20th Cine Europa: Fusion of Classic and Contemporary Films
Cine Europa, the longest and widest film festival in the Philippines is launching again on September 16 at Shangri-la Plaza, unveiling a special lineup of the best classical and contemporary films from 16 European Union (EU) countries. And just like in the past years, admission is free!
Watch 24 European films from September 16 to 26 at the Shang Cineplex.
This year’s Cine Europa, which is celebrating 20 years of sharing European values, traditions, and culture to the Philippines, boasts of a perfect fusion of classical and contemporary films that are socially relevant and emotionally gripping.
The festival will screen 24 films from 16 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Norway.
Cine Europa will run from September 16 to 26 at the Shang Cineplex and afterward will tour for four months in eight cities and municipalities, making the films more accessible to film enthusiasts all over the country.
For First Secretary Jerome Reviere of the EU Delegation of the Philippines to the Philippines, this year’s entries have the charm, mysticism, and elegance of the European past and the dynamism and vigor of contemporary films.
The full schedule of the screenings is yet to be released, but we have selected a few films for you to watch out for:
Souvenir will the opening film of the festival. It is a French romantic film that follows the story of a forgotten European singer (played by Academy Award-nominated actress Isabelle Huppert) who fades into obscurity and starts work in a dough factory. The arrival of a young aspiring boxer causes her to dream again and plan her comeback.
SOUVENIR, a contemporary film from France.
The Verdict is a highly engaging courtroom drama that involves you, the audience, as the jury who should decide on the ending of the trial: Is Major Lars Koch, the German air force pilot who shot down a hijacked airplane of 164 passengers before it would crash into a stadium of 70,000 people, guilty or not guilty?
THE VERDICT, a contemporary film from Germany. /IMAGE CinemaBravo Facebook page
The Exterminating Angel is a Spanish classic that’s been included in The New York Times’ best 1,000 films. It is a satirical film about a group of people that got stuck in one room after a dinner party. The circumstances force them to shed their perfect facades and strong pretenses to reveal the uglier side of human nature.
THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, a classic film from Spain. /IMAGE CinemaBravo Facebook page
From Denmark, Babette’s Feast is another classic that’s received the Academy Award Best Foreign Film in 1988. It follows the story of Babette, a French fugitive that changes the lives of the Danish villagers who took her in.
BABETTE’S FEAST, a classic from Denmark. /IMAGE CinemaBravo Facebook page
In Big Deal on Madonna Street, a 1958 Italian criminal-comedy movie wherein a ragtag group of small-time thieves attempt to burgle a state-run pawn shop in Rome but is met with a lot of mishaps. This film is considered as an all-time Italian masterpiece.
BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET, a classic masterpiece from Italy. /IMAGE CinemaBravo Facebook page
Other films worth checking out are Hunger (Danish), Run Lola Run (German), The Girl, The Mother, and the Demons (Swedish), 20 Cigarettes (Italian), Pathfinder (Norwegian), The Wave (Norwegian), Your Beauty is Worth Nothing (Austrian), Jules and Jim (French), Monkey (Bulgarian), Truman (Spanish), A Moving Image (British), Wilson City (Slovakian), After-life (Hungarian), The Anniversary (Romanian), Two Lottery Tickets (Romanian), The Barons (Belgian), An Angel of the Lord (Czech), The Feather Fairy (Slovakian), and The Hell of ’63 (Dutch).
Written by Rizelle “Rei” Leaño
