Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival
Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival is an annual, weeklong event that has highlighted documentary talent for over a decade.
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 was 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.
The festival has hosted many noteworthy filmmakers: Peter Entell, Harmony Korine, Albert Maysles, Sergeï Dvortsevoy, Steve James, Heddy Honigman, 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, continues to emphasize lesser known, vanguard documentary works and further its tradition of galvanizing budding talent.
Most importantly, the Ghent Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival creates 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.
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Prophet Town (United States) by Dan Howlett
This documentary follows the extraordinary political awakening of Hildale, Utah, a town long dominated by the imprisoned fundamentalist prophet Warren Jeffs, whose influence continues to shape every aspect of life through religious control, land ownership, and fear. At the heart of the film is Do...
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Seconds Away (United States) by Benjamin Kegan
A runner chasing Olympic dreams. A coach facing cancer. A story about mentorship, resilience, and showing up for each other.
SECONDS AWAY follows Belgian-American runner Peter Callahan and his longtime coach, Patrick McHugh, as they chase a qualifying time fast enough to make the Olympic Games—a ... -
Not everything is visible at once (Finland) by Anna-Leena Vilhunen
When the bucket of an excavator and an artist’s paintbrush move, something is found and something is covered. My film Kaikki ei näy ainakaan heti / Not everything is visible at once contains observations of digging in a number of overlapping meanings. I want to give space to realisation.
Running ... -
Anchor Points (Canada) by Victor Quijada, Samuel Greffe
Anchor Points is a documentary-style art film by Rubberband that retraces the trajectory of Victor Quijada from street dancer to contemporary choreographer. Through archival footage and visual effects, it examines his personal and artistic evolution and introduces the foundational Rubberband Meth...
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Nothing to See Here: Watts (United States) by Michael Soenen
A Defiant Act of Radical Self-Representation that Unites Enemies and Saves Lives. What happens when an outsider rides with police officers through Watts, a 2.1 square mile neighborhood in South Los Angeles, long known as one of the most violent and divided communities in the country? That night,...
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Charlotte Salomon’s Letter (United States) by Dana Plays
Charlotte Salomon’s Letter is a non-fiction film about the German Jewish Artist Charlotte Salomon who created her magnum opus 'Life? or Theater?' as a catharsis experience to prevent herself from suicide after finding out she was the sole survivor in her maternal family line of suicides while liv...
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Matahari — The Sun of Tiganderket (Indonesia) by Bagoes Kresnawan
When an elephant dies, its ivory remains, when a man dies, his name remains. Behind Masri Singarimbun’s name lies an inspiring colorful history and rich legacy. Masri Singarimbun was an avant-garde intellectual legend, a prolific author, a rigorous researcher, a brilliant observer, a softhearted...
