An EU film festival will be held from 11 to 16 May at the French Cultural Center in Beijing, featuring 9 movies from EU member states France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. All movies will be shown in original -- language versions with Chinese and English subtitles.
The EU film festival is the first of its kind in Beijing, organized by the Delegation of the European Commission, with the support of the French Cultural Center and Luxembourg Presidency of the European Council. This is also the first time that such a rich variety of European films presented to the Chinese public. The movies will give the viewers an extraordinary insight into the diverse cultures and social life of different European countries.
The selection represents the cream of Europe's 220 film festival award-winners. The films range from comedies to social dramas. Four are the work of young women directors who have won wide acclaim at international film festivals.
The Italian selection The Hundred Steps directed by Marco Tullio Giordana won the Best Screenplay award at the Venice festival in 2000. The Ireland-Spain-UK-Denmark co-production Song for a Raggy Boy, directed by Aisling Walsh, has won the Golden Swan and Best Film awards at Copenhagen International Film Festival in 2003. Director Aisling Walsh has a number of impressive and well-known films and television directing credits to her name, including Joyriders (1989), the mini-series Trial and Retribution (1997) and Forgive and Forget (2000).
The film festival is among the activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of the EU-China diplomatic relations. Cultural exchanges and people-to-people contact are at the core of the EU-China relationship.
From May to September this year, series of events celebrate the 30 years of EU-China diplomatic relations, including Europe Street in September which features performances, food, tourism, arts and culture of the 25 member states.
(Delegation of the European Commission to China April 29, 2005)
