Calling all Filipino film enthusiasts! Here is your chance to watch never before screened European films as the European Union Delegation to the Philippines provides you with unlimited access to seven multi-awarded European films from May 5 to June 5.
This special film treat is proudly presented for the second time by the European Union Delegation to the Philippines as part of the Viva Europa cultural festival 2021.
Film is an expression of our cultural heritage and a shared passion of both Europeans and Filipinos alike. It does not only bring viewers together but it is a platform to gather producers from across the European continent. This is something unique to this year’s European Union Film Festival as almost all films are co-productions of various European countries with different cultures that are all richly entwined in each one of the films.
The films are accessible via: https://www.festivalscope.com/page/euff-online-film-festival-2021/ which you are free to watch in the comforts of your home. Free 24/7. Enjoy and experience European life in your own time. These seven films have been carefully curated to provide a unique cinematic experience to suit the discriminating taste of Filipino audiences. So what are you waiting for?
The films include:
ACASA MY HOME by Radu Ciorniciuc (2020)
Romania, Finland, Germany
Synopsis: In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, nine children and their parents lived in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years–until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city.
Main Awards: Sundance 2020 World Cinema Documentary Competition – Special Jury Award for Cinematography, Sarajevo 2020 Documentary Competition – Human Rights Award
AURORA by Miia Tervo (2019)
Finland
Synopsis: Aurora, a commitment-phobic party animal, meets Iranian Darian one night at a hot-dog stand in Lapland. Darian is running from death and Aurora is running from love. They need each other in order to finally stop running.
Main Awards: Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019 – Best International Feature Film, Jussi Awards 2020 – Best Film, Best Actress, Best Direction
FIRE WILL COME (O QUE ARDE) by Oliver Laxe (2019)
Spain, France, Luxembourg
Synopsis: When Amador Coro gets out of prison for having provoked a fire, nobody is waiting for him. He returns to his hometown, a small village in rural Galicia, to live with his elder mother, Benedicta, and three cows. Life goes on calmly, following the rhythm of the nature. Until the night when a fire devastates the region.
Main Awards: Cannes 2019 Un Certain Regard – Jury Prize
HER JOB (I DOULIA TIS) by Nikos Labôt (2018)
Countries: Greece, France, Serbia
Synopsis: Thirty-seven-year-old Panayiota leads a quiet, modest life with her husband (a domineering presence who spends his meagre unemployment income at gambling parlours), her rebellious teenage daughter, and her sensitive younger son. Sacrificing and servile (and nearly illiterate) Panayiota is trapped within a domestic environment that prevents her from achieving independence. One day, an opportunity for employment as a cleaner at a nearby mall stirs in her the excitement of a new life. But this newly-gained autonomy stands to be prematurely pruned by a series of layoffs at work.
Main Awards: Toronto International Film Festival 2018 Official Selection, Thessaloniki Film Festival 2018 – Best Actress
OUR STRUGGLES (NOS BATAILLES) by Guillaume Senez (2018)
Belgium, France
Synopsis: Olivier does the best he can to fight injustice at work. But from one day to the next, when his wife Laura abandons the family home, he is left alone to juggle between the children’s needs, life’s daily challenges and his job. Faced with these new responsibilities, he struggles to find a balance because Laura’s not coming back.
Main Awards: Cannes 2018 Critics’ Week – Special Screenings
PERFUMES (LES PARFUMS) by Gregory Magne (2019)
France
Synopsis: Anne Walberg is a master in perfumes. She creates fragrances and sells her incredible gift to many companies. She is a diva, selfish and temperamental. Guillaume is her new driver and the only one who dares facing her. This is probably why she does not fire him.
THE AUDITION (DAS VORSPIEL) by Ina Weisse (2019)
Germany, France
Synopsis: Anna is working as a violin teacher at a music high school in Berlin. Her French husband Bronsky is a violin maker. They have a ten-year-old son. At the annual entrance exam, Anna decides against the will of her colleagues for the admission of a boy in which she sees a great talent. She wants to prove to her colleagues that she was right about him and soon devotes more time and attention to her new student Alexander than to her own son Jonas and thus brings the two boys into competition with each other. At the same time, her marriage to Bronsky becomes more complicated. Anna withdraws more and more from her family and begins an affair with her colleague Christian. When Anna fails at her own concert with Christian, she feels under pressure. She becomes too obsessed until a tragic accident occurs.
Main Awards: Toronto Film Festival 2019 Discovery, San Sebastián 2019 Competition