28th Edition of European Union Film Festival begins on 1st December in Delhi

The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) is back in India with its 28^th edition this year. The renowned festival, with a line-up of award-winning films, will run in Delhi from 1^st to 10^th December. The screenings will take place across three locations– the Indian Habitat Center, The Instituto Cervantes (Spanish Cultural Center), and The Goethe-Institut /Max Mueller Bhavan. The festival showcases award-winning films from all 28 European countries, providing a unique opportunity for audiences to experience a ‘Window to Europe’. The European Union Film Festival celebrates the rich diversity and cultural heritage of European cinema. Transcending boundaries, the festival highlights the power of cinema to create shared experiences.

The festival celebrates the rich diversity and cultural heritage of European cinema. The ‘free for all’ festival organized by the Delegation of the European Union to India, Embassies of EU Member States, and regional partners will bring to its audience an incredible cinematic experience with 28 films in 25 different languages from 28 European countries. Featuring movies from 18 women directors, the festival celebrates Women in Cinema and the art of storytelling from the woman’s perspective.

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A celebration of Europe’s rich cinema, EUFF includes a robust line-up of films across genres such as drama, comedy, romance, sci-fi, documentary and more. Some of the movies that have won international accolades include:

Tori and Lokita, winner at Cannes 2022, portrays a young boy and an adolescent girl who have traveled alone from Africa, putting their invincible friendship against the challenging conditions of their exile. Saint Omer, winner of Grand Prix for Best Film, is a story of young novelist Rama, who attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter. The words of the accused and witness testimonies shake Rama’s convictions and call into question their judgment. A perfect blend of comedy and drama, the Banshees of Inisherin has won an Academy Awards Oscar in 2023. It is a story set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, where a troubled young islander, Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship with his closest friend by any means.

The Slovenia film Riders, which made an official submission for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category of the 96th Academy Awards in 2024, revolves around two friends who decide to transform their mopeds into choppers and embark on a journey to be eventually joined by a young runaway woman and an old biker. The trip turns into a quest for identity, irrevocably changing their lives. The Ukrainian film Luxembourg was nominated for the Venice Film Festival 2022. It follows the story of two siblings, Mykola and Vasya, go in search of their father, who left them when they were children, after they come to know that he is dying in Luxembourg. Kolya considers him a hero, while Vasya thinks he is a scoundrel.

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The films to be screened at the on-ground EUFF 2023 are:

Breaking the Ice – Austria; Tori and Lokita – Belgium; Mother- Bulgaria; Murina- Croatia; The Man with the Answers- Cyprus; Ordinary Failures- Czech Republic; The Quiet Migration- Denmark; Walker on Water- Estonia; Palimpsest- Finland; Saint Omer- France; Talking About the Weather- Germany; Listen- Greece; Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time- Hungary; The Banshees of Inisherin- Ireland; The Eight Mountains- Italy; My Love Affair with Marriage- Latvia; Remember to Blink- Lithuania; Icarus and the Minotaur- Luxembourg; Carmen- Malta; Kiddo- Netherlands; The Perfect Number- Poland; Wolf and Dog- Portugal; Mikado- Romania; She – Hero- Slovakia; Riders- Slovenia; The Beasts- Spain; After Work- Sweden; Luxembourg, Luxembourg- Ukraine.