European Film Festival 2016 in Colombo
Sri Lankan film fans will have yet another opportunity to experience some of the latest cinematic creations from Europe with the European Film Festival starting from October 6. Ten newly released and highly acclaimed films from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom will be screened at this year’s festival. Five short films by young Sri Lankan short filmmakers will also be screened during this edition of the festival which is being held for the ninth consecutive year.
The screenings will be at 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm from October 7 to 11 at the National Film Corporation cinema hall in Colombo 7 and the entrance will be free of charge.
Coordinated by ‘Agenda 14’, the festival is organised in partnership with the European Union Delegation and the different Diplomatic Missions in Colombo and in New Delhi, cultural institutes and the National Film Corporation.
The public screening will kick off with award winning Denmark film ‘Silent Heart’ directed by Bille August at 3.30 pm on October 7. The story revolves around three generations of a family coming together over a weekend. A sick mother’s wish to die before her disease worsens gets harder to handle as old conflicts come to the surface.
Italian film ‘Leopardi’ (Il Giovane Favoloso) directed by Mario Martone will be screened at 6.30 pm on October 7. The film is based upon the short but fruitful life of illness-racked Italian poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi.On October 8 Belgium film ‘Scouting for Zebras’ will be screened at 3.30 pm and the Netherlands film ‘The Intruder’ (Infiltrant) will be screened at 6.30 pm.
Directed by Benoit Mariage ‘Scouting for Zebras’ is centred around Jose, a Belgian soccer scout who thinks he has found an amazing player in the Ivory Coast. When the rookie’s tryout goes poorly, both men rethink their assumptions about the game.
‘The Intruder’ (Infiltrant) directed by Shariff Korver is the story of Sam who was born in the Netherlands as the son of a Moroccan father and Dutch mother. After his father abandoned him and his mother, he throws himself fully to his career as a police officer. He is driven by the ambition to really mean something for society. To make a difference on the streets, but also in how people think about Moroccans. His desire for acceptance by his peers and superiors at the Amsterdam police drives him to search the boundaries within the law.
‘Neuland’ (Switzerland) directed by Anna Thommen is woven around a group of young migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Serbia and Venezuela who attend a Swiss integration class where they learn a new language and prepare for employment. It will be screened at 3.30 pm on October 9.
German film ‘My name is Victoria’ will be shown at 6.30 pm on October 9. Directed by Sebastin Schipper, the film narrates around a young Spanish woman who has newly moved to Berlin and finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret.
Slovakian documentary ‘Rytmus – Dream from the block’ directed and produced by Miro Drobny will be screened at 3.30 pm on October 10. The movie is neither a memorial to Rytmus (Slovak rapper) nor a flashback over his musical career. Viewers are introduced to complicated relations within the family – different surnames, members using the prefixes step-, half-, biological or foster. A family that has been facing racism for 38 years while searching for love in its core. After eight years passed in making this documentary, the “Gypsy” raised by “Whites” became a self-made icon among youth and a music celebrity. Despite all that, he has not yet fulfilled his dream – the dream of understanding his own roots, accepting his father and conciliating with his closest relatives.
On October 11, French film ‘Girl Hood’ will be screened at 3.30 pm. Oppressed by her family setting, dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighbourhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of 3 free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.
The film at 6.30 pm on October 11 will be Polish film ‘Strange Heaven’ (Obce Niebo). Directed by Dariusz Gajewski, the film tells the story of Basia and Marek – a young immigrant Polish couple living in Sweden. One innocent lie triggers a family drama; their daughter is taken away by social services. The couple can’t agree on how to fight the ruthless procedures of a modern state. Feeling powerless and desperate, they decide to act beyond the law.
