Every year during the Ostend Film Festival (FFO) several awards are handed out in different competitions. Besides the famous LOOK! competition, in which visual gems with a strong story are put in the spotlight, we also organize the COOP! competition since 2022 for Dutch and Flemish co-productions; unique films that can be realized thanks to an international collaboration. Another new competition saw the light of day in 2022: the SOON! competition. In this competition, a jury will award new film makers whose first or second film has been successful at prestigious international festivals. In addition, we welcome both Flemish up-and-coming talent and established filmmakers to our short film competition.
LOOK!-competition
Visually strong stories, that's what the LOOK!-competition is all about. More than any other competition in Europe, we focus on the work of the Director Of Photography (D.O.P.) and the Production Design team, as a strong story doesn't just stand or fall by the work of the director and actors. Making a film is a team effort, with the D.O.P. and the production team determining "the look" of the final product.
In the LOOK! competition, a professional international jury will award the Best Film, in which the image lifts the story to a higher level in a striking or influential way. The UFK Press Award will be chosen by the Union of Film Critics.
COOP!-competition
COOP! stands for ‘cooperate’. In a small country like Belgium it is often necessary to cooperate with producers from abroad in order to bring film projects to a successful conclusion.
These collaborations are sometimes substantive, through an exchange of knowledge and talent, sometimes they are more of a financial necessity. In the COOP!-competition we want to pay tribute to the best co-productions of Belgium and the Netherlands.
SOON!-competition
In 2022, we organized the SOON!-competition for the first time. In this competition, we award prizes to a new generation of filmmakers whose first or second film has attracted attention at prestigious international festivals. These are films that focus on contemporary themes and are set in the context of young adults. These titles are given a special place in the FFO programme and also have a chance of winning the SOON! Award for Best Film.
Short film competition
Many young talented directors take their first steps in filmmaking through short films. FFO also gives new creators the chance to present fresh, surprising and aesthetic productions to the general public. Since 2018, FFO has been organizing a Flemish short film competition.
A jury, consisting of four professionals, chooses its favourite film from a selection of ten short films.
Camalux
Camalux is a proud partner of the Short Film Competition and donates material support worth 12,000 EUR to the winners.
Flow
Flow is a proud partner of the Short Film Competition and will donate a post-production package to the winner.
Amplo
Amplo is proud partner of the Short Film Competition and donates a cash prize of 2,500 EUR to the winner.
UFK Press Awards
Members of the press can also honour their festival favourites. The Belgian Film Critics Association (UFK) presents the UFK Press Awards during the festival. These connoisseurs, who watch films professionally and give their well-founded opinions on them, judge all the films from the international competitions of the festival: LOOK!, COOP! and SOON!
Nationale Loterij Audience Award
All films shown during FFO have a chance of winning the Nationale Loterij Audience Award. Each visitor will receive a voting form and will be able to vote for the best film of the festival. By filling in a voting form you also stand a chance of winning a free film ticket.
