ARTICLE
27 Films Featured at this year's European Union Film Festival (EUFF)
By Flora / 08 Apr 2019 (Monday)
The 29th edition of the annual European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will be presenting 27 films featuring the best of contemporary European cinema from 10 to 19 May at the National Gallery Singapore.
Romania is the featured country this year, and the film, ‘Beside Me’ has been selected as the opening film of the festival. Tedy Necula, director of the inspirational film will be in Singapore to attend the festival.
“Beside Me is a very special film because its the first Romanian inspirational movie. We have chosen this movie out of the many options particularly because of its message. The catchword is hope. It’s the kind of movie that leaves you warm and fuzzy and lingers on even once you leave the cinema,” said Diana Zahorte, Romania's Deputy Head of Mission to Singapore.
"Beside Me". Image Credit: EUFF
She added: “It was a difficult decision as Romanian cinema is quite well-developed. We have movies that touch on different topics and different genres. We took into consideration the different factors of this film and ultimately, we want a movie that can be enjoyed by a broad audience, so that’s how we chose ‘Beside Me’.”
Beside Me tells the story about a group of strangers who are being forced to interact when a subway is blocked between stations. At the end of the journey, at the next station, each one comes out changed.
"Sing Street." Image Credit: EUFF
In its 29th iteration this year, "EUFF brings Singaporean and European communities together, adding to the cross-cultural dialogue through the rich and diverse narratives of European cinema," said European Ambassador to Singapore, H.E Barbara Plinkert.
As to how these films were picked, Kenneth Tan, Chairman, Singapore Film Society explained: “It’s a combination of what each of the EU member country and participating countries feel they want to choose to represent their countries of that year. Our curatorial inputs are what we think is interesting for the Singapore audiences and considerations of what is available.”
The festival continues EUFF’s long tradition of collaborating with a Singaporean film school. Partnering for the fifth time with Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Film and Media Studies, the EUFF features short films by students and alumni of the school alongside the official film selection
Festival tickets are priced at $12 and are available for sale through SISTIC. Purchase of a festival ticket will include one complimentary admission ticket to all exhibitions at National Gallery Singapore. Several participating countries will be hosting prescreening receptions and ticket holders to those movies are invited to join these receptions.
Head to the official website for more information.
EUFF takes place from 10-19 May at the National Gallery Singapore's Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium.