All activities / Film Festivals / Ghent
Film Festivals in Ghent
Film Fest Gent
A canal-laced medieval city in East Flanders, once one of the largest cities in Europe, with a skyline of guild houses, a castle and three towers. A lively university town, it is known for the Ghent Altarpiece, the Gentse Feesten summer street festival and Film Fest Gent each October.
Run by Film Fest Gent, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
Film Fest Gent is the biggest film festival in Belgium and one of the more distinctive in Europe, with a specialism that sets it apart: the relationship between film and music. Held every October in the cinemas of Ghent since 1974, it screens around 130 features from across world cinema over eleven days, and since 2001 it has staged the World Soundtrack Awards, the leading prizes for film and television composers, capped by a gala concert where a symphony orchestra plays the year's nominated scores. That focus draws composers, directors and a strongly local audience rather than a red-carpet circus, and the festival spreads through a compact, canal-laced medieval city that is easy to navigate on foot. For anyone who cares about how a score shapes a film, or who simply wants to catch the autumn's award-season titles in a walkable Flemish setting before they reach wider release, Ghent in October is the place.
Best months
Film Fest Gent runs for eleven days in October across several cinemas in the city, with the 2026 edition set for 7 to 18 October and the World Soundtrack Awards concert on 10 October at the Bijloke music centre. Screenings are in their original language with subtitles, many in English or with English subtitles. Individual tickets and festival passes go on sale in the weeks before; the award-night concert and high-profile premieres sell out first, so book those early. October in Flanders is cool and often wet, which suits a week spent mostly indoors.
Getting there & around
Ghent is about half an hour by train from Brussels and twenty-five minutes from Antwerp, arriving at Gent-Sint-Pieters station a tram ride from the centre. The festival's venues are cinemas around the city and the Bijloke music centre, all reachable on foot or by tram, and the compact old town is easy to walk. Book festival passes and the World Soundtrack Awards concert online in advance, and reserve accommodation early, as the festival overlaps with a busy autumn in the city.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Film Fest Gent
OrganizerFilm Fest Gent is the largest film festival in Belgium, held each October in Ghent since 1974 and run by a non-profit organisation. It screens around 130 features across the city's cinemas with a particular focus on the role of music in film, and since 2001 it has hosted the World Soundtrack Awards, whose ceremony and concert honour the year's best film composers. The 2026 edition, its 53rd, runs from 7 to 18 October, with the World Soundtrack Awards on 10 October at the Bijloke music centre.