The Board of Directors of Film Fest Gent has appointed Bart Vandesompele as general director of Film Fest Gent. Bart Vandesompele, who comes from the private sector, has already been the business manager since February 2013. He previously held senior management roles in a number of companies and joined Film Fest Gent in September 2012.

The Board of Directors appointed a three-person Management Committee in February 2013 as an interim measure. This trio was appointed to ensure that the 40th (anniversary) edition in October 2013 became a great success after the previous managing director, Jacques Dubrulle, resigned on 4 February of that year.

The trio set to work with clearly delineated responsibilities.  Mr Dubrulle became honorary chairman at the request of the Board of Directors, but since February has no longer played an active role in the day-to-day operation of Film Fest Gent, nationally and internationally. He was internationally celebrated during his farewell on 16 October 2013.  In the meantime, the Ghent Film Festival changed its name to Film Fest Gent. 

As a result, Bart Vandesompele became the general director on 1 January 2014. Patrick Duynslaegher continues to be the artistic director under the new structure, responsible for the artistic programme, and Wim De Witte continues to be the film programmer. The Board of Directors unanimously declared the previous edition a success in terms of organisation, programming and financial equilibrium. After evaluating the 40th edition, which showed a 9.7% increase in ticket sales and reached break-even for the first time in the last three years, it was unanimously decided that Bart Vandesompele, who was on a temporary contract, should be nominated as general director, and to allow a final decision to be reached on the subject.

In accordance with the Flemish Decree for the Arts (Kunstendecreet), a cultural institution must have a business and an artistic director. The trio worked as a team in 2013 and would like to continue doing so.

Bart Vandesompele: “The previous edition of Film Fest Gent was an opportunity for us to demonstrate that the existing team could and would take great steps forward. There were high expectations from everyone involved but that only served to motivate us. Everyone has now been able to see that much has changed in a very short period of time. We have received very positive reactions on our programming choices, organisation, relations with government and sponsors, furthering the brand, and the VIP village. We succeeded in marrying the essence of a public festival with keen attention to what businesses expect from us as a high-level event. More impact with less money = everyone is happy!”

The programme for 2014, which we are still working hard on, will continue to showcase the connection between film and music, a choice that Film Fest Gent owes its international reputation to. The emphasis in 2014 shall continue to rest on growth, new audiences, and further initiatives for the public and for businesses.

Bart Vandesompele comes from the private sector and has shown his value at advertising agencies as well as various ICT and telecom companies. He was the head of communication and sponsoring for 10 years at challenger and telecoms operator ‘BASE’ in Belgium. He went in from the start heading up the management team that succeeded in growing BASE from 1.3 to 4.1 million mobile clients, representing a growth from EUR 200 million to EUR 793 million between 2002 and 2011. Since September 2012, Bart Vandesompele has been working as business manager at Film Fest Gent and from January 2014 as general director. He is also chairman of the cultural council in the artists’ village of Sint-Martens-Latem.

Patrick Duynslaegher was film editor for Knack from 1972 to 2000 and editor-in-chief of Knack Focus from 2000 to 2011. He joined Film Fest Gent as artistic director in summer 2011. He has published in a number of international publications (Variety, Sight and Sounds, Films Illustrated etc.) and was the Belgian correspondent of the International Film Guide for many years.

41st Film Fest Gent: 14 - 25 October 2014
14th World Soundtrack Awards & Concert: 25 October 2014