Initiative Starring Europe is comprised of feature and short films from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Spain, and should not be missed by any fan of the notable European cinema.

The Czech Republic will be represented by an outstanding short movie “Retriever”, (23 minutes) on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 7:30 PM as part of Opening Night. This short movie was presented at the official program, in the Cinéfondation section, at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. This short film directed by FAMU students Tomáš Klein and Tomáš Merga, was selected from 1,600 works submitted by film schools. After his wife left Milan, a retriever named Goldy becomes the companion to Milan’s life, soul, and mind.

 

Further information about the program and how to purchase tickets can be found at americancinemathequecalendar.com

 

 

ENTIRE PROGRAM:

Egyptian Theatre:

Thursday, September 24 – 7:30 PM                                        EU FILM FESTIVAL

Opening Night! “EU Shorts Program,” 137 min.  Join us for an evening if some of the best new short films from across the European Union!

Part I (67 min) Films include: “Eddy” (2014, Italy, 30 min. Dir. Simone Borrelli) The Council of Europe’s Official Human Rights Movie examines the toll terrorist attacks take on children and volunteer doctors in Syria. “Deep Space” (2014, Belgium, 7 min. Dir. Bruno Tondeur) An animated astronaut is drawn to a strangely alluring planet while searching for intelligent life. “Dinner for Few” (2014, Greece, 10 min. Dir. Athanassios Vakalis) This animated parable is a haunting look at a world of hunger and unequal distribution of resources. “Ramona” (2015, Romania, 20 min. Dir. Andrei Cretulescu) The final film in a trilogy, this wordless thriller follows one young woman caught up in a night of violence. Winner of the Canal+ Award of the “Semaine de la Critique” section at Cannes.

Part II (70 min):  “Retriever” (2014, Czech Republic, 21 min. Dirs. Tomás Klein, Tomás Merta) Golden retriever Goldy helps revitalize a lonely middle-aged man. “Noisemaker” (2014, Lithuania, dir. Karolis Kaupinis, 15 min. winner of best short film Lithuania Film Awards 2015) After falling below the student enrollment quota, a principal and his staff desperately dress classrooms to trick government officials into believing the school meets all requirements.  “Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)” (2015, Austria/Germany, 30 min. Dir. Patrick Vollrath) When her divorced father picks up her up for their regular weekend visit, eight-year-old Lea suspects something isn’t right. Won the Small Golden Rail award at the Cannes Film Festival. “The Present” (2014, Germany, 4 min. Dir. Jacob Frey) A boy addicted to video games is lured away from them by a gift from his mother in this animated comedy.

 

Aero Theatre:

Friday, September 25 – 7:30 PM                                                  EU FILM FESTIVAL

Double Feature:  GODS (BOGOWIE), 2014, Poland, 120 min. Dir. Lukasz Palkowski.  In 1985, Zbigniew Religa became the first surgeon in Poland to successfully transplant a human heart, and this riveting biopic underlines the achievement, made in the face of skepticism and government bureaucracy. Tomasz Kot is sensational as the chain-smoking Religa, and GODS earned six Eagles at the Polish Film Awards including Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Actor. “You wouldn’t think a film about cardiology in Poland would be such a kick, but BOGOWIE … is a fast-paced, soapy pleasure, sort of like “ER” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” but with the 1980s setting adding a judicious dollop of iron-curtain period kitsch.” - Leslie Felperin, The Guardian. In Polish with English subtitles.

FLOWERS (LOREAK), 2014, Spain, 99 min. Dirs. Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga. The anonymous bouquet Ane (Nagore Aranburu) receives each week connects her to two other women - a coworker’s wife (Itziar Ituño) and his mother (Feroz Award winner Itziar Aizpuru). This moving and occasionally melancholy look at love and its aftereffects was a Best Film nominee at the Goya Awards – a first for a Basque-language film. In Basque with English subtitles.

 

Saturday, September 26 – 7:30 PM                                            EU FILM FESTIVAL

Double Feature:   THE LESSON (UROK), 2014, Bulgaria, Film Movement, 105 min. Dirs. Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov. Life is tough for teachers everywhere, but even more so in Bulgaria, where Nade (Margita Gosheva, in a very strong performance) must turn to a loan shark when her family’s house is threatened with foreclosure. Based on a true story, this absorbing drama won the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix and the Audience Award for Best Film at the Sofia International Film Festival. In Bulgarian with English subtitles.

THEY HAVE ESCAPED (HE OVAT PAENNEET), 2014, Finland, 102 min. Dir. J.-P. Valkeapää. Misfits Joni (Teppo Manner) and Raisa (Roosa Söderholm) flee a halfway house for troubled youth and hit the road to search for a buried fortune – a journey that takes several dark and surreal turns. Winner of four Jussi Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction. In Finnish with English subtitles.

 

Sunday, September 27 – 4:00 PM                                               EU FILM FESTIVAL

THE LESSON (IZLAIDUMA GADS), 2014, Latvia, 108 min. Dir. Andris Gauja. Coming off of a divorce, Zane (Inga Alsina-Lasmane) throws herself into her work at a Latvian high school, where she teaches a rather resistant class of seniors. But Zane is faced with a difficult decision when she realizes she’s falling in love with one of her students. In Latvian and Russian with English subtitles.

 

Sunday, September 27 – 7:30 PM                                               EU FILM FESTIVAL

Double Feature: MAMMEJONG, 2015, Luxembourg, 85 min. Dir. Jacques Molitor. Flëpp (Max Thommes) has always been a mama’s boy – until Leena (Maja Juric) arrives – can the mysterious young runaway coax Flëpp from the unhealthy orbit of his manic-depressive mother and into a world beyond his small home town? In Luxembourgish and English with English subtitles.

IN THE CROSSWIND (RISTTUULES), 2014, Estonia, 90 min. Dir. Martti Helde. During the Soviet Union’s occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, tens of thousands of people were forcibly resettled or sent to Siberian gulags. Told through the eyes of Erna (Laura Peterson), whose real-life diary provides most of the narration, this elegy to these forgotten victims takes an unusual visual approach; shot in B&W, the camera moves around stationary actors in striking tableaux vivants. In Estonian with English subtitles.  (email sent to confirm) Discussion following with director Jacques Molitor.