Second Edition Of The Ghent International Short Film Festival, Another Hit

​

Ghent, 25 March 2024 - Past week marked the second edition of the Ghent International Short Film Festival, an annual event that showcases independent cinema from Belgium and around the globe. The festival welcomes all genres, and even hosted a special “Teen Proof” screening which included films for the age of 9+.

Festival director and curator Kris De Meester comments: “Ghent International Short Film Festival is here to stay, that’s for sure. What initially seemed like a modest edition eventually turned into a series of extremely well-attended events where the audience and the filmmakers found each other. Full houses the whole week, even some sessions where people had to sit on the floor, I honestly didn't expect this. Apart from a few posts via social media, there was no advertising and we were still able to achieve such a result. It shows that there is a need for more short film programs in Ghent.” He adds: “I am also glad that we were able to set this up without a penny of government funding. No fancy parties, no red carpet, no artistic concessions. A minimal carbon footprint which we also compensated by planting 300 trees via TreePlan.org. Can't wait for the third edition.”

Cherrypicked out of almost a thousand submissions, this year's eclectic selection consisted of 47 Belgian and international independent shorts. The jury panel chose to award the following films as winners of the 2024 edition:

Best Film

The Kidnapping of the Bride (Germany) by Sophia Mocorrea

Best Narrative Film

Forsaken (Tunisia) by Aziz Shennawy

Best Documentary Film

Leaving Chouchou (France) by Lucie Demange

Best Experimental Film

Chemical Somnia (Canada) by Scott Portingale

Best Underground Film

Longing In Me (Germany) by Julian Wonn

Best Animated Film

Furrie (France) by Lucie Grannec

Best ‘Kids’ Film

Chlorine (Greece) by Thanos Psichogios

Best Music Video

Shaka Shams - Balrog (Belgium) by Yoann Stehr, Alice Khol

Best Connecting Cultures Film

The Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry (Jordan) by Faris Alrjoob

Best Super Short Film

Your Bad Neighbour (United Kingdom) by Ka Long Tung

Best Dance Film

Elegy (Belgium) by Jérémy Adonis

Best Belgian Film

Noham (Belgium) by Victorine Durmort, Marie Fotso-Guifo

Congratulations to all participating filmmakers! Ghent International Short Film Festival would like to thank Studio Skoop and Velvet Room for their amazing support in creating this second edition.