Arts Centre Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium

Twelve days on the border between film, media art and music

A co-production of Vooruit and the Ghent Film Festival
Tue 7 – Sat 18 October 2008

Vooruit Arts Centre and the Ghent Film Festival join forces for Almost Cinema: a twelve-day programme during which Vooruit presents its unique vision on cinema.

Almost Cinema starts where traditional film stops. The featured artists are influenced by the cinematic medium but leave the beaten track, opting for new unknown paths instead. Eva De Groote, Vooruit’s media arts programmer: “Because the featured artists work in the margins of cinema and do not produce traditional film, they are often ignored at film festivals. It is Vooruit’s pleasure to offer them the platform they deserve during the Ghent Film Festival.

Just like the last three years we have designed an installation trail, allowing you to explore the whole Vooruit building from top to bottom. You’ll also be able to enjoy theatre and dance performances, music documentaries, (audiovisual) concerts, a conference and talks about (almost) cinema. As always, we’ll celebrate the end of the festival with a free party.

Over the course of the years, Almost Cinema has welcomed local and international guests, such as Julien Maire, Jem Cohen, Sigur Rós, Jeffrey Shaw, Janet Cardiff, Tom Heene & Yacine Sebti, Buscemi, Rasha, Anouk De Clerq, Motek, Bajofondo Tango Club, Volker Gerling, Aki Onda, Flat Earth Society, Semiconductor, Alexandra Bachzetsis, ZimmerFrei, Das Pop… At the opening night we’ve shown the Darfur documentary Sand and Sorrow, Pixies flick LOUDquietLOUD and The Devil and Daniel Johnston.

This year we bring you installations by Ulf Langheinrich, Boris Debackere, Elisa Pône, Doris Kuwert, Ali Momeni and Alexandra Dementieva, performances by Siegmar Zacharias, a concert by Clint Mansell, who scores Darren Aronofsky’s films, and a special evening with Arne Sierens, member of the festival jury.

Check out pictures and video from last year and get into the Almost Cinema mood.