The Obskuur Ghent Film Festival 2023, Europe's premier celebration of obscure cinema, concluded its week-long extravaganza last Saturday at the intimate Velvet Room theater. With an eclectic official selection comprising over fifty films from around the world spanning various genres, this year's festival was a resounding success. The organizers extend their heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated audience and special guests who made the event extraordinary, including Babak Parham, Talia Jawitz, Tobias Staab, Lino Kafidas, Mieke Daneels, and Hiroshi Wakamatsu.

 

Curator Kris De Meester reflected on the festival: "This year, just like the last, we witnessed an impressive turnout every night. We were truly honored to host so many talented filmmakers. The exchange of ideas and creativity was inspiring and heartwarming."

 

Obskuur Ghent Film Festival proudly presents the award winners of 2023, as determined by the jury members:

 

**Best Experimental Film:**  

"Motus" (Portugal) by Nelson Fernandes

 

**Best Narrative Film:**  

"Our Males and Females" (Jordan) by Ahmad Alyaseer

 

**Best Documentary Film:**  

"On Mothers and Daughters in Times of Injustice" (South Africa) by Talia Jawitz

 

**Best Underground Film:**  

"Bedroom People" (France) by Vivien Forsans

 

**Best Minimalistic Film:**  

"European Man...American Beach" (United States) by Rex Shannon

 

**Best Installation Film:**  

"Here Are Some Images" (Switzerland) by Yannick Mosimann

 

**Best Animated Film:**  

"Kiss/Crash" (United Kingdom) by Adam Cole

 

**Best Special Effects:**  

"Black Dragon" (United States) by Alexander Thompson

 

**Best Music Video:**  

"Suplex Machine - Pro-Procrastinating" (United Kingdom) by John Paul Bratt

 

**Best Dance Film:**  

"Bardo" (Germany) by Tobias Staab, Gustavo Gomes

 

**Best Hybrid Film:**  

"After a Room" (Netherlands) by Naomi Pacifique

 

**Best New Voice:**  

"Nature Attack" (Ukraine) by Erik Sémashkin

 

**Best Connecting Cultures Film:**  

"Fragments" (Iran) by Babak Parham

 

**Audience Award:**  

“Rouge” (Belgium) by Mieke Daneels

 

**Best Belgian Film:**  

"The Strait Between Us" (Belgium) by Yun Tien Chu

 

About Obskuur Ghent Film Festival

The Obskuur Ghent Film Festival, often touted as Europe's most enigmatic film festival, serves as an island of artistic purity in the ocean of commercialism. Despite its unassuming form, the festival prioritizes screening innovative, underground, experimental, and independent movies created by both local and international emerging talents. This event seeks to position contemporary cinema and video art within the vibrant tapestry of other art forms. The festival unfolds within the cozy movie theater of the Velvet Room, a two-story eclectic art space adorned with contemporary works by acclaimed artists like Nobuyoshi Araki, Larry Clark, Ed Templeton, Per Kirkeby, Curtiz, Shepard 'Obey' Fairey, and Ravi Zupa.

 

Founded in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Obskuur Ghent Film Festival initially emerged as a creative response to lockdown restrictions. Initially conceived as a quarterly film and video art exhibition, the festival screened numerous films on multiple screens at the Velvet Room, offering a unique and immersive experience for the art-loving community in Ghent. Starting in 2022, the festival transitioned into an annual weeklong celebration of quality films and filmmakers.

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OFFICIAL SELECTION

Kiss/Crash (United Kingdom) by Adam Cole

The strait between us (Belgium) by Yun tien Chu

The Seven Cults (Netherlands) by Jerom Fischer

Just Listen to the Storm (France) by Hannah Papacek Harper
Nobody Knows Casper (Denmark) by René Odgaard

Generation (United Kingdom) by Riccardo Fusetti
After a room (Netherlands) by Naomi Pacifique

Slaps (United States) by Angela Chen

Rouge (Belgium) by Mieke Daneels

Fragments (Iran) by Babak Parham
On mothers and daughters in times of injustice (South Africa) by Talia Jawitz

Destiny (Iran) by Yaser Talebi

UTE (Poland) by Maciej Pisarek

Moteur Synchrone (Belgium) by Jamie Lee

Demi-Gods (Germany) by Martin Gerigk

Mulika (Congo) by Maisha Maene

Here are some Images (Switzerland) by Yannick Mosimann

Circle (United States) by Phillip Kaminiak

Damp Moss (United States) by Christopher Thompson

Bardo (Germany) by Tobias Staab, Gustavo Gomes
Motus (Portugal) by Nelson Fernandes

Deep Blue (Canada) by Franie-Éléonore Bernier

Terrifying Holes Compilation (Germany) by Katharina Aae

Disused (Sweden) by Susanne Walström, Ester Holmén

Secant (United States) by David Orme
Limbo (United States) by Alex Ramsey

To Do (United Kingdom) by Saul Pankhurst

Black Dragon (United States) by Alexander Thompson

Bedroom People (France) by Vivien Forsans

Hotel Centaur (Greece) by Lino Kafidas, Dimitrios Kafidas

Suplex Machine - Pro-Procrastinating (United Kingdom) by John Paul Bratt

Misplaced Analogy (Iran) by Kasra Yazdani

Betty's burning (Belgium) by Camille Vigny

Nature Attack (Ukraine) by Erik Sémashkin
European Man...American Beach (United States) by Rex Shannon

Image Me (Germany) by Till Gombert

Demons in the Closet (Germany) by James Smith

The Factory (Iran) by Masoud Saadat

Yuri's Dream (Belgium) by Ron Chiers

Writing of Ape (Sweden) by Gustav Hugo Olsson

Emergence (United States) by Nick Pascoal

Our Males and Females (Jordan) by Ahmad Alyaseer

The First Two (Hungary) by Balázs Szövényi-Lux

Silent Trilogy (Peru) by Daniel Rodriguez-Risco

Charming Habits (Lithuania) by Paulius Aničas

Archeìo (Switzerland) by Jonathan Moratal

-15 (Lithuania) by Rinaldas Tomasevicius

Ride (Australia) by Jeno Kim

Trance Action Delivery (Belgium) by Florian Giroul

Chaylla (France) by Clara Teper, Paul Pirritano

Myrteza Blue (Australia) by Eren Besiroglu

Lights Out, Berlin! (Germany) by Dimitris Argyriou

Armored Saint - A band of brothers (United Kingdom) by Russell Cherrington

Where my friend made a painting (Portugal) by Pedro Florêncio

Encounters lost in time (Portugal) by José Manuel Fernandes

7999 Fast Ln (United States) by Yuxiang Dong

I guess at some point, you arrive somewhere. (Belgium) by Sébastien Simon Bovie

The Sound of Nowhere (Brazil) by Thomas Webber

Shadow work (United States) by Lorenzo Bradford
The White List (Italy) by DEADEND

Permission to land (Australia) by Martin Gerigk

Retardation (Sweden) by Nils Agdler

Bitter Resource (United States) by Dane Cree

Atmospheric Marginalia (United States) by Adam E. Stone
Keratin (United Kingdom) by Charles Jimenez, Scarlett Wang, Catarina Dias Silva, Stella Rosenkvist, Isobel O Gorman