The European Film Academy has unveiled a new public-facing event called the Month of European Film.
The initiative consists of a showcase of European cinema taking place in arthouse theatres and other venues in 35 countries across Europe.
It will kick off on November 13 and run across the four weeks leading up to the European Film Awards in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik on December 10.
At the same time, streaming platform Mubi will present a special focus on European films, allowing viewers around the world to participate.
“With the Month of European Film, the Academy is launching a new network. A large part of this network consists of movie theatres curating smart programmes with handpicked films that cater for the curiosity and tastes of their local audiences, programs that help to rediscover European film culture,” said EFA CEO and director says Matthijs Wouter Knol.
“For the very first time, all these efforts and initiatives are linked to each other over a longer time via the Month of European Film, carefully orchestrated by the Academy.”
Cinemas involved in the initiatives include France’s Balzac in Paris, Latvia’s Splendid Palace in Riga, the Netherlands’ EYE in Amsterdam, the U.K.’s Glasgow Film Theatre, Ukraine’s Zhovten Cinema in Kyiv, Sweden’s Folkets Bio in Umeà, Italy’s Cinema Beltrade in Milan, and the Yorck cinema chain in Berlin for Germany.
As well as showcasing individual films, there will also be programs celebrating the national cinema of certain European territories. Kyiv’s Zhovten cinema, for example, is planning an Italian Retrospective, while Italy’s Beltrade will run a Spanish Film Festival.
There will also be retrospectives devoted to iconic European filmmakers such as Lars von Trier, at the Kino Aero in Prague, Jacques Tati, at the Nicolai Biograf in Kolding, Denmark, and Jonas Mekas at the Kino Armata in Prishtina, Kosovo.
“What Europe is missing is a strong awareness of both the joint richness and the vulnerability of its own cinema and with it, the will and dedication to respect and protect it,” said Knol.
“We are convinced that strengthening the visibility of European films which feature our very own European stories and history shouldn’t be done only on a national level. This is a European question and need, one that can only be answered successfully together, by further joining forces. For us, this initiative is the first step. The Academy will be increasingly committed to this in the coming years.”
The Month of European Film will launch November 13 with the European Arthouse Cinema Day, a project organised by CICAE, and the European Film Academy’s yearly Young Audience Award
