Festival feeds film fanatics
27-Nov-2009 08:48 AM

HUNDREDS of film lovers tired of watching the latest Hollywood or Bollywood blockbusters enjoyed a European-style cinematic treat this week.

The 2009 European Film Festival, which features a wide variety of Europe’s top movies, kicked off on Wednesday in Suva.

“Through this festival, we would like to make the diversity and cultural richness of European cinema accessible to the people of the Pacific and strengthen the cultural and social ties between the two regions,” said European Commission Ambassador Wiepke
Van der Goot.

The three-day event, running from 25 – 28 November, features 13 films from eight different European countries including Czech Republic, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Spain.

“They range from animated movies and documentaries to historic movies and blockbuster hits, and include films for children, teens and adults,” Wiepke Van der Goot said.

Before the screening of the French film Le Couperet, Ambassador to France Michel Monnier spoke about the importance of the film.

“Images, as opposed to languages, are universal,” Monnier said to a packed house at the Alliance Francaise.

The theme of this year’s festival is celebrating diversity, sharing cultures.
Europe has a long and rich movie-making history, said Wiepke van der Goot, but the industry was destroyed by WWII.

“The cradle of the modern film industry is not in Hollywood, neither in Bollywood,” he said. “It lies in the so-called Old Continent (Europe), from where the success of motion picture films began.”

The films are screened at the Alliance Francaise, Village 6 Cinemas and the University of the South Pacific. Admission is free, but tickets must be booked in advance at the venues
or by calling 331-3633.

By DALE CARRUTHERS