Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a film by the Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, based on John le Carré’s bestseller of the same name, will open the 38th Ghent Film Festival on Tuesday 11 October. The spy film got an extremely enthusiastic reception at the recent Venice Film Festival. In the leading roles stars like Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds and Toby Jones shine.

British author John le Carré, born David John Moore Cornwell in 1931, is the grand master of modern spy novels. In the 50s and 60s he worked for the British security services MI5 and MI6. It was then, under his pseudonym, that he started writing books, the first of which was “Call for the Dead”. After the unimaginable success of his third work, “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, he resigned and devoted himself entirely to his writing career. Many of his books have been filmed, including The Constant Gardener in 2005, with Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in the leading roles. Even today this much acclaimed writer is still rightly considered to be one of the greatest British thriller writers ever. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was the first part of a trilogy le Carré started in 1974, featuring the spy George Smiley. 

Director Tomas Alfredson (1965) became known internationally in 2008 with the original Swedish version of Let the Right One In. In it the bullied twelve-year-old Oscar begins an unlikely friendship with a vampire girl. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is Alfredson’s first English-language film, but that has not stopped him convincing the international press of his talent once again. After the performance in Venice The Guardian described the film as follows: ‘Tomas Alfredson’s marvellously chill adaptation of John le Carré's Cold War thriller features a delicate performance from Gary Oldman along with a first-rate supporting cast”. 

In the film Oldman plays George Smiley, a retired spy expert. Until, that is, MI6 calls him back to trace a Russian spy who has infiltrated even the highest ranks of the British security service. 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is distributed in Belgium by Starway Film Distribution. For more information please contact Els Van Nieuwenhove – Tel: (+32) (0)2 255 39 76 – E-mail: els.vannieuwenhove@starway.be 

The film is due to be released this autumn. 

The thrilling Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a perfect opener for the 38th Ghent Film Festival, which is completely devoted to Scandinavia and suspense. Indeed, in view of the special exhibition, “Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies” at the Caermersklooster Cultural Centre and the retrospective programme on Bergman, the festival is turning the spotlight on Scandinavian cinema. Beyond by Pernilla August (Sweden/Finland), Frit Fald by Heidi Maria Faisst (Denmark) and The Mountain by Ole Giæver (Norway) are competing for the main prizes. With the Norwegians Erik Poppe and Bent Hamer the international jury is one third Scandinavian too. So there’ll be plenty of Excitement at De Bijloke Music Centre on 12 October for the “Film Music Masterpieces: Maestros of Suspense” concert, with music by Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman, performed by the National Orchestra of Belgium, conducted by Dirk Brossé. 

The 38th Ghent Film Festival takes places from 11 to 22 October. The complete programme will be announced on 28 September. 

www.filmfestival.be