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The Ambassador of Austria, H.E. Dr.
Jutta Stefan-Bastl, representing the Presidency of the European Union,
Dr. Alexandros Spachis, Charge d'affaires of the European Commission
in India and Mr. Shankar Mohan of the Directorate of Film Festivals,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India launched
the eleventh edition of the European Union Film Festival.
The festival was held in New Delhi from 3rd to 10th March, in Kolkata
from 17th to 24th March, in Chennai from 24th to 31st March and in
Thiruvananthapuram from 4th to 11th April and showcase 19 movies, each
one from a different EU country, highlighting the best cinema from
Europe. The entry was free of cost.
The opening ceremony was held on Friday 3rd March in New Delhi at Siri
Fort Auditorium II in New Delhi with the screening of the Austrian
movie "MY RUSSIA" by Mrs. Barbara Graftner, awarded in 2002 Max Ophuls
Prize for Best Film. The ceremony was attended by H.E. Shri Priya
Ranjan Dasmunsi, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and by
H.E. Ms. Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Tourism and Culture along
with the Austrian director, Mrs. Barbara Gräftner.
The EU Film Festival was composed of a bouquet of films that gave
vivid reflections of the cultural streams of Europe and stories that
describe the European life in a certain socio-economic and cultural
environment. Mainly all the movies have been awarded prestigious
prizes in recent years such as Platinum Award (The Kiss; 2004); Oscar
for best foreign language film (Kolya, 1996), CICAE award Venice Film
festival (Gille's Wife, 2004) and Best movie and Best Actress Festival
of Malaga (Hector, 2004).
By presenting a selection of modern European cinema to the Indian
public the Festival aims at projecting the excellence of the European
film art, contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film
cultures and to the promotion of mutual understanding, friendship and
co- operation among Indian and European citizens. The event symbolizes
an important facet of the growing cultural relations between the EU
and India reinvigorated in the last six years with the organisation of
the EU-India Summits and by the recent Action Plan launched at the 6th
EU-India Summit in September 2005.
The films screened are: My Russia (Austria), The Kiss (Belgium), Kolja
(Czech Republic), Under the stars (Cyprus), Dog Nail Clipper
(Finland), Viper in the Fist (France), Kebab Connection (Germany), The
Cistern (Greece), Guarded Secrets (Hungary), Mystics (Ireland), The
Soul’s Haven (Italy), Gille's wife (Luxembourg), Zus & Zo
(Netherlands), Squint your eyes (Poland), The Murmuring Coast
(Portugal), Escape to Budin (Slovakia), Cheese and Jam (Slovenia),
Hector (Spain), and Topsy-Turvy (U.K).
For further details, please visit
www.delind.cec.eu.int/en/euff2006
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