THE European Union Film Festival is scheduled to kick off tonight with a special screening at the EU Delegation. However, subsequent screenings will take place from October 18-22 at Palace Cineplex in Sovereign Centre.

Eleven movies from European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, will be screened.

Under the theme ‘Building Bridges: Connecting People’, the festival offers movie lovers, creatives, students and teachers of international relations, foreign language enthusiasts, and adventurers, the opportunity to see a variety of movies that stimulate conversations on real-life issues affecting people from different backgrounds and cultures. They will also experience varying styles and techniques of storytelling through the eyes of talented European film-makers.

Admission is free, but persons interested in attending are required to register via an online platform accessible at: https://eudeljamfilmfestival2023.squarespace.com/

Marianne Van Steen is the European Union’s ambassador to Jamaica.

“We are extremely excited. It is the first time we’re back with our European Union Film Festival in Jamaica since COVID-19, and it’s been quite a success already because most of our member states that do not even have embassies in this country are very excited to participate. So it is going to be very exciting, and we are looking forward to that, and we are also expecting that many Jamaicans will actually register and enjoy this offer of movies,” Ambassador Van Steen disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

She shared what patrons can expect each night.

“For each night, what participants can expect is a different taste in movies. European films are not like commercial films from Hollywood — they are specific, they provide different scenery than the traditional American movies. The capacity of the movie theatre is not that big. We can only accommodate 89 viewers,” cautioned Ambassador Van Steen.

She also shared the significance of the film festival’s theme: ‘Building Bridges: Connecting People’.

“Jamaica and the European Union have very strong relations in all different areas — whether it is on a political level where we discuss geopolitical realities surrounding us, or we talk about trade where we try to make sure that we can trade more, or about development cooperation where we try to assist Jamaica to achieve the sustainable development goals with our support. But sometimes it is also important to get to know each other better, and what better way can you get to know each other than through art?

“We are using film as an instrument to reach out to the people of Jamaica, and not just to the Government of Jamaica. The film festival is another attempt to show who we are, and we hope that the movies will show that,” she added.