Film Festival Gent celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. This jubilee demands a film that illustrates that a film festival not only exists in the present but also has a rich history. The director ingeniously intertwines a love for film and the festival's history. Set against a typical Flemish backdrop, contrasting the festival's international acclaim, the film highlights the festival's modest beginnings. Through the witty direction and absurd twists, a diverse audience can relate to the film. These creative and thoughtful choices ensure the film's relevance in the realm of film.

Film Festival Gent celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. This golden jubilee demands a campaign that resonates with cinephile audiences while also engaging younger viewers, illustrating that a film festival not only exists in the present but also has a rich history.

The campaign spot opens with Rainer in an old house, marking his 50th birthday. In front of a filled theatre he announces his intention to recreate the story of his birth, assigning roles to the actors in the room. As Rainer delves into his past, the video transitions to a café where actors portraying his parents recount their history. The climax occurs in an old cinema, where Rainer reveals his birth during a festival screening, culminating in an emotionally charged scene.

Referencing the inaugural 1974 edition, when Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten" opened the festival, the campaign film offers a cinematic homage. The protagonist, Rainer, whose life revolves around film, humorously and tenderly transports viewers back to 1974, attempting to recreate the festival's inception as a means of rediscovering his own origins.

In the video, we open with Rainer in the dining room of an old house, celebrating his 50th birthday with a cake bearing a burning "50" candle. Silveer films as Rainer announces his plan to recreate the story of his birth. Rainer explains his plan to a room filled with actors and assigns the task of "ma" and "pa" to two of them. Rainer searches through clothing and gives "ma" a fake belly, and "pa" just thinks it's all a bit strange. In a cafe, "ma" and "pa" recount their past to Rainer, who insists they recreate the entire evening. The video culminates in an old cinema, where Rainer reveals he was born during a film festival screening, followed by the birth scene, all emotionally charged.

The Film Festival of Ghent contacted our director because they wanted a film to celebrate their 50 years anniversary. There was no idea, just that they wanted a good commercial for their anniversary. They wanted to reach a cinephile audience and to engage them to their festival, but at the same time they wanted to touch a younger audience and to show them that a film festival is not only happening in the now, but that is also has a history.

In crafting our film's direction, we aimed to encapsulate a quintessentially Belgian essence—embracing the absurd, surreal, and sometimes paradoxical nature of our culture. Drawing from our nation's penchant for blending seriousness with whimsy, we embarked on a journey to inject humor into the solemnity of an Art House film festival and the work of renowned filmmaker Rainer Fassbinder.

Research into the Ghent Film Festival's inaugural screening unearthed "Händler, der vier Jahreszeiten" by Fassbinder, inspiring us to fabricate a narrative where our protagonist creates a film depicting his own birth during the festival's debut 50 years ago.

Adding a layer of intrigue, our soundtrack features music not from Fassbinder's oeuvre, but from a Belgian tear-jerker by Rocco Granata—an element largely overlooked by the local film community. This curious discovery prompts questions about Fassbinder's connection to Belgian music and raises eyebrows among film enthusiasts and critics alike.