PRESS RELEASE

UNIQUE IN EUROPE: Film Festival Oostende launches the International competition LOOK!

The Film Festival of Ostend (FFO) is taking place for the 7^th time from the 6^th till the 14^th of September 2013 in Ostend, the Belgian City by the Sea.
FFO stands for the presentation of the latest previews of national and international audience movies. Also new short films, documentaries and TV series will be programmed. FFO is also the meeting place for professionals and students who are interested in the movie industry in all its facets. Therefore, the Film Festival of Ostend organizes ‘The Day of the Film Professional’.
Master and face of FFO 13 is the Flemish actor, Johan Heldenbergh, renowned from ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’.
As from the beginning, the festival puts Flemish talent in the spotlight. The highlight of the festival is undoubtedly the presentation of the Ensors, the Flemish Movie Awards.
New for this year is the International Competition LOOK!. This competition is unique for Europe. LOOK! will not only concentrate on the magic of cinema, but also on the hard and professional work of people working behind the scenes. The Curator of the Competition is Nikolaj Nikitin, among other a delegate of the International Film Festival Berlin.

The International Competition LOOK!

Films are nowadays available on iPads, computers and even smart phones. This causes classical theatrical screening to be put under pressure and the value of a real film screening and the amazing cinema experience in movie theatres becomes underestimated. Therefore, the Film Festival of Ostend will launch at its 7^th edition the International Competition LOOK!.

With this new competition, the Film Festival of Ostend will not only focus on the magic of cinema but also on the amazing work of professionals working on movies behind the scenes. The accent will lie on the visual aspect of film, namely Product Design, Costume Design, Make-up, Visual Effects and D.O.P. The LOOK! Competition will be quite unique in Europe as there is no other competition that stresses on the combined work of those five departments.

The curator of the competition is Nikolaj Nikitin, delegate of the International Film Festival Berlin.

An international jury of specialists under the presidency of Johan Heldenbergh, Curator of FFO 13, will judge six movies which will compete in the five categories.
The winner of the ‘Best Film Award’ will receive a guaranteed release in Belgium and an additional Marketing budget of €50.000.
Also the audience has the opportunity to vote. FFO will hand over ‘The Audience Award’.

For more information about the International Competition LOOK!, contact us at look@filmfestivaloostende.be.

For more information about FFO 13: www.filmfestivaloostende.be.

Deadline for submissions: 31/05/2013.

Dates to remember:

• Film Festival Cannes: meet us at The Flanders Image Booth on Saturday the 18^th of May from 4 pm till 5 pm. Meeting point: Marché du Film, Riviera A2.
• Public Screenings: every night at 8 pm from Saturday the 7^th of September until Thursday the 12^th of  September2013. 
• Press Screenings: 3 press screenings on Saturday the 7^th of September and 3 Screenings on Sunday the 8^th of September 2013.
• Awards Ceremony: Friday the 13^th of September at 8pm, together with the screening of The Winner of the Jury.

For more information:

Peter Craeymeersch, Les Films du Bord de Mer
peter.craeymeersch@filmfestivaloostende.be
T: +32(0)59 50 25 00 – Mobile : +32(0)477 35 17 32
www.filmfestivaloostende.be