Film Fest Gent

Overview

Film Fest Gent is Belgium's largest film festival, attracting over 100,000 visitors annually across approximately 100 features and 30 shorts. The 53rd edition is scheduled for October 7 to 18, 2026. The festival's distinctive identity is its focus on the impact of music on film, which no other major festival in the world shares. Since 2001, Film Fest Gent has hosted the World Soundtrack Awards (WSA), the only awards ceremony in the film industry dedicated specifically to film and television composers.

The festival is a competitive event. Approximately 12 to 15 feature films compete each year for two prizes: the Grand Prix for Best Film and the George Delerue Award for Best Music (best application of music or sound design). An international jury selects both winners. The festival also runs an international short film competition (max 30 minutes) and a Belgian student short competition.

The World Soundtrack Awards ceremony and concert is the festival's signature event. The 2026 WSA Concert takes place October 10, 2026, at the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent, with the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brosse. The WSA recognizes Composer of the Year, Best Original Score, Discovery of the Year, and a composition contest for young composers under 36.

Submission Details

Film Fest Gent accepts submissions through its MyFFG portal. Key details for the 53rd edition (2026):

Submission Fees

Belgian film school students do not pay an entry fee for the Belgian Student Short Competition. An entry is only complete upon payment of the fee. Films must not have been previously screened in Belgium to be considered for selection (Belgian premiere required). Films must have English subtitles.

Competition Sections and Awards

• International Feature Competition - 12 to 15 feature films focusing on the impact of music on film, competing for the Grand Prix for Best Film and the George Delerue Award for Best Music
• International Short Film Competition - short films max 30 minutes, judged by a jury
• Belgian Student Short Competition - final works from recognized Belgian film schools (KASK, Sint-Lukas, RITCS, Narafi, Luca C-mine, IAD, INSAS, La Cambre). Films produced between September 1, 2025 and September 4, 2026 are eligible
• Non-Competing International Shorts - no restrictions on production year or length

World Soundtrack Awards

The WSA is the only awards ceremony in the international film industry dedicated exclusively to film and television music. Awards include:

• Film Composer of the Year - the first recipient was John Williams in 2001
• Best Original Score
• Discovery of the Year
• Best Original Composition by a Young Composer - a composition contest for composers under 36. The 2026 winner receives a Synchron Series Package from Vienna Symphonic Library worth EUR 7,899. Three finalists have their compositions performed live by the Brussels Philharmonic at the WSA Concert on October 10, 2026
• Lifetime Achievement Award - past recipients include Ryuichi Sakamoto (2016), Terence Blanchard (2017), and Hans Zimmer

The WSA Composition Contest requires a separate registration fee of EUR 75 (non-refundable). Applications are accepted between March 2 and May 15, 2026. Each participant may submit only one application per year.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Film Fest Gent is the only festival in the world where the competition theme is explicitly the impact of music on film. If your film has a distinctive score, soundtrack, or sound design, it has a competitive advantage here that it will not have at any other festival. The George Delerue Award specifically rewards the application of music or sound design, which means composers and sound designers share recognition alongside directors.

For composers, the World Soundtrack Awards are the most targeted recognition available in the film industry. WSA-winning composers have collectively won 46 Oscars. Composers first recognized at Ghent and later at the Oscars include Gustavo Santaolalla, Dario Marianelli, and Alexandre Desplat. The WSA Composition Contest for young composers (under 36) provides a platform for emerging screen composers to have their work performed live by the Brussels Philharmonic.

The Belgian premiere requirement means films that have already screened at other Belgian festivals (such as Brussels International Film Festival) are not eligible. However, films that have screened at international festivals outside Belgium remain eligible.

The submission fee structure (EUR 25-75 depending on length and deadline) is moderate by European festival standards. The early bird deadline of April 30 offers a discount, and the final deadline of July 1 is later than most major autumn festivals, giving filmmakers additional time to submit.

The festival attracts over 100,000 visitors annually, making it one of the largest public-facing festivals in Europe by attendance. This audience scale means selected films receive substantial public exposure. The festival's generalist programming approach (all genres: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental) means it is not limited to arthouse or auteur cinema.

Festival History

Film Fest Gent was founded in 1974 by Ben ter Elst, manager of the Studio Skoop cinema, and Dirk De Meyer of the Ghent University Film Club. The first edition, called "Het Eerste Internationaal Filmgebeuren van Gent" (Ghent's First International Film Event), ran January 25 to 31, 1974, screening approximately 20 titles including Tarkovsky's "Solaris" and Jancso's "Winter Wind." Ter Elst deliberately called it a "film happening" rather than a festival because he did not want it to be competitive or commercial.

Under the influence of Jacques Dubrulle in the 1980s, the festival expanded to approximately 100 films and attracted international guests including King Hu, Maximilian Schell, and Bertrand Tavernier. The name changed to "International Film Event of Flanders-Ghent" in 1983 and to "Film Festival" in 1992.

The festival's film music identity developed gradually. In the 1980s, the festival began dedicating its program to the impact of music on film, organizing silent film screenings with newly composed live music. In 1987, Georges Delerue conducted a new score for the Russian "Casanova" (1927) at the Ghent Opera, and Ennio Morricone gave a concert at a sold-out Kuipke venue. Other composers who attended in this period included Jean-Claude Petit, Nicola Piovani, Peer Raben, Stanley Myers, Carl Davis, Bruce Broughton, and Michael Nyman.

In 2000, Hans Zimmer gave his first-ever live performance of his film scores in Ghent, in the presence of Morgan Freeman and Lisa Gerrard. This event led to the founding of the World Soundtrack Academy in 2001, with the first World Soundtrack Awards presented during that year's edition. John Williams received the first Film Composer of the Year Award for "A.I."

The Joseph Plateau Award, introduced in 1985, evolved into the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in international cinema. Past guests at the festival include Willem Dafoe, Samuel Fuller, Terry Gilliam, Anthony Perkins, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Schrader, Frederick Wiseman, Patricia Arquette, Kenneth Branagh, Mel Brooks, and Atom Egoyan.

The festival is organized by NPO International Film Fest Gent. The current programming team has maintained the festival's dual identity as a generalist international film festival and the world's only film music-focused competitive event.

Practical Information for Attendees

Ghent is accessible via Brussels Airport (BRU), approximately 60 minutes by train. The city is also directly connected by train to Paris, Amsterdam, and London (via Eurostar). Ghent has no airport of its own but is well-connected by Belgian rail.

Accommodation in Ghent ranges from 70 to 200 EUR per night during the festival period. The festival operates across multiple venues in central Ghent. The WSA Concert takes place at the Music Center De Bijloke, a converted medieval infirmary with concert hall acoustics.

The festival offers industry accreditation for film professionals. Accreditation provides access to screenings, the WSA Talks (seminars and panels), and industry networking events. The WSA Nominees Celebration is a separate ticketed event for composers and music industry professionals.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit strategy and planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For understanding the European film market and international sales, see International Film Markets. For film music and audio tools, see Audio and Music Tools. Submit through the Film Fest Gent submission portal. For WSA Composition Contest rules, see the WSA 2026 rules PDF.