Full programma Ostend Film Festival 2022 announced

The programme of the first winter edition of the Ostend Film Festival - from January 21 to 29 - is complete. With 8 films each in the LOOK!, COOP! and SOON! competitions, 37 avant-premières, 10 short films in competition and an Alex van Warmerdam retrospective, FFO has once again put together a stunning programme, with a record number of avant-premières.

December 21, 2021

Aller/Retour by Dorothée Van Den Berghe will be the closing film

Director Dorothée Van Den Berghe will close the fourteenth edition of FFO with her latest film Aller/Retour. Van Den Berghe, who already won prizes with earlier work such as Rosie & Moussa and My Queen Karo, once again collaborated with KVS director Michaël De Cock for the screenplay of this road movie. The leads are played by Ruth Beeckmans (Albatros, Safety First) and Welket Bungué, who appeared last year in the ambitious Berlin, Alexanderplatz.

In Aller/Retour, experienced truck driver Erika is on her way to Bordeaux with her trusty four-wheeler. During a stopover in Paris she discovers a man hiding in her truck: the African Idy wanted to hitchhike across the border. Due to the meddling of a third party, the situation escalates and Idy is dealt some serious blows. Erika has no choice but to take Idy back on board to save his life. The two complete strangers turn out to have more in common than either of them could have ever imagined.

“It is incredible to be the final film of the Ostend Film Festival with Aller/Retour. Erika and Idy start their story on our Belgian coast to make an extraordinary journey from there. It is special to be able to show the film for the first time in the place that has become so important for people from all over the world, as shown in all the news. It is no coincidence that Michaël De Cock's original reportage, which he made here in Ostend together with Stephan Vanfleteren, led to our film!” - Director Dorothée van den Berghe

Visually stunning gems in the LOOK! competition

The LOOK! competition previously announced One Second by Zhang Yimou, L'événement by Audrey Diwan, Mothering Sunday by Eva Husson and opening film Nowhere by Peter Monsaert. These are now joined by King Richard by Reinaldo Marcus Green, Leave No Traces by Jan P. Matuszynski, Miracle by Bogdan George Apetri and Nobody Has to Know by Bouli Lanners. King Richard is the highly anticipated biopic of Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena and is already being showered with Oscar buzz. Leave No Traces premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was selected as the Polish Oscar entry.

Flemish and Dutch co-productions in the COOP! competition

Previously, Rien à foutre by Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre starring Adèle Exarchopoulos was announced in the COOP! competition. Completing the lineup are Charlotte by Tahir Rana and Eric Warin, a gripping animated film about the life of Charlotte Salomon during World War II; the Dutch Oscar entry Do Not Hesitate by Shariff Korver; Ennio: The Maestro by Giuseppe Tornatore, a fascinating portrait of and compelling tribute to Ennio Morricone; the ambitious and anarchic biopic Miss Marx by Susanna Nicchiarelli; No. 10, the tenth film by Alex van Warmerdam, who incidentally will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award together with his brother Marc during FFO22; Samuel's Travels, a dark fairy tale by Aik Karapetian starring Kevin Janssens and The Consequences by Claudia Pinto, filmed in the inhospitable volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands.

Debuts and second feature films in the SOON! competition

The North Macedonian Oscar entry Sisterhood by Dina Duma was already announced as part of the SOON! competition. The programme is completed by Luzzu, the feature-length debut of Alex Camilleri and the Maltese Oscar entry; Mon père, le diable, the feature-length debut of Ellie Foumbi, who will also be attending the festival; Murina, with which Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović won the Camera d'Or at Cannes; Ninjababy by Yngvild Sve Flikke which won Best Comedy at the European Film Awards in Berlin; Stop-Zemlia, a coming-of-age film by Kateryna Gornostai which won the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, You Resemble Me by Dina Amer and Omar Mullick about the true story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen and the Indonesian Oscar entry Yuni by Kamila Andini.

Avant-premières

The Ostend Film Festival can also add many high-profile avant-premières to its programme, including several Oscar entries: Compartment N°6 by Juho Kuosmanen from Finland, Drive My Car by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi from Japan and The Good Boss by Fernando León De Aranoa from Spain. Exactly 80 years after the events, FFO is screening Die Wannsee Konferenz by Matti Geschonneck. Furthermore, you can see Daniel Brühl's directorial debut, Next Door, among others, at the festival. Daniel Brühl will also personally present the film at FFO. Other notable titles are After Yang by Kogonada, who debuted with the wonderful Columbus; Les jeunes amants with Fanny Ardant by Carine Tardieu, To Olivia about Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal and the loss of their daughter Olivia, and the Golden Leopard from Locarno, Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay In Cash by Indonesian filmmaker Edwin.