It's Just Movies

— by SEAN GERSKI —

The 36th edition of the Ghent International Film Festival will take place from Oct. 6 to 17 in Belgium.

The festival, which will screen more than 140 films from 35 different countries, is expected to host more than 120,000 visitors.

Festival highlights include an elaborate “Anime!” exhibition and a tribute to Asian cinema, as well as five live concerts (including one by Kevin Costner and his band Modern West), the ninth annual World Soundtrack Awards, and presentations of the Joseph Plateau Lifetime Achievement Award to Oscar nominee Andy Garcia and French director Claude Miller.

Twelve films will be competing for the Grand Prize in the international competition: “Altiplano” by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Belgium); “Applause” by Martin Pieter Zandvliet (Denmark); “Eyes Wide Open” by Haim Tabakman (Israël); “John Rabe: by Florian Gallenberger (Germany); “The Children of Diyarbakir” by Miraz Bezar (Turkey); “The Stoning of Soraya M.” by Cyrus Nowrasteh (USA); “There” by Hakki Kurtulus and Melik Saracoglu (Turkey); “Troubled Water” by Erik Poppe (Norway); “Whiskey with Vodka” by Andreas Dresen (Germany); “Kan door Huid Heen” by Esther Rots (The Netherlands); and “Zion and his Brother” by Eran Merav (Israël).

The Ghent Film Festival — established in 1974 as a students’ film festival — has developed into one of Europe’s most prominent film events.

For more information about the festival, head to www.filmfestival.be.

Follow Sean Gerski on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DoubleDown44.