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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

Venue : Alliance Francaise of Madras | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai
Date : 25th June to 05th July 2018

This Summer, Have a European Adventure

–EU Film Festival is back in Chennai with 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries—

–Greet and meet with 2 European Directors / Actors/ Producers during the festival –

–Festival to run from 25 June – 5 July 2018—

Chennai, 19 June 2018: Putting a spotlight on the latest European cinema, the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in Chennai on 25^th June, 2018 with a screening of the Spanish film “the Bride”, which has won many international awards. With a selection of 24 latest and award winning European films from 23 EU Member States, this years’ film festival will bring some unusual stories for the world cinema enthusiasts. The European Union Film Festival is organized by the Delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States in partnership with Cine Appreciation Foundation in Chennai. The Festival will be inaugurated by Sri C.P. Rao, Principal Chief Commissioner of GST, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 25^th June at 6 pm at Alliance Francaise of Madras. The distinguished Guests of inaugural function are Sri Jayendra Panchapakesan, Co Founder, Qube Cinema Technologies, Sh L Suresh, President South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Pierre-Emmanuel Jacob, Director, Alliance Française of Madras, Mr. Antony Lobo, Honorary Consul of Spain & head Mission, Consulate of Spain in Chennai. The Lighting of the Lamp will be done by Ms. Anupama Kumar, Cine Artiste

The European Union Film Festival will be hosted in Chennai across two venues – Alliance Francaise de Chennai (25-30 June) and Goethe-Institute Chennai /Max Mueller Bhavan (1-5 July). Celebrating diversity, the EUFF will screen movies from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

As a special attraction this year, audience, students and filmmakers will get an opportunity to interact with Paula Ortiz (Spanish Director) and Salvatore Alloca (Italian Director) who would be travelling to Chennai for the festival. They will meet and greet audience during the screening of their respective movies.

In its 23^rd edition, European Film Festival this year has some unusual stories to tell: the lines of reality are blurred when the cyber world comes to life; a play done by a motley cast of antiheroes provides an opportunity for redemption; a man stuck in an unhappy marriage practices unusual ways to assert his freedom; a music critic finds his father irksome when they both begin to compete for the attention of an attractive psychotherapist; and three Kurdish siblings come together unexpectedly in a hair-raising journey during which they are pursued by angry relatives. These are just some of the curious themes of the European Union Film Festival of 2018.

Speaking about the 23rd edition of the European Union Film festival in India, H.E. Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union, said, “The EU Film Festival has become a part of the cultural calendar of many cities in India and it continues to win appreciation for bringing in the oeuvre of both established and new talents. This years’ EUFF is all the more special and relevant as we celebrate European Year of Cultural Heritage and cinema has a way to cut through boundaries and start an inter-cultural conversation.” He also thanked the Directorate of Film Festivals, the EU Member States, and the Cine Appreciation Foundation for their support.

Inaugural Movie: The Bride/La Novia

The award winning movie, the Bride is a Spanish movie, based on Blood Wedding, the 1933 tragedy by Federico García Lorca. The Groom, the Bride and their friend Leonardo have been an inseparable triangle since they were kids, but Leonardo and The Bride possess an invisible, ferocious, unbreakable thread. The years go by and she, in anguish, is getting prepared for her wedding with The Groom in the middle of the white desert where she lives with her father. The day before the ceremony, a beggar knocks on her door and offers her a present and a piece of advice: “Don’t get married if you don’t love him”, while she gives her two crystal daggers. The Bride’s body shudders as tragedy prepares to unfold…

It’s a tragic tale of unappeased desires and forbidden yearnings, conflicted choices, deception and the unavoidable fate of three lovers standing powerless before the true nature of man.

Paula Ortiz, Director of the movie will also be attending the inauguration.

Film will be with English subtitles. Entry will be allowed for 18+ and will be on a first come, first served basis.

The EU film festival which kick-starts in New Delhi on 18^th June will traverse through 10 other in India including Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa till 31^st August.

The films to be screened at the EUFF are – The Magic of Children (Austria); Labyrinthus (Belgium); Viktoria (Bulgaria); Cowboys (Croatia); Boy on the Bridge (Cyprus); Tiger Theory / Teorie Tygra (Czech Republic); Walk with me / De Standhaftige (Denmark); Land of Mine / Under Sandet (Denmark); The Man Who Looks Like Me / Minu Näoga Onu (Estonia); Unexpected Journey (Finland); 9 Month Stretch / 9 Mois Ferme (France); House without Roof / Haus ohne Dach (Germany); Kissing? / Ontos Filiounte? (Greece); Kills on Wheels (Hungary); Taranta on the Road (Italy); The Lesson / Izlaiduma Gads (Latvia); When You Wake Up (Lithuania); A Wedding / Noces (Luxembourg); Letter for the King (Netherlands); A Brave Bunch (Poland); Mother Knows Best (Portugal); Little Harbour / Piata loď (Slovakia); The Bride / La Novia (Spain) and Eternal Summer (Sweden).

Notes to the editor:

Synopsis of the movies to be screened: Attached

Profiles of the visiting Directors / Producers / Actors

Paula Ortiz Álvarez is a Spanish director, screenwriter and producer. She also teaches Audiovisual Communication at the University of Barcelona. Paula Ortiz is a director and writer, known for The Bride (2015), De tu ventana a la mía (2011) and El rostro de Ido (2003).

She has won many awards and accolades for her work. In 2011, Ortiz was nominated for a Goya Award in the Best New Director category for her film Chrysalis, and later that year won the Pilar Miró Prize for Best New Director at the Valladolid International Film Festival.

Salvatore Alloca (Italian Director): Salvatore Allocca is a director, creative producer and screenplay writer from Rome. After his bachelor’s degree in “Literature and Cinema”, in 2006 he founded, a movie and TV production company “Vega’s Project”. In 2011 in Italy he released his first theatrical feature film as a director, “How to find in the right way the wrong man”, distributed by 20th Century FOX. In 2017 his second theatrical feature film “Taranta on the road”, was presented in main competition at BIF&EST Bari International Film Festival and is premiering in the EUFF 2018.

Schedule of the movies in Chennai: Below

Schedule

1. The Bride | Spain | 6.15 Pm | 25^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

A tragic tale of unappeased desires and forbidden yearnings, conflicted choices, deception and the unavoidable fate of three lovers standing powerless before the true nature of man

2. 9 Month Stretch | France | 8.00 Pm | 25^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Ariane Felder, a judge of strict morals discovers she’s pregnant by Bob Nolan, a criminal wanted for murder

3. Letter for the King | The Netherlands | 6.00 Pm | 26^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

The medieval quest of sixteen-year old Tiuri, who risks his future as a Knight to fulfill a promise, and in so doing discovers adventure, honor, valor and love

4. Kills on Wheels | Hungary | 8.00 Pm | 26^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Kills on Wheels is a movie starring Szabolcs Thuróczy, Zoltán Fenyvesi, and Ádám Fekete. Two disabled teenagers looking for a reason to live, team up with a wheelchaired hitman.

5. Unexpected Journey | Finland | 6.00 Pm | 27^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Lasse is an old racist who has lives in an apartment block filled with a selection of refugees and immigrants. Kamal is a 16-year old boy who’s fed up in his life in Finland, and dreams of moving to Nairobi to live with his father. Only problem is that he doesn’t have the money to buy the ticket

6. The Lesson | Latvia | 7.30 Pm | 27^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

A devoted teacher in a Latvian high school faces a stark choice between her personal happiness and the pressures of society

7. Walk with me | Denmark | 5.00 Pm | 29^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Deployed on mission in Helmand, Afghanistan, 25-year old Thomas steps on a landmine and gets seriously injured. At the local rehabilitation center he meets Sofie, an ascending ballerina from the Royal Danish Ballet, who is helping a relative to regain strength after a long term sickness. Thomas desperately wants back in the field and gets impatient, as progress does not emerge as fast as he wants to. When Sofie offers to help him with a more intense rehabilitation plan, he accepts. Despite their differences, they develop a special bond and a mutual affection.

8. Little Harbour | Slovakia | 6.45 Pm | 29^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

A 10-year-old girl dreams of a family and a house by the sea, and when she finds twin infants abandoned at the train station, she takes them to her grandmother’s garden to care for them.

9. Eternal Summer | Sweden | 8.15 Pm | 29^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Eternal Summer is a movie starring Madeleine Martin, Filip Berg, and Torkel Petersson. When Isak meets Em during a night in Stockholm everything change. Suddenly nothing else matter. Isak wants Em. Em wants more.

10. Viktoria | Bulgaria | 6.00 Pm | 30^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

Viktoria is a movie starring Irmena Chichikova, Daria Vitkova, and Kalina Vitkova. Unwanted by her mother, Viktoria is being born with no umbilical cord and doesn’t need Boryana until the hardships of life bind them together.

11. The Magic of Children | Austria | 6.30 Pm | 30^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

A film developed together with children, their visions of the world – authentic, poetic, and at the same time realistic. The viewers travel to the lightfilled world of community, joy, yearnings, and secrets. A fairy tale?

12. Land of Mine | Denmark | 8.00 Pm | 30^th June 2018 | Alliance Francaise of Madras

In post-World War II Denmark, the Danish government puts their hated German prisoners of war to work clearing the 1.5 million land mines from the western beaches of the country. At one such beach, Sgt. Carl Leopold Rasmussen finds himself in charge of one such labor unit and finds they are largely all inexperienced boys. As the boys struggle to complete and survive their dangerous work, Sgt. Rasmussen’s hate for Germans gradually cools as he grows to understand the horrific situation these child soldiers are in even as the mines claim more and more victims. Eventually, the boys and the Sergeant must decide what can be done in a situation that would be later be denounced by later generations as the worst war crime in Danish history.

13. Tiger Theory | Czech Republic | 4.00 Pm | 01 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

The last drop for Jan’s resolution is the voluntary death of his father-in-law, whose strength and patience ran dry. Grandma made decisions about Grandpa’s life, old age as well as the funeral. Jan is sure that he and his wife Olga are on the same route. He recalls his past life when he used to have his own will and dreams and he wants to live again with dignity and freedom. He longs to control his own life again. And his solution is escape from the present life. In this movie we watch, in parallel ,the fates of Jan’s married daughters Olinka and Alenka and his sons-in-law Erik and Pepík.

14. Kissing? | Greece | 5.45 Pm | 01 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

Just before turning thirty Danny and Stella belong to a generation that has not yet been defined. Danny feels he is too good for this world. Stella thinks the world is not good enough for her. The question remains if they are good for each other.

15. Mother Knows Best | Portugal | 7.15 Pm | 01 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

Ana Luísa’s family meet at home to celebrate her father’s birthday. As the guests sit around the table, they share memories with a common denominator: the late Josefa, Ana Luisa’s mother. When listening to the stories, Ana Luísa realizes the impact that the deceased mother had on her life choices and imagines what would have happened had she followed other paths, taken other options and said what remained to be said. At the same time, an astrophysical event of unknown origin causes the change of space-time, allowing some people, all over the world, to access parallel universes. Ana Luisa is one of them, and will thus have the opportunity to change the past. But for this you will have to give up all of your present.

16. Labyrinthus | Belgium | 6.00 Pm | 02 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

Frikke, a 14-year-old boy, discovers a sinister computer game that uses real children from his neighbourhood as players. In a race against time Frikke must find the evil creator of this horrible game.

17. A Wedding | Luxembourg | 7.45 Pm | 02 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

Zahira, 18, is close to her family until her parents ask her to follow Pakistani tradition to choose a husband. Torn between family customs and her western lifestyle, the young woman turns for help to her brother and confidant Amir.

18. Boy on the Bridge | Cyprus | 6.00 Pm | 03 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

In a seemingly idyllic Cypriot village, twelve-year-old Socrates’ careless summer days of riding his bike and tantalizing the local residents come to an abrupt end when he finds himself at the center of a murder investigation, which exposes a dark family secret and changes his life forever.

19. The Man who looks like me | Estonia | 7.30 Pm | 03 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

A music critic Hugo, suffering from post-divorce depression, is just about to rebuild his life when his jazz musician father Raivo arrives at his door unexpectedly. Spiteful old man announces that he will soon come to his end and expects his only son to take care of him. When an attractive psychotherapist enters the men’s lives, the father and son duo begin to compete for her attention. The old prankster manages to create a number of embarrassing moments in an effort to ruin Hugo’s romantic plans. Andres Maimik’s and Katrin Maimik’s tragicomedy is an exploration of forced closeness, a pursuit of happiness and a road to forgiving through laughter, suspense and tears.

20. Cowboys | Croatia | 5.00 Pm | 04 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

Cowboys is a movie starring Sasa Anocic, Zivko Anocic, and Matija Antolic. Eight outsiders who trying to create a theater play while breaking every rule of theater craft.

21. Taranta on the Road | Italy | 7.15 Pm | 04 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

A man and a woman, illegal immigrants with nothing in common, find themselves to travelling together just landed in Italy from North Africa and having to pretend to be a married couple in the eyes of three Italian musicians in crisis whom have decided to help them to reach Paris.

22. A Brave Bunch | Poland | 5.00 Pm | 05 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

When a Warsaw Uprising started in 1944, thousands of children lived in a city.Here are the stories of those who survived. Film is a story of four kids: Stefan (9),Sofia(10), Stanley (12) and Johnny (14) who find a diary from Warsaw Uprising. Looking for it’s owner they stumble into a Warsaw Uprising Museum. Magic of a diary makes them meet their age mates form 1944.

23. When you wake up | Lithuania | 5.30 Pm | 05 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

The singer called Punk is no longer of much interest to anyone. After his brush with fame, it only took a few years of drugs and alcohol to reach rock bottom. After yet another small town concert, Punk ends up spending the night backstage, drunk and alone. When he opens his eyes in the morning, he sees a little girl, who introduces herself as his daughter. Two lost souls set out on a trip together – a trip which will not only change their lives, but will also bring them together to appreciate the joy it brings.

24. House Without Roof | Germany | 7.00 Pm | 05 July 2018 | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan

HOUSE WITHOUT ROOF is about the journey of the siblings LIYA, JAN and ALAN who were born in the Kurdish area of the Iraq and grown up in Germany. The three of them want to fulfill their mother’s last wish to bury her in her home village beside her husband who got killed in the war under the Saddam Hussein regime. On their nerve-wracking Kurdish-odyssey they are not only faced with their Kurdish extended family that does not accept the last wish of their mother but particularly with their own matters. In recent years they distanced from each other – everybody runs his own life – and whenever they are holding talks, they are mostly based on reproaches. In parallel with the run of their journey it is noticeably that in their home country the dimension of an awful conflict, that nobody can surmise, is heading for disaster.

Venue : Alliance Francaise of Madras | Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai
Date : 25th June to 05th July 2018

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