By Reuben Dhanaraj
Featuring an exotic collection of breathtaking masterpieces, the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) held in Singapore from the 15th – 25th May at Shaw Theatres Lido is bound to leave you intrigued and spellbound. Dubbed as Singapore’s second longest-running film festival (24 years to date), the EUFF aims to usher these splendid European films into the spotlight (many of which have rarely witnessed audiences outside of the European regions).
The festival’s motto for this year, “See the stars of Europe” nicely ties in with the diverse selection of 27 films from 27 various European countries showcased for this one very special event. Spearheading the festival will be the winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award and Golden Globe, “The Great Beauty”.
Turkey’s costliest film and Oscar submission, “The Butterfly Dream” alongside Iceland’s brilliant low budget comedy, “This is Sanlitun” will also be presented at the EUFF. “What Richard did” and “Snow White” are also titles not to be missed.
Preceding every screening of the EUFF will be the unveiling of various short films by students and alumni of Chapman University, hence reprising the University’s role as the Festival’s official Film School Partner. The first short film that has already been presented is “Trickster”, a documentary about Mr. Azri Majilan, a freestyle footballer in Singapore.
The short film was featured at an invitational screening of ‘The Great Beauty’ on 23rd April at the School of Film at Media Studies in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Gracing the occasion was the head of Political, Press and Information Section, Mr. Bernhard Faustenhammer (of the European Union delegation to Singapore), accompanied with Mrs. Veronica Manson, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute and Ms. Nana Greenwald, Chapman University Associate Dean and former Hollywood Producer.
To conclude, here’s a quote from Dr. Michael Pulch – Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation, which he made on the EUFF. “No other festival in Singapore presents a more complete showcase of European Cinema, and this year, we’re proud to present one of the most current, diverse and exciting line-ups in the history of the Festival”. So all you film enthusiasts out there, don’t miss your chance to grab your seats at this awe-inspiring festival. See you there!
Tickets are priced at $12 and are available at www.shaw.sg from end of April. For more info and the latest updates, head on to the Facebook Page, EUFFsg.
