#Eurofilmfestsa

[robynsassenmyview]

Love is transient; land, forever

PROUD as a peacock, mother of the bride, played by Ewa Kasprzyk in The Peasants, which features on this year’s European Film Festival in South Africa, from 10 to 20 October 2024. Photograph courtesy filmaffinity. IF YOU TAKE a slice out of the formalities of matchmaking and weddings from Fiddler on the Roof, and slot it in alongside some of the more potent scenes involving the beautiful widow in…

[031cinephile]

European Film Festival South Africa celebrates its 10th year

Oscar nominees, Cannes winners and other thought-provoking films from Europe will be on show during the celebratory 10th edition of the European Film Festival in South Africa between 12-22 October 2023.  The festival will showcase a select curation of 16 new films in cinemas in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with a limited special programme in Durban.

[menganhlabathi]

#eurofilmfestsa #dbn #jhb #cpt #cinemanouveau can't wait to see #tonierdmann and #thehighsun #film #filmfestival #filmlover (at Durban, KwaZulu-Natal)

[artsvark]

European Film Festival opens with more interaction

© Shirin Motala. Pictured are Festival Director Katarina Hedrén & Motheo Matsau, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres, during the Opening of the EUFF 2017 on 4 May at Cinema Nouveau Rosebank.

The European Film Festival, which opened nationwide on 5 May 2017 at Cinema Nouveau and is running concurrently in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban until 14 May, invites the audience to rate each film according to their liking. The winning film will be announced after the festival.

This feature ties into an increased level of audience interaction at the festival, including a ticket-competition where the public was invited to pick their potential favourites and the ongoing offer of personalized movie recommendations by the Festival Director online. Furthermore the 2017 edition of the festival, just like last year’s, has seen local personalities, including authors Mandla Langa and Zukiswa Wanner, comedian Kagiso Lediga and actress Quanita Adams, engage with the selection by watching and sharing their personal reflections on selected films.

Venues:

Johannesburg: Cinema Nouveau – Rosebank Mall Rosebank Mall (Level 1), cnr Bath & Baker Streets, Rosebank

Pretoria: Cinema Nouveau – Brooklyn Brooklyn Mall (Lower Level Shop 12), Bronkhorst Street, New Muckleneuk

Cape Town: Cinema Nouveau – V&A King Warehouse, Red Shed, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Durban: Cinema Nouveau – Gateway Gateway Theatre of Shopping (Expo/Explore Floor), 1 Palm Blvd, Umhlanga Rocks

As a grand festival finale, after the Johannesburg-screening of the film on Sunday 14 May, the audience will get a chance to meet Rory O’Neill, the main character of the acclaimed documentary The Queen Of Ireland by Conor Horgan. The film traces the life and activism of the charismatic and relentless O’Neill – a.k.a. Pandora Panti Bliss – who played a crucial role in the lead-up to the successful campaign ahead of the world’s first popular vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage.

“There are few better ways to put a message across without preaching, than through film – a medium with visceral super-powers. I hope that the selection of amazing, award-winning comedies, biopics, slice-of-life stories, animal-right thrillers, road-movies and documentaries will stimulate imagination and inspire new ways of being, seeing, thinking and creating.”, said Festival Director Katarina Hedrén at the Festival Opening Night on 4 May, which presented the thoughtful and hilarious drama King Of The Belgians to a select audience at Rosebank’s Cinema Nouveau.

Three days into the festival, there’s still time to catch most of the festival picks – such as the thrilling family adventure Zip & Zap and the Captain’s Island, which offers a great opportunity to open children’s hearts and minds to film and the magic of storytelling from other parts of the world. Of Stefan Zweig: Farewell To Europe, Austria’s entry to the Oscars for Best Foreign Film, Mandla Langa says, “I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone interested in the journeys people take to seek freedom, personal and communal”. The French drama Things To Come features brilliant acting by the acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert and has already mesmerised local audiences. This coming week holds another chance to see this subtle film about philosophy teacher Nathalie Chazeaux, who searches for a new direction in life amidst student demonstrations. The scenic and original animal rights thriller Spoor by Oscar nominated Director Agnieszka Holland, can still be seen on Thursday (JHB, CPT, PTA) and Sunday (DBN).

The European Film Festival continues to screen at Cinema Nouveau in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria until Sunday 14 May. Tickets are priced at R64. Normal benefits and ticket discounts apply to members of SK Club, Discovery Vitality and Edgars Club. For more information, visit www.eurofilmfest.co.za or join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #EuroFilmFestSA.

The European Film Festival is coordinated by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, hosted by Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, and organised in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the General Representation of the Government of Flanders, the French Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Camões Institute, the British Council, and the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The European Film Festival is part of the EuropeFest, presenting in South Africa in May 2017 a diverse range of EU Member States cultural events.

European Film Festival opens with more interaction was originally published on Artsvark

[suzybellwriter]

Macondo

Director: Sudabeh Mortezai

Cast: Ramasan Minkailov, Aslan Elbiev, Kheda Gazieva

Genre: Drama

Writer: Sudabeh Mortezai

98min - German & Chechen with English Subtitles (2014)

Festival: European Film Festival in South Africa

Movie Houses: Cinema Nouveau Johannesburg: 10 & 14 May

Pretoria: 10 &14 May, Cape Town: 10 &13 May 2016

Review by #WhiteRat screenwriter Suzy Bell

Macondo is a most sensitive, subtle and poignant portrait of a group of Chechen refugees trying to nest in a new environment just outside Vienna. It is told through the eyes of a displaced 11-year-old child, played with incredible maturity and depth of intensity by young Ramasan Minkailov who lives with his two younger sisters and his mother who seek asylum in Austria.

 This young boy, Ramasan has core wounds of loss and abandonment. He not only has lost his ancestral home in Chechnya but most traumatically he has lost his father due to Chechen war (1999 to 2009) known for its widespread human rights violations. Ramasan is painted a dark hero as he betrays and lies. Refreshingly, director Sudabeh Mortezai paints this portrait with a delicate and intimate understanding of how such a young child would react being forced into the role as a father figure caring for his sisters while his mother works.

 Macondo is a sombre insider reflection of the daily trials of the so-called immigrant “outsider” having refugee status in a “foreign” country. It’s about how the personal agony of having no sense of home, physical or internal can break ones reality. Mortezai depicts some charming uplifting moments to balance the heaviness-of-being, these human grief grenades that come with such a heart-rending story. There is a melancholy thread throughout the film especially in the character of Ramasan’s mother played with immense restraint and skill by Kheda Gazieva.

 The Chechens have a very strong umbilical cord to their cultural identity, through dance and song and prayer, which appear to hold this particular fragmented, displaced community together.

 The most striking line in the film: “Wolves aren’t dangerous, humans are dangerous” holds the reflective mirror for humanity to truly see its own insanity. This is uttered by Ramasan’s father’s best friend, Isa, played by actor, Aslan Elbiev who gives a wonderful gentle performance with acute sensitivity.

 The directing and cinematography is excellent with an echo of that gnawing feeling of alienation as characters, understandably, no longer hold direct engagement with one another.

The camera work is very loose, relaxed and extremely natural, much like the acting. The director’s sense of space is potent and crucial for this film to work. Mortezai creates fear of the unknown through natural elements like an angry wind through trees. She cleverly uses the simple prop of a discarded red couch as a symbolic and physical place of rest, and a much-needed temporary nest for young Ramasan and his friend Isa, under a comforting canopy of trees.

 This is a striking and strong film wholly deserved of the award for best emerging filmmaker at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. With such a deep socio-political heartbeat, this filmmaker certainly acutely understands and respects that human feeling of alienation and displacement with immense subtlety, calm and impressive spiritual acceptance.

 The trailer for Sudabeh Mortezai’s fiction debut Macondo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCs3qOL5eqE

 www.cinemanouveau.co.za

www.eurofilmfest.co.za

#EuroFilmFestSA

· The third annual European Film Festival brings the fresh cream of Europe’s cinematic fare to Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg (Rosebank), Pretoria (Brooklyn), Cape Town (V&A Waterfront) and Durban (Gateway) from 6 to 15 May 2016. This is a unique opportunity for South African audiences to see eleven top-drawer films that have been lauded at recent international festivals and awards ceremonies across the world.

 Norbert Spitz, Regional Director of the Goethe-Institut said: “As Europe is busy rethinking itself and its place in the world, there is one thing that we can continue to be sure of: more than ever, artists and thinkers are needed to share their voices, to challenge and question Europe, and to show us new facets of what it means to arrive in Europe, to live in Europe – or to leave it and look at it from the outside.”

 Among the awards won by the films featured on the 2016 European Film Festival programme are:

 Fire at Sea (Italy): The Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2016 Berlin International Film

Festival.

 Body (Poland): The Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival

and the European Film Award for Best Editing in 2015.

 Amy (United Kingdom): The 2016 Academy Award as well as the British Academy Film

Award for Best Documentary, among many other accolades.

 The European Film Festival is coordinated by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, hosted by Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, and organised in partnership with the European Union and 11 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the French Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Camões Institute, the British Council, and the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

[ges-sa]

EUFF 2015: Best of European film celebrates women both behind and in front of the camera

New Post has been published on http://ges-sa.com/best-european-film-celebrates-women-behind-front-camera/

EUFF 2015: Best of European film celebrates women both behind and in front of the camera

RETURN OF THE POPULAR EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL AT CINEMA NOUVEAU THEATRES     IN MAY, THEMED “A WOMAN’S WORLD” 

12 FILMS. 10 DAYS. 4 CITIES.

Best of European film celebrates women both behind and in front of the camera

Following the success of the first European Film Festival (EUFF) staged last year, it returns to Cinema Nouveau in May and this year celebrates the role of women in film. The festival’s theme of A Woman’s World is explored in a selection of films that feature female directors, strong female characters or women-related stories. This year’s EUFF features 12 internationally-acclaimed films representing the best of European cinema, with 11 of these being screened for the first time in South Africa.

The EUFF is hosted by Cinema Nouveau, co-ordinated by the French Institute of South Africa, and organised in partnership with the European Union and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the British Council, the Camões Institute, the Goethe-Institut, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Belgium and Wallonie-Bruxelles International, and the Embassies of Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

All the featured films are the recipients of numerous awards and accolades in their own countries and at international film festivals and competitions, including the Oscars, with the winner of the Best Foreign Language Film for 2015, Ida, as part of the exciting line-up. These are the latest productions from some of the most exciting and talented film directors and actors in Europe at the moment, and a true reflection of Europe’s diverse and creative cinematography.

Says EUFF 2015 Director, Frédéric Chambon: “We are pleased to partner once more with Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, together with the European Union and 12 European cultural agencies and embassies in South Africa, to present the 2015 edition of the European Film Festival. The films selected represent the best of today’s European cinema and we hope the South African audience will once again enjoy this special treat for cinema lovers.”

Darryl Els, EUFF 2015 Programmer, states: “This year’s EUFF selection features 12 internationally-acclaimed films around the theme A Woman’s World, bringing a much-needed series of female voices, images and narratives to local cinema screens.”

The 12 internationally-acclaimed films lined up for EUFF 2015 – A Woman’s World – include:

Ida: Pawel Pawlikowski’s film is the first Polish feature to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (2015) amidst rave reviews from around the worldTwo

Days, One Night: the latest project taken on by the multi-award winning Dardenne brothers features French actress Marion Cotillard, nominated for the 2015 Best Actress Oscar

A Second Chance: directed by Academy Award-winning Susanne Bier, the film features Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones); San Sebastian Festival 2014

3 Hearts: a French romantic drama starring film legend Catherine Deneuve; Venice International Film Festival 2014

Amour Fou: an Austrian tragi-comedy, inspired by the life and death of the historic poet Heinrich von Kleist (Christian Friedel); Cannes Film Festival 2014

Concrete Night: Finnish female director Pirjo Honkasalo’s film is a dream-like odyssey through beautiful Helsinki over the course of one night; Toronto International Film Festival 2014

Beloved Sisters: German Romanticism at its most expressively romantic, a cinematic tour de force from director Dominik Graf; Berlin International Film Festival 2014

Human Capital: Valeria Golina and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, two of Italy’s leading actresses, in a film that San twists love, class and ambition; Tribeca Film Festival 2014

Frailer: with great humour and sincerity, Dutch female director Mijke de Jong draws an intimate portrait to capture the way we face death; Toronto International Film Festival 2014

Blood of my Blood: from Portugal, this film focuses on unconditional love – and the lengths two women are prepared to go to protect those they love; San Sebastian Festival 2011

Blancanieves: from Spanish director, Pablo Berger, Snow White is recast as a talented bullfighter in an eerie and erotic silent film treat; Toronto International Film Festival 2012

My Brother the Devil: a masterful debut from female director Sally El Hosaini, one of the brightest new talents of the UK cinema; Berlin International Film Festival 2012

Lola Gallant, brand manager of Cinema Nouveau, is delighted that the EUFF festival has returned to Cinema Nouveau. “We pride ourselves on providing a platform to screen the best foreign language fare, and the 12 films lined up for the EUFF 2015 in May are must-see content. We are privileged to offer these films, many of which would otherwise not be accessible to local cinema audiences, as part of the festival, and are grateful for the support from all the partners involved in getting these films onto our cinema screens.”

  The festival offers a ten-day screening programme that takes place concurrently at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Cape Town (V&A Waterfront), Johannesburg (Rosebank Mall), Pretoria (Brooklyn Mall) and Durban (Gateway) from 8 – 17 May 2015.

Bookings are now open. Special festival ticket rates will apply, including the benefits and discounts for members of SK Club, Discovery Vitality and Edgars Club, to make these foreign language films accessible to a wide cinema audience.

All the details regarding the festival schedule and bookings can be found on the Cinema Nouveau website (www.cinemanouveau.co.za). Follow on Twitter @nouveaubuzz or Facebook – Cinema Nouveau. Download the Ster-Kinekor App on your smart phone for updates, news and to book from your mobile. For more info, call Ticketline on 0861 MOVIES (668 437).

Follow them on – Twitter: @nouveaubuzz  @IF_SouthAfrica

Facebook: Cinema Nouveau / IFASCulture Facebook and Twitter: #EuroFilmFestSA

[connectza]

EUFF: A Woman's World

What it is

Second edition of the European Film Festival (EUFF) celebrates women through the theme ‘A Woman's World’, with a selection of films that feature female directors, strong female characters or women-related stories.

The Programme

The European Film Festival is hosted by Cinema Nouveau, co-ordinated by the French Institute of South Africa, and organised in partnership with the European Union and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the British Council, the Camões Institute, the Goethe-Institut, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Belgium and Wallonie-Bruxelles International, as well as the Embassies of Austria, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

Amour Fou (Austria). Image by Stadtkino Filmverleih.

All the featured films are the recipients of numerous awards and accolades at international film festivals and competitions, including the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival. They are the latest productions from the most exciting and talented film directors in Europe at the moment, and a true reflection of European cinematographic creativity and diversity.

Concrete Night (Finland). Image by Ville Tanttu.

The ten-day screening programme taking will be taking place concurrently in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban from 8 – 17 May 2015.

Two Days One Night (Belgium). Image by Christine Plenus.

#EuroFilmFestSA

Watch the festival trailer here

Make your bookings for the festival here

Lead image: My Brother the Devil (UK). Image by Etienne Bol. 

[thelifesway]

A Woman's World #eurofilmfestsa @nouveaubuzz 8 to 17 May #TheLifesWay #photoyatra

[031cinephile]

European Film Festival 2017 South Africa

Treat yourself to the best of European Cinema and indulge in a cinematic feast of the senses.

The European Film Festival returns for the 4th time at Ster-Kinekor’s Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban from 5 to 14 May.

The line-up of films represents 12 countries, including Ireland and Croatia for the first time. Each film reflects the skills and take on the world of filmmakers who are not limited by national borders.

American Honey, an award-winning British-made road movie set in America’s mid-west, is as much a magical mystery tour into Americana as it is a coming-of-age drama.

King of the Belgians is a comedic piece coming out of Belgium, which sees the Belgian King and his entourage crossing the Balkans in a madcap adventure, after learning of a coup back home. Acknowledged by the Rotterdam International Film Festival, this movie is a road trip with a difference, at once thoughtful, hilarious and wild.

Strike a Pose is a Dutch documentary exploration of “Madonna’s men”, the male dancers who served to consolidate the pop icon’s message and status as an outspoken advocate for LGBT-rights. This winner of a jury award at the Key West Film Festival is an unrelenting documentary which exposes new aspects of a well-known story.

Another queer film at the festival is The Queen of Ireland a documentary about the life of Irish drag queen Panti Bliss: part glamorous aunt, part Jessica Rabbit, she's a wittily incisive performer with charisma to burn who is widely regarded as one of the best drag queens in the world and a figurehead for LGBTQ rights in Ireland.

Germany’s Toni Erdmann is the outlandish tale of how the passing of a family dog sets off a series of events with a major impact on a father-daughter relationship. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017, this is a must see, by all accounts.

Festival Director Katarina Hedrén who returns as the curator for the second time is delighted with the pickings: “With this year’s selection which includes films of different genres, textures and moods, the aim is to entertain, amuse and offer opportunities for reflection, new discoveries and recognition,” she says. “The theme binding the films together is cinematic excellence through acclaimed and award-winning films from 12 European countries.”

The 2017 selection is a mixed pot in terms of film themes which span from animal rights to family dynamics. Dramas and documentaries, comedies, tales of grief and a children’s adventure sit side by side on this eclectic and exciting programme.

“The films are new, but the commitment remains the same: to offer audiences in South Africa an opportunity to experience acclaimed and award-winning European cinema”, adds Hedrén.

Motheo Matsau, Chief of Marketing and Sales at Ster-Kinekor Theatres, adds: “Our Nouveau cinemas are synonymous with the screening of the very best in art-house and foreign language films from across the globe, and the European Film Festival content certainly delivers on that promise.”

“European filmmaking has seen another year of highly creative output, and filmmakers continue to produce works that challenge and uproot. We are happy that Festival Director Katarina Hedrén’s 2017 film selection has given even more variety to the European Film Festival.”, says Norbert Spitz, Director of the Goethe-Institut, on behalf of the European partners.

The European Film Festival is coordinated by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, hosted by Ster-Kinekor Nouveau, and organised in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the General Representation of the Government of Flanders, the French Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Camões Institute, the British Council, and the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The European Film Festival is part of the EuropeFest, presenting in South Africa in May 2017 a diverse range of EU Member States cultural events.

For more information, visit www.eurofilmfest.co.za or join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #EuroFilmFestSA

[artsvark]

Start them young at the European Film Festival

Zip & Zap has charmed audiences at film festivals

Enjoy the European Film Festival with your little ones! For the first time the European Film Festival, which opens nationwide on Friday, May 5, offers a film which is sure to appeal to young and old. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the annual film festival together with your children, your friends’ children, your children’s friends and their parents too!

Zip & Zap has charmed audiences at film festivals

Suitable for children aged 8 and over, Zip & Zap is a madcap adventure in Spanish with English subtitles. When your parents feel overbearing, the idea of playing the whole day without them or any other adult telling you what to do might seem like a good idea. Twin brothers Zip and Zap thought so too, but soon discover that what seemed like total freedom at first, cannot trump your parents’ love. Together with two newfound friends, they set out to find their mom and dad.

Venues and screening of Zip & Zap and the Captains Island:

Johannesburg: Cinema Nouveau – Rosebank Mall Rosebank Mall (Level 1), cnr Bath & Baker Streets, Rosebank Saturday 6 May @ 2:30pm Sunday 14 May @ 2:30PM

Pretoria: Cinema Nouveau – Brooklyn Brooklyn Mall (Lower Level Shop 12), Bronkhorst Street, New Muckleneuk Sunday 7 May @ 2:30pm Saturday 13 May @ 2:30pm

Cape Town: Cinema Nouveau – V&A King Warehouse, Red Shed, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Saturday 6 May @ 2:30PM Sunday 14 May @ 2:30pm

Durban: Cinema Nouveau – Gateway Gateway Theatre of Shopping (Expo/Explore Floor), 1 Palm Blvd, Umhlanga Rocks Saturday 6 May @ 2:30pm

“We are delighted that this year’s selection includes a family movie”, says the festival director Katarina Hedrén. “The Spanish entry Zip & Zap and the Captain’s Island by Oskar Santos, is the second filmic adventure based on a comic book series about two naughty brothers. Funny and visually stunning, the film makes for a perfect outing.”

Scheduled to make it possible for as many children, parents, uncles and aunties as possible to catch it, Zip & Zap is showing one Saturday afternoon and one Sunday afternoon in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria. The Durban screening happens early on Saturday evening (6 May) in Durban. Book now.”

The film, which has charmed audiences at film festivals, including the BFI London Film Festival, offers a great opportunity to open children’s hearts and minds to film and magic storytelling from other parts of the world.

For more information, visit www.eurofilmfest.co.za or join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #EuroFilmFestSA.

Bookings priced at R64. For booking information, visit www.cinemanouveau.co.za or www.sterkinekor.com.

For queries, contact Ticketline on 0861 Movies (668 437). Normal benefits and ticket discounts apply to members of SK Club, Discovery Vitality and Edgars Club.

Start them young at the European Film Festival was originally published on Artsvark

[artsvark]

Treat yourself to the best of European Cinema

The European Film Festival is back for the 4th time at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban from 5 to 14 May.

King of the Belgians

The lineup of films represents 12 countries, including Ireland and Croatia for the first time. Each film reflects the skills and take on the world of filmmakers who are not limited by national borders. American Honey, an award-winning British-made road movie set in America’s mid-west, is as much a magical mystery tour into Americana as it is a coming-of-age drama. King of the Belgians is a comedic piece coming out of Belgium, which sees the Belgian king and his entourage crossing the Balkans in a madcap adventure, after learning of a coup back home. Acknowledged by the Rotterdam International Film Festival, this movie is a road trip with a difference, at once thoughtful, hilarious and wild.

Strike a Pose is a Dutch documentary exploration of “Madonna’s men”, the male dancers who served to consolidate the pop icon’s message and status as an outspoken advocate for LGBT-rights. This winner of a jury award at the Key West Film Festival is an unrelenting documentary which exposes new aspects of a well-known story. Germany’s Toni Erdmann is the outlandish tale of how the passing of a family dog sets off a series of events with a major impact on a father-daughter relationship. Touted as an academy award winner for best foreign film in 2017, this is a must see, by all accounts.

Strike A Pose – Still

Festival Director Katarina Hedrén who returns as the curator for the second time is delighted with the pickings: “With this year’s selection which includes films of different genres, textures and moods, the aim is to entertain, amuse and offer opportunities for reflection, new discoveries and recognition,” she says. “The theme binding the films together is cinematic excellence through acclaimed and award-winning films from 12 European countries.”

The 2017 selection is a mixed pot in terms of film themes which span from animal rights to family dynamics. Dramas and documentaries, comedies, tales of grief and a children’s adventure sit side by side on this eclectic and exciting programme.

“The films are new, but the commitment remains the same: to offer audiences in South Africa an opportunity to experience acclaimed and award-winning European cinema”, adds Hedrén.

Motheo Matsau, Chief of Marketing and Sales at Ster-Kinekor Theatres, adds: “Our Nouveau cinemas are synonymous with the screening of the very best in art-house and foreign language films from across the globe, and the European Film Festival content certainly delivers on that promise.”

“European filmmaking has seen another year of highly creative output, and filmmakers continue to produce works that challenge and uproot. We are happy that Festival Director Katarina Hedrén’s 2017 film selection has given even more variety to the European Film Festival.”, says Norbert Spitz, Director of the Goethe-Institut, on behalf of the European partners.

The European Film Festival is coordinated by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, hosted by Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, and organised in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the General Representation of the Government of Flanders, the French Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Camões Institute, the British Council, and the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The European Film Festival is part of the EuropeFest, presenting in South Africa in May 2017 a diverse range of EU Member States cultural events.

For more information, visit www.eurofilmfest.co.za or join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #EuroFilmFestSA.

Treat yourself to the best of European Cinema was originally published on Artsvark

[031cinephile]

BEYOND LOVE ~ BLISS #EuroFilmFestSA

Presenting films which strip away the multi-faceted transcendental  experience of love in all its many coloured splendours and breath taking beauty. Sure to set local screens a fire, this year’s European Film Festival 2014 is taking place @ Ster Kinekor’s Cinema Nouveau theatres and runs from 9 – 18 May.

Previously unseen on the big screen by South African audiences, all the featured films have received numerous awards and accolades at international film festivals and competitions, including the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival. They are the latest offerings from Europe’s most talented film directors of the moment, representing a true reflection of the diversity of European cinematographic creativity. “The theme of Love serves as an interesting starting point for a European film selection. This contemporary selection of films allows us to experience tales beyond the cliché and ‘national’ narrative, to offer challenging, entertaining and compelling images of love, desire and the current state of Europe,’ states Darryl Els, EUFF 2014 festival director. With Lola Gallant, brand manager of Cinema Nouveau, adding: “We pride ourselves on providing a platform to screen the best foreign language fare, and the 10 films lined up for the EUFF in May are a must-see. We are privileged to offer these films that would otherwise not be available in South Africa, at our cinemas, and are grateful to all the partners involved in putting this festival together.”

The European Film Festival 2014 Film Selection: •Paradise: Love (Austria) - Cannes Film Festival 2012 – Official Competition,  •The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium) - Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominated, 2014,  •The Hunt (Denmark) - Cannes Film Festival 2012 – Official Competition Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominated, 2014, •Stranger by the Lake (France) - Cannes Film Festival 2013 – Best Director Award, Un Certain Regard section,  •Barbara (Germany) - Berlin International Film Festival 2012, Best Director Award,  •The Great Beauty (Italy) - Best Foreign Language Film Oscar 2014,  •Tabu (Portugal) - Berlin International Film Festival 2012 – Official Competition, •Child’s Pose (Romania) - Berlin International Film Festival 2013, Golden Bear (Best Film), •Living is Easy with Eyes Closed (Spain) - San Sebastian International Film Festival 2013 - Official Competition, and •Le Week-End (United Kingdom) - Toronto International Film Festival 2013. The lovely 10-days of festival screenings takes place simultaneously in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Bookings are now open. Special festival rates with reduced ticket price will apply to hopefully attract a fresh public. Visit the Cinema Nouveau website and find the festival brochure here.

There is also an outreach screening programme and a competition that gives festival goers the chance to win a trip for two to France. This prize is courtesy of Air France and French tourism agency, Atout France.

The European Film Festival is hosted by Cinema Nouveau, co-ordinated by the French Institute of South Africa and organised in partnership with the European Union and eight other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the British Council, the Camões Institute, the Goethe-Institut, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Belgium and Flemish delegation, as well as the Embassies of Austria, Denmark and Spain.

It all sounds so sumptuous... See ya @ the cinema!

[connectza]

Beyond Love In The 2014 European Film Festival

The #EuroFilmFestSA will be showing at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria from 9 to 18 May 2014. The festival features ten internationally-acclaimed films from across Europe.

We will also be giving away tickets so look out for updates on Twitter @Connect_ZA  & Facebook this week.

Here is glimpse at what will be on cinemas from Friday:

Le Week-End (United Kingdom)

The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)

Stranger by the Lake (France)

Living is Easy with Eyes Closed (Spain)

Get involved in the conversation by using #EuroFilmFestSA and for information on screening times visit the Cinema Nouveau website here and access the brochure here.

The European Film Festival is hosted by Cinema Nouveau, co-ordinated by the French Institute of South Africa and organised in partnership with the European Union and eight other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the British Council, the Camões Institute, the Goethe-Institut, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Belgium and Flemish delegation, as well as the Embassies of Austria, Denmark and Spain.