The European Union Film Festival – India is back in Chennai after three years

With a line-up of some brilliant films, this time, the festival is themed around women and cinema

A scene from Kiddo

After what may seem like a long time for film buffs who eagerly wait to watch world cinema, The European Union Film Festival – India (EUFF) is back after a hiatus of three years with 28 incredible, award-winning films. All you need to do now is read this piece, mark the calendar, book your schedule and experience the joy of good cinema.

The 28th edition of the EU Film Festival will take the audience on a cinematic journey with stories that underline the crucial role of intergenerational and intercultural dialogue and celebrate the creative and cultural exchange between the EU and India. And this year, the focus is specially on women. With a specially curated line-up, the festival offers 28 films in over 25 languages including 18 films by women directors. The festival offers the best of outstanding European cinema from European Union countries and Ukraine, celebrating the most recent cinematic triumphs at Cannes, Tribeca, Tallinn, Venice, Berlin and San Sebastian, amongst others.

Interestingly, Veronica Flora, curator of 28th EU Film Festival – India tells us that this is actually the line-up of the 2023 festival and another one with the 2024 line-up will be held later this year. That’s a double treat for film lovers! “We work closely with EU countries and bring films from each of the 27 EU countries, and one from Ukraine,” says Veronica.

Breaking The Ice

After Work

Carmen

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Moving away from their previous theme of family, ties and relationships, this year, the festival is focused on women and cinema. “So, you will see quite a few films concentrate on the journey of women, or are made by women, or stories from the point of view of women,” Veronica tells us, adding, “In fact, the first film we open with — Saint Omer — is a courtroom drama, and is about women. We have chosen the theme in keeping with the values EU upholds — equality and women empowerment.”
Explaining what audiences can look forward to, Veronica says that the films that will be screened are films “you don’t get to watch other than at film festivals. Apart from getting to watch good cinema, through these films, the audiences get to see and learn a lot of other cultures, traditions, and the ways of life. There could be similarities, there could be differences, but all in all, the festival and the films that are screened help in fostering bonds,” she says, adding, “Cinema is a journey that we undertake together with people sitting next to us in a theatre or miles away. This ability to transcend borders, express the multi-sensorial possibility of exploring reality, of getting closer to other people and travelling into the mystery that binds our lives is what makes cinema a powerful medium.”

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Mikado

The Perfect Number

What Chennai though will be missing is meeting and interacting with actors and directors of the films from the EU. “We are having the festival only in two cities this time. We held it in Delhi in early December last year, but because of the World Cup and then Christmas and New Year, the Chennai event was postponed. While some of the European filmmakers did travel to Delhi for interactions with the audience, they could not travel to Chennai again because of the gap in schedule. If the festival dates were closer between the two cities, they would have come down to Chennai too. But never mind, hopefully, in the next edition, we will have the filmmakers here,” Veronica says.

Wolf and Dog

Saint Omer

Ordinary Failures

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She also thinks that although EUFF has been coming here for 28 years, people still don’t know much about it. Veronica shares, “We are trying to change that. It also depends on the city and its people — whether or not they are open to world cinema beyond just Bollywood. However, people who remember coming for earlier festivals when, in fact, it was much smaller, are the ones who usually look forward to visiting the festival again. But, of course, we are trying our best to get more audiences.”

She adds, “The festival line-up offers evocative, innovative, independent and offbeat voices across genres such as drama, comedy, sci-fi, documentary and animation, among others. We look forward to sharing this journey and exploring the nuances of cinema together.”

Mark your calendar

Saint Omer | France
January 19 , 6.30 pm | 122 mins

Mother | Bulgaria
January 20, 11:30 am | 117 mins

Walker on Water | Estonia
January 20, 2:00 pm | 87 mins

Listen | Greece
January 20, 4:00 pm | 95 mins

The Eight Mountains | Italy
January 20, 6:00 pm | 147 mins

Kiddo | The Netherlands
January 21, 11:30 am | 91 mins

Talking About The Weather | Germany
January 21, 2:00 pm | 89 mins

The Perfect Number | Poland
January 21, 4:00 pm | 85 mins

The Beasts | Spain
January 21, 6:00 pm | 137 mins

Ordinary Failures | Czech Republic
January 22, 4:00 pm | 84 mins

Remember to Blink | Lithuania
January 22, 6:00 pm | 109 mins