The 2016 European Union Film Festival in China, organised by the Delegation of the European Union to China, brings another stellar line-up of European films to audiences across China. Featuring some of the newest, award-winning titles from the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival, Over 30 feature films and shorts from all 28 EU Member States will be screened in theaters, cultural centers and universities in Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Jinan, and Shanghai. In partnership with DDDream Distribution, films to watch out for include a selection from the 2016 Cannes Film Festival: Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (UK), the Dardenne brothers’ latest feature The Unknown Girl(Belgium), and winner of the “Un Certain Regard” Award The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Finland), Golden Globe-nominated The Fencer (Estonia), and more. In partnership with Wild Bunch, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation (Romania), winner of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Director award, will be screened.
France’s strong presence in European cinema will be showcased in Stéphane Di Gusto’s new feature The Dancer as well as a number of award-winning French co-productions (The Unknown Girl, I, Daniel Blake, Graduation, and more). Cult Nouvelle Vague actor Jean-Pierre Léaud also makes a return to the silver screen in La mort de Louis XIV (Spain), and renowned actress Juliette Binoche stars in L’attesa (Italy).
Youth abounds in Once and Begin Again director John Carney’s latest musical foray Sing Street (Ireland), Lukas Moodysson’s We are the Best! (Sweden), and Ivaylo Hristov’s Karatsi (Bulgaria). Genres of all sorts will be presented, including the whimsically animated Extraordinary Tales (Luxembourg), the romantic Zvizdan and mockumentary Houston, We Have a Problem! (Croatia), and shorts from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The latest European features such as Boy on the Bridge (Cyprus) will be screened along with the well-loved Girl with a Pearl Earring. Multiple features from France, Austria, Spain, Italy and more EU Member States will be showcased.
Pre-launch screenings will begin at cultural centers in Beijing from October 14th, at the Italian Cultural Institute (14-16), Institut Français (15-23), Embassy of Estonia (21-22), Cervantes Institute (22-23), and Hungarian Cultural Center (Nov. 2). The official opening will commence on October 26th at CGV Cinemas, with presentations from the European Union Ambassador and special guests.
Films will be screened in Beijing at Broadway MOMA, CGV Cinemas, and Parkview Green Lumiere (Oct. 22-30), Chengdu (Nov. 2-6), Shenzhen (Nov. 9-13), Jinan (Nov. 15-19), and Shanghai (Oct. 22-26). Additional screenings will take place in Beijing in November and December at cultural centers, Beijing University and Beijing Film Academy. The EU Film Festival is brought to you by the Delegation of the European Union to China with the generous support of its partners, especially EU Member State Embassies in Beijing, as well as DDDream Distribution, Broadway Cinemas, Gewara, Wild Bunch, China Television Service, Deep Focus, Movie View Magazine, and Jewish Film Week.
The programme of the film festival is available here.
Source: Delegation of the European Union to China
