24 movies to watch at Cine Europa 2017

Terrorists hijack a plane with 164 passengers, and forces its pilot to set its course to a football stadium. If you were the air force pilot flying next to this plane – would you shoot it, even if your wing commander says no – within seconds that it’s to fly right smack into a stadium where 70,000 spectators are watching? 

Thorsten Gottfied of the German Embassy in Manila introduced the film The Verdict (based in Ferdinand Von Schirach’s Terror) to members of the media a week ago and and he gave them the opportunity to decide the ending of the story. If you were part of the jury, what would your verdict be? Guilty or not?

Cine Europa, touted as “the longest and widest film festival in the country,” celebrates its 20th year as it exhibits films from Europe free of charge at the Shangri-La Plaza mall in Mandaluyong City from September 16 to 26.

The European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines, together with the embassies and cultural institutes of the EU member states, the Embassy of Norway, EU MS consulates and its partner organizations from the private sector, academe, and government agencies feature a “perfect fusion of the best of classical and contemporary films from the EU” as a special treat to aficionados of Cine Europa.

During the press conference held at Shangri-La Cineplex, EU Delegation First Secretary Jerome Riviere said that “This year’s entries have the charm, mysticism, and elegance of the European past, and the dynamism and vigor of contemporary films from Europe.” That’s 24 films from 16 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Norway. 

Cine Europa opens on September 16 with Bavo Defurne’s romantic film Souvenir, which stars Isabelle Huppert, Kevin Azais, and Johan Leysen. The festival will be inaugurated by EU Chargé d’Affaires Mattias Lentz; Embassy of France Deputy Head of Mission, Laurent Legodec; Shangri-La Corporation Vice-President Lala Fojas; and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chair Liza Dino.

According to Mr. Lentz, Cine Europa “has earned a niche among film enthusiasts in the country because of its strong partnership and collaboration with its partners including Shangri-La Plaza, FDCP, Arts Council of Cebu, Ayala Center in Cebu,  University of the Philippines-Visayas in Tacloban, the Visayas State University in Baybay Leyte, Liceo de Cagayan in Cagayan de Oro City, Palawan State University and recently, Ateneo de Naga University.” 

After its 11-day run in Shangri-La Plaza, Cine Europa goes on tour for 4 months to Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, Baybay, and Puerto Princesa. It will also make a stop at the Ateneo de Naga University for the first time. 

“We also owe a lot to our Filipino moviegoers who have supported Cine Europa [in] the last 20 years since the European Union started the film festival as a gift to the Philippines for the latter’s centennial celebrations” said Lentz.

The festival will also have an educational component:

• The Distribution Market of the Cannes Film Festival with TV5 executive Chot Reyes, director Brillante Mendoza, and film critic and actor Dexter Macaraeg, 3:30 pm, Sunday, September 17 (with screenings of Mendoza’s Amo and Kadaungan at 1 pm)
• Screening and Doing a Film in Europe, 2:30 pm, Saturday, September 23 with director Petersen Vargas and film critic, writer and educator Gay Ace Domingo; (with screening of Vargas’ 2Cool to be Forgotten at 1 pm and Journeyman Finds A Home – The Life Story of Simone Rota at 3:30 pm and discussions with filmmakers Doy Del Mundo, Albert Almendralejo, Maricel Cariaga, and Simone Rota himself after the screening)
• Making Waves and Recognition in Europe, 1:00 pm, Sunday, September 24with best actress winner Hazel Orencio who will introduce the film, director Lav Diaz, and film critic and educator Richard Bolisay (with a screening of Diaz’ epic Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon)

Call 370.2500 loc. 597 for inquiries, or visit Shagri-La Plaza’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

Also check out eeas.europa.eu/delegations/Philippines and the Facebook page of the EU Delegation to the Philippines.

The European movies

Babettes Gæstebud (Babette’s Feast) follows the story of Babette, a Parisian fugitive following the 1871 Commune of Paris uprising, as she changes the lives of the villagers who take her in. Based on the tale by Isak Dinesen, this Danish film received the Best Foreign Film Academy Award in 1988.

 

In satiric Spanish film El ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel), guests at a dinner party are unable to leave the room. Day after day, they “slowly shed their perfect façades and pretenses of power to reveal the uglier side of human nature.” New York Times lists this as one of the best 1,000 films.

 

As hunger takes over the life of penniless poet Pontus in 1890 Oslo, “the line between fantasy and reality becomes increasingly blurry” in Danish film Sult (Hunger) that’s based on a novel by Knut Hamsun.

 

A small-time Berlin criminal delivers smuggled loot for his boss to the wrong person in German thriller Lola rennt (Run Lola Run). His girlfriend Lola runs the streets in a race against time to help him raise 100K Deutschmarks in just 20 minutes.

 

Terrorists hijack a plane with 164 passengers and steer it towards a football arena with 70,000 spectators in German film Terror – Ihr Urteil (The Verdict). Major Lars Koch goes on trial for having shot down the plane to save the lives of more people.

 

Swedish film Flickan Mamman och Demonerna (The Girl, The Mother and the Demons) tells the tale of Ti, who can neither hear nor see the spirits or demons her mother claims to hear and see in the apartment where they reside.

 

A young filmmaker survives a terrorist attack and gets seriously wounded while shooting on location in Iraq in Italian drama 20 Sigarette (20 Cigarettes). Upon his return to Italy, he so he sets the story straight through a novel when he realizes that the press have been fed a different narrative from what really transpired.

 

A young boy’s family is slaughtered by members of the Tsujudes tribe. He is held hostage, and designated as the tribe  pathfinder. He then plans his escape in the Norwegian film Veiviseren (Pathfinder). This film, which is inspired by a legend from the 12th century holds the record of being the first film production to shoot in the Sami language.

 

A geologist and his family scramble to stay alive and together in Norway’s Bølgen (The Wave), which takes place just right before the real-life disaster a tsunami caused by the collapse of a mountain 80 years ago.

 

Twelve-year-old Veysel flees with his family from Turkey to Vienna in Austrian film Deine Schönheit ist nichts wert (Your Beauty is Worth Nothing). To cope with the fear of deportation and the tension in his family, Veysel turns his attention to his studies and his love interest: his classmate Ana.

 

A forgotten European singer (depicted by Isabelle Huppert) rots in obscurity in a pâté factory in French film Souvenir. The arrival of a young aspiring boxer however makes her start dreaming again, and she starts planning her comeback.

 

Jim moves in with his friend Jules and his family in the French film Jules and Jim. In time, Jules asks Jim a strange favor: for him to start seeing his carefree wife Catherine “in the hope that she will stay at home with him and their daughter.”

 

In the Bulgarian coming-of-age film Monkey, half-sisters Iva and Maya “learn to walk the line between the carefree life of a child and the tough choices of a grownup.” They get a taste of the real world as they make decisions that could dramatically change their lives.

 

Terminally-ill actor Julian gets a surprise visit from his childhood friend Tomas in Spanish film Truman. The two men find a way to say goodbye as they tie loose ends, and find a home for Julian’s faithful dog.

 

Young stifled artist Nina returns to her community after being away for a long time in United Kingdom’s A Moving Image. She soon embarks on a mission to create art that would bring her community together.

 

Adventure seekers and history buffs might want to look up Slovakian film Wilsonov (Wilson City), which follows an unlikely pair of detectives as they seek out a mysterious murderer in  German town Bratislava. What also makes this film interesting are the territorial disputes in Europe after World War I.

 

Neurotic man Mozes starts seeing the ghost of his recently-deceased father, and helps him “cross over” to the afterlife in while they work out their “unfinished business” in Hungarian comedy Utóélet (Afterlife).

 

The guests of Radu Maligan for his 94th birthday are polarized in Romanian film Aniversarea (The Anniversary): half the guests convince him to confess his sins to a priest, while the others opine that no one should be forced to do something beyond his will.

Trailer The Anniversary from DaKINO Production on Vimeo.

 

It seems Dinel’s life is about to change after he wins the lottery in Doua Lozuri (Two Lottery Tickets).Too bad, gangsters steal the bag that contains the winning ticket! He sets off in a madcap journey with his best buds to chase the gangsters down.

 

Friends Hassan, Aziz and Mounir love hanging out, but then, “real life crashes unpleasantly into their dream world,” and they are compelled to deal with life, love, and the future in Les Barons (The Barons), which is set in modern-day Brussels, Belgium.

 

A group of petty thieves attempt to rob a pawnshop in Rome in the 1950s Italian comedy I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street), which has a “breezy jazz score, an incredible cast; and is one of the best films of its era.”

 

Angel Petronel seeks to retrieve the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge that has fallen down to earth in Czech Republic’s comedy Anděl Páně 2 (An Angel of the Lord). “His adventures lead him to discover the power of friendship, love and forgiveness.”

 

An adaptation of a short story by the Brothers Grimm, Slovakian film Perinbaba (The Feather Fairy) rescues and raises little boy Jakob, who eventually yearns to live outside his perfect fairytale when he falls for a peasant girl.

 

Freezing temperatures and rough terrain do not faze a small group of sports enthusiasts who are determined to reach the finish line in De He Van ’63 (The Hell of ’63), which is based on a true story about thousands of skaters who were injured as they competed in the infamous 200-km ice-skating race in the Netherlands in 1963.

 

– Rappler.com

Susan Claire Agbayani is a freelance writer who contributes to newspapers, magazine, and websites. She is finishing her thesis, an unauthorized biography of a Filipino band, for her MFA in Creative Writing at De La Salle University. She lives in Quezon City with her son Gide and their cats.