Win tickets to the Europa! Europa Film Festival!
From international film festival favourites to star-studded blockbusters and subversive works helmed by Europe’s most celebrated auteurs, Europa! Europa is set to bring the very best of European cinema to Australian shores for the first time from February 4 - 27 2022.
Featuring 43 films from 42 countries, the Festival brings Europe’s most innovative, audacious and daring films to audiences down under in Sydney and Melbourne.
“I am thrilled to present Europa! Europa’s incredible inaugural program, brimming with bold and daring Australian premieres which encapsulate the unrestrained spirit of European cinema and span the full cultural breadth of the continent.”
“From terrifying Scandi-horror to acclaimed titles direct from Cannes and powerful ruminations on the experiences of refugees in Europe – the Festival gives Australian audiences the opportunity to see Europe’s hottest titles fast tracked to their local cinema,” says Europa! Europa Film Festival Director, Thomas Caldwell.
Launching the Festival’s inaugural program is The Souvenir Part II, British filmmaker Joanna Hogg’s (Archipelago) sequel to her acclaimed autobiographical feature The Souvenir. Starring film icon Tilda Swinton (The French Dispatch) and her real-life daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne, Hogg’s film is a shimmering story of a young woman’s formative years during which she attempts to find her voice as a filmmaker in the aftermath of personal tragedy. Audiences will be also able to catch the first installment of The Souvenir which is screening as part of the Festival.
Closing the Festival is writer-director Bruno Dumont’s (Coincoin and the Extra Humans) 2021 Cannes Palme d’Or nominated satire France, a rich and beguiling critique of the French media landscape featuring charismatic French star Léa Seydoux (No Time To Die, The French Dispatch). Seydoux plays star journalist France de Muers, whose frantic high profile world is turned upside down after a traffic accident in which she injures a pedestrian.
Cinematic gems from Cannes 2021 include: Norwegian director Eskil Vogt’s (Blind) Un Certain Regard nominated The Innocents, a gripping supernatural thriller about a group of children harbouring dark and mysterious powers; Finnish filmmaker Juho Kuosmanen’s (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki) 2021 Grand Prix winning Compartment No. 6, exploring the unconventional love story that takes place between two strangers sharing a Russian train journey through the Arctic Circle.
Coming of age stories from Cannes include Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Caméra d'Or for best first feature film winning Murina, an engrossing drama exploring the shifting power dynamic between a restless teenager, her oppressive father and an old family friend that boasts Martin Scorsese as one of its executive producers; and Spanish filmmaker Clara Roquet’s long-awaited feature debut Libertad, a vibrant sun-kissed drama on the Cerulean Catalan seas about the tremulous fizz of female friendship and desire, alongside a contemplation of class and wealth.
Also from Cannes is Belgian filmmaker Joachim Lafosse’s Palme d’Or nominated The Restless, a deeply compelling depiction of what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder, inspired by Lafosse’s own experiences growing up with a bipolar father.
The program features submissions from 13 countries across Europe for Best International Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards.
Cinematic gems from the Balkans include: Bulgaria’s Fear, a social satire shot in black and white that expertly blends drama, romance and ultra-black comedy to explore racial prejudice in small communities; North Macedonia’s Sisterhood, a strong coming-of-age tale about toxic friendships, culpability and responsibility that explores the story of a slut shaming victim from the unique perspective of the perpetrator; and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s The White Fortress, a gritty yet romantic social-realist fairytale about a timid teen from a politically powerful family and an orphan who spends his days foraging for scrap metal and dabbling in petty crime.
Set in the wild mountains of Connemara, Irish Gaelic language submission Shelter is a look at what happens when a socially inept recluse must navigate friendship and love for the first time, and the role toxic masculinity plays in undermining both.
Swiss entry Olga is a compelling psychological portrait of a dedicated young gymnast training for the European Championship in preparation for the Olympics.
On the Water, is a tender coming-of-age story from Estonia about a sensitive teenager who lacks friends his own age and finds friendship among the drunks, sex-workers and thieves who are his neighbours.
Also screening is Iraqi entry Europa, an immersive and visceral drama from Iraqi-Italian filmmaker Haider Rashid (No Borders). Inspired on real events, the film explores the experiences of migrants on the so-called ‘Balkan Route’ where they are smuggled into the continent across the Turkish border and often subjected to violence, intimidation and illegal pushback.
Thanks to the team at Europa! Europa Film Festival, we have 2 double passes for our Sydney readers to giveaway, and 2 double passes for our Melbourne readers to giveaway! Check out our competition page at the link below to enter, and go into the running to catch your next movie on us!