The Filmplaneet in Ghent founded the Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival in 1994, to focus explicitly on documentary films.
During its original nine year run, the festival has become a respected international festival and is renowned for its strong, qualitative and independent film selection. Highlights were Frederic Wiseman's Domestic Violence, which had it’s World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and the Focus dedicated to the work of American documentary filmmaker Alan Berliner, who presented his latest film personally. In association with SMAK it also hosted Harmony Korine photo series ‘Milk Chicken Review’ and ‘Coke Head Swingers’ and the video installation ‘The Diary of Anna Frank. Part II’. The festival has hosted many noteworthy filmmakers: Kim Longinotto, Michael Glawogger, Hans Van den Broeck, Monteith McCollum, Gabriel Noble, Deborah Hoffmann, Frances Reid, Thom Vander Beken. Unfortunately, in its original incarnation, the festival came to an end in 2003.
Inspired by that original movement, the revived Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival, now in it’s 13th edition, will continue to emphasize lesser known, vanguard documentary works and further its tradition of galvanizing budding talent.
Most importantly, the Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival will create a space for unique visionaries and voices. True to its history, the festival will screen films of both novices and veterans—with medium and low budgets—from all over the globe. The festival’s goal is to create a warm, open atmosphere in which filmmakers, fans, critics, and producers can watch the films of emerging talents, explore new cinematic techniques and styles, and award cinematic excellence.
The Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival will create an intimate atmosphere in which to revel in the beauty and wonder of the cinema with like-minded cineastes from all over the globe.
The Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival will take place at Studio Skoop, the leading arthouse cinema in Ghent, Belgium in April 2019.
All selected filmmakers will receive The Tarkovski Grant, a film festival submission fee waiver package with an average value of about $250. This not only saves you a lot of money, but it also recognizes your work as something to watch for during the selection procedure, making a selection with another partner film festival more likely - but of course, never guaranteed. The Tarkovski Grant supports hundreds of filmmakers each year in their challenging journeys as independent filmmakers, by promoting existing films, no matter the genre, style or length. The Tarkovski Grant is supported by film festivals from all over the world. Find out more here: https://www.tarkovski.net/thetarkovskigrant
All selected films are also automatically in the running for Producer's Night.
Producer's Night is an opportunity for independent filmmakers to have their work screened to a private group of elite Hollywood producers. For many directors, it could mean their ticket to the mainstream. The exclusive screening presented by Cinematory, Tarkovski, and Hollywood producer Bhavani Rao, member of the PGA, will show the best of independent cinema from the past year's film festivals at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood. The only way to be considered for this by being selected at one of the partner film festivals. Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival is a proud partner film festival of Producer's Night. More information: www.producersnight.com
Each edition, the festival will also give out awards in the following categories:
Best Documentary Feature Film
Best Documentary Short Films
Best Environment Documentary Film
Best Society Documentary Film
Best LGBT Documentary Film
Best Health Documentary Film
Best Artist Documentary Film
Best Experimental Documentary Film