love for cinema, the character takes us back to 1974. In questioning his own existence, our character Rainer, fully absorbed into cinema, attempts to recreate his birth by recreating the launch of the Ghent Film Festival.” explained director Lionel Goldstein of Czar. 

Wim De Witte, programme director of Film Fest Gent, stated, “We are a festival with an impressive legacy, and a 50th anniversary is a significant milestone. However, we also appreciate self-deprecation. The team at Czar has brilliantly captured this campaign video filled with absurd humour. Furthermore, the video playfully nods to the cinematography of Aki Kaurismäki, whose latest film ‘Fallen Leaves’ is also featured in our programme.”