OFFoff (Gent)
Art Cinema v.z.w.
Address: Lange Violettestraat 237 / 9000 Gent / Belgium
Tel: +32 474 90 64 14 (S. Verdoodt) / +32 497 42 99 80 ( M. De Wulf )
Email: info at offoff.be / sofie.verdoodt at offoff.be / mieke.de.wulf at off.be
Contact: Sofie Verdoodt (Artistic Director) & Mieke De Wulf (Executive Management)
www.offoff.be
1 screen, 45 seats
Tech: DVD / DVcam / Digibeta / S8mm / 16mm / 35mm
History: Art Cinema OFFoff has been founded in Ghent in 2002 and is located in an old school in a béguinage in the centre of the city. OFFoff started in Copenhague and continued in Ghent. It was set up as a small theatre for historical experimental and avant-garde cinema
Nowadays OFFoff is not only an art cinema for historical and actual experimental films but also a research centre and a creative platform that investigates in the content of the audiovisual language and its formal complications, including the relation between image and sound. Next to the weekly screenings, OFFoff offers educational content through lectures related to the screenings and organises cross media event on a regular basis. Recently OFFoff has been granted a structural fund from the government.
Organisational structure: OFFoff is a “vzw / asbl, a non profit organization. The organization is governed by the Board of Directors and a General Assembly. From 2010 is an artistic and a business manager appointed for the daily operation supported and supervised by the Board of Directors (7 members) and the General Assembly (8 members). The organization is governed by the General Assembly and a board of directors consisting of 7 members. The General Assembly has 8 additional members and is an advisory board that also approves the policy and accounts of the daily operation.
The majority of the members of the board are involved in the audiovisual field.
Editorial Line: OFFoff aims to offer compact, thematically inspired monoscreen programmes on Monday evening in the field of avant-garde cinema, contemporary experimental film and rare/ deviant historical film. We show shortfilms as well as feature length films, fiction as well as documentary or performance video. We focus on any transgression of formal and narrative conventions and their historical importance. Young artists are invited to present their work and discuss their historical influences. We also occasionally offer expanded cinema events, and live performances and concerts in dialogue with the silver screen.
Regularity: We have at least one screening a week on Monday evening during the academic year from October until June. .
Other stuff:
1/ lectures : about 7 lectures a year. The lectures offer a wider framework around the programmed films.
2/ OFFoff crossover : this program presents a.o. mute films of young filmmakers accompanied by solo musicians. ( ca. 9 events a year)
3/ OFFoff Crossovers combines dance, performance, poetry with the silver screen. ( ca. 3 events a year)
4/ programmes of third parties. These are single programmes of third parties which are adopted into the official OFFoff programme.
Publicity:
– Newsletters (monthly)
– Website
– Brochure (3 editions a year) distributed in Belgium
– Facebook
– Mouth to mouth publicity in the film schools
– presskit
Audience:
– students from the filmschools (young filmmakers) and the university
– teachers/scholars
– people loving experimental films
Funding: The organisation is supported by the Flemish Community and the City of Ghent (single project subsidies). From 2010 on OFFoff will be structurally supported by the Flemish Community.. The subsidies cover about 80% of the overall costs. The balance is financed by own incomes, such as tickets sales, rental of the theatre and the foyer.