European Union film festival to be held virtually

Panaji: The European Union Film

Festival

(EUFF), which was held in the physical mode every year in Goa, is being held in the virtual format this year. Till November 30, cinema lovers will be able to watch 60 films in 37 languages online. The festival will also pay homage to legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

The 26th edition of the festival promises to provide a “window to Europe” in its virtual avatar, featuring award-winning European cinema. It celebrates the diversity and depth of European cinema and culture.

Film aficionados can register free of cost for access to the

film

festival and related events. The festival is organised by the delegation of the European Union to India, member states and associate countries, in collaboration with Indian and European partners.

Paying homage to Ray on his 100th birth anniversary, the festival will feature the seminal ‘Pather Panchali’. A special contemporary Indian section, curated by the Dharamshala International Film Festival, includes six films in four Indian languages — Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam and Bengali.

EUFF will also pay tribute to Europe’s cinematic legacy by hosting, in collaboration with Cinema Ritrovato Festival, a set of films that have been digitally restored and remastered.

Ambassador of the European Union to India, Ugo Astuto said, “The 26th edition of the European Film Festival will take viewers on a journey across the Continent through the eyes of our storytellers. The very positive feedback after our last edition has encouraged us to include again a section on classic masterpieces from both Europe and India.”

Audiences can register through the Festival Scope and the EUFF website.

The festival will showcase movies from 27 European countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

“Through the wide and multiform variety of films presented in this EUFF India 2021 edition, we’ll get to know stories of people standing up together for their rights to equality and freedom, listen to the voices of children fighting to go to school and hear about our generation’s increasing awareness to defend our planet in the face of climate change,” EUFF film curator Veronica Flora said.