20th Cine Europa to showcase 24 films from different EU countries in PH

Among the list to be screened are these two German films: “Lola rennt” (Run Lola Run) and “Terror –Ihr Urteil” (The Verdict). (Photo By Source, Fair use)

Heads up to all movie buffs out there as the widest and longest film festival in the Philippines comes back on September 16 at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City.

On its 20^th year, the Cine Europa will offer its audience an awe-inspiring combination of contemporary and local films from various European countries including Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, France, Bulgaria, and Germany. There will be a total of 24 films which will be featured in the said film festival.

Among the list to be screened are these two German films: “Lola rennt” (Run Lola Run) and “Terror –Ihr Urteil” (The Verdict).

Written and directed by Tom Tykwer, the film “Lola rennt” (Run Lola Run) follows the story of a woman who needs to get 100,000 Deutsche Mark for 20-minutes in order to save her boyfriend’s life.  This 1998 film was starred by Franka Potente, who played the role of Lola, and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni (Lola’s boyfriend in the film). This movie gained positive reviews from the critics for its unforgettably stylish way of storytelling with an extremely amount of fascinating twist and turns.

Based on German bestseller author Ferdinand Von Schirach’s “Terror”, another film to be screened is entitled “Terror – Ihr Urteil” (The Verdict). It tackles about the trial of a military pilot Major Lars Koch, who go against the explicit orders of his superiors and shoots a hijacked passenger plane minutes away from crashing into a football stadium filled with 70,000 people.  This film was directed by Lars Kraume and written by Oliver Berben. It was starred together by Burghart Klaußner and Martina Gedeck.

After the hearing of the air force pilot, the audience will then judge whether it’s guilty or not through sending their votes online, text message, or via phone call. In the Philippines, the viewers will be asked to vote through raising their hands. The verdict that gets more votes will be broadcasted. Through this way, the film made its audience to participate not only as mere viewers but also as an active crowd.

Aside from “Lola rennt” and “The Verdict”, other films included in the lineup are as follows:

• Deine Schönheit ist nichts wert (Your Beauty is Worth Nothing), 2012, Austria
• Les Barons (The Barons), 2009, Belgium
• Monkey, 2016, Bulgaria
• And?l Pán? 2 (An Angel of the Lord), 2016, Czech Republic
• Babettes gæstebud (Babette’s Feast), 1987, Denmark
• Sult (Hunger), 1966, Denmark
• Jules et Jim (Jules and Jim), 1961, France
• Souvenir, 2016, France
• Utóélet (Afterlife), 2014, Hungary
• I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street), 1958, Italy
• 20 Sigarette (20 Cigarettes), 2010, Italy
• De He van ’63 (The Hell of ’63), 2009, Netherlands
• Veiviseren (Pathfinder), 1997, Norway
• Bølgen (The Wave), 2015, Norway
• Aniversarea (The Anniversary), 2017, Romania
• Doua lozuri (Two Lottery Tickets), 2016, Romania
• Perinbaba (The Feather Fairy), 1985, Slovakia
• Wilsonov (Wilson City), 1966, Slovakia
• TRUMAN, 2015, Spain
• El ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel), 1962, Spain
• Flickan Mamman och Demonerna (The Girl, The Mother and the Demons), 1966, Sweden
• A Moving Image, 2016, United Kingdom

First Secretary Jerome Riviere of the European Delegation to the Philippines along with Vice-President of Shangri-La Corporation Ms. Lala Fojas, and Mr. Jo Andrew Torlao of Film Development Council of the Philippines introduced the Cine Europa film festival to the press. During the press launch on Wednesday, Riviere said that they are looking forward to featuring more dynamic, unique, and vibrant movies to present “Europe in its diversity.”

The festival will start in Manila from September 16 in Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong and will travel to Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, Baybay, and Puerto Princesa before heading back to Manila.