It will be the third time that the filmmaker himself will attend the biggest festival in Belgium.
The tale of Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old widower carpenter from Newcastle, who is fighting to hold on to his welfare benefits, when he spots a woman in a similar predicament at the welfare office, he tries to help her & the two kids get set up... leading into a surrogate family.
Artistic director Film Fest Gent, Patrick Duynslaegher about the film: "We are very pleased to open with the new film by Ken Loach. For half a century his films about injustice and social inequality prove the courage and solidarity of the needy and oppressed. Again with “I, Daniel Blake”, we follow two people caught in a merciless Kafkaesque bureaucracy, shown in Loach's famous social realist style. This film is a cry for help, but also a heartbreaking human drama about courage, self-respect and solidarity. A particularly relevant, warm and generous movie in these neoliberal times of austerity and government policy failures."
The festival also announces its first international titles in various sections. The Official Competition includes the British-Belgian co-production “A Quiet Passion” by Terence Davies starring Cynthia Nixon. Two feature films from the last Cannes edition also stand a chance to win Best Film or Best Music & Sound: the Romanian drama “Bacalaureat” by Cristian Mungiu and remarkable Italian “Fai bei sogni" by Marco Bellocchio starring Bérénice Bejo.
The opening film "I, Daniel Blake” is part of the section Galas & Specials; highly anticipated films that are screened before they appear in Belgian theaters. And "Neruda" by Pablo Larraín, “Paterson” by Jim Jarmusch and “Personal Shopper" by Olivier Assayas. For the younger film fans the festival has got the animated Cannes Fortnight hit "My name is Zucchini" by Claude Barras, lined up.
In the section Global Cinema, the festival offers diverse titels in contemporary auteur cinema, including two films from the recent Berlinale film festival: the powerful "Soy Nero” by Rafi Pitts, a striking portrait of a Green Card Soldier and Alex Gibney's “Zero Days".
The film music concerts remain one of the highlights of Film Fest Gent. The spotlight on Japanese cinema during the festival will also be extended to the World Soundtrack Awards Gala on October 19 at Capitole Ghent, where Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto will be the guest of honour and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. In addition, the best television scores will be featured during the World Soundtrack Awards Concert on October 20, also at Capitole. Tickets are already available through www.sherpa.be and www.worldsoundtrackawards.com.
First 10 international titles of the 43rd Film Fest Gent:
In competition:
1. "Bacalaureat" – Cristian Mungiu (Lumière)
2. "Fai bei sogni" – Marco Bellocchio (Cinémien)
3. "A Quiet Passion" – Terence Davies (Potemkino)
Galas & Specials:
4. "I, Daniel Blake" – Ken Loach (Cinéart)
5. "Mijn naam is Courgette" – Claude Barras (Cinéart)
6. "Neruda" – Pablo Larraín (Imagine)
7. "Paterson" – Jim Jarmusch (Imagine)
8. "Personal Shopper" – Olivier Assayas (The Searchers)
Global Cinema:
9. "Soy Nero" – Rafi Pitts (Match Factory)
10. "Zero Days" – Alex Gibney (Splendid Film/KFD)
The public pre-sale for the opening film in Vooruit will start on 23 August, tickets on sale through www.filmfestival.be and www.vooruit.be.
The 43rd Film Fest Gent runs from 11 to 21 October at Kinepolis Gent, Studio Skoop, Sphinx, Forward and KASKcinema. The full programme will be announced on 22 September, 2016.