October 22, 2003
No. 64/03

OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 9 

2003 EU SHOWCASE Enhanced by Addition of AFI Silver Theatre Screens; Films from New EU Member-States 

Silver Spring, Maryland, October 22, 2003—The American Film Institute (AFI) and the European Commission Delegation in Washington today announced an expanded exhibition and programming schedule for the October 29 - November 9, 2003 EU SHOWCASE, an international collaboration presenting US premieres, worldwide festival award winners and box office triumphs covering a wide range of themes and styles from today’s European filmmaking community. 

For the first time, the 16^th annual EU SHOWCASE will present the best of new European cinema at two venues—both the AFI National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and the newly renovated historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland. The 2003 EU SHOWCASE will also for the first time feature notable films from three of the 10 new EU member states—Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Other European member states represented include Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, the United Kingdom and Greece. 

Willy Hélin, Director of Press and Public Affairs at the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington, DC, comments, "People have a natural tendency to forget that European film-directors and actors have largely contributed to the tremendous success of Hollywood and, in a more recent past, to independent production in the United States. Today, in the global village our planet has become, co-productions between Europe and America are a sign of excellent cooperation across the Atlantic. The EU SHOWCASE we are proud to present this year illustrates the diversity of pure European film-production, including films from three new members of the European Union that belong to the film industry tradition.  More than ever, we present the American audience with a grasp of our cultural diversity through these ‘made in Europe’ movies."  

To represent the European voice, Italian director Pupi Avati has been invited to introduce the opening night 8:30 p.m. screening of his new film INCANTANTO (aka THE HEART IS ELSEWHERE).   

The 2003 EU SHOWCASE Best of Europe films include: 

· Italy’s INCANTANTO (Enchanted) [AKA THE HEART ELSEWHERE/Il Cuore Altrove].  The story is of an unlikely love affair between bookworm teacher Neri Marcoorè and blind-but-dazzling Vanessa Incontrada, set in 1920s Italy. Directed and written by Pupi Avati and also starring Giancarlo Gianni, INCANTANTO won Italy’s Best Director Oscar equivalent David di Donatello Award for Avati. 2003. 

· France’s THE FLOWER OF EVIL [La fleur du mal]. This thriller about town councilwoman Nathalie Bayer’s run for mayor despite the surfacing of rumors of Nazi collaboration and murder in the family is classic flay-the-bourgeoisie from New Wave thriller-titan Claude Chabrol. Also starring Bernard Lecog, Mélanie Doutey and Benoît Magimel (Best Actor, Cannes, THE PIANO TEACHER). Directed/co-written by Claude Chabrol. 2002. 

· United Kingdom’s THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING. This sparsely- dialogued adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s novel features Colin Firth as renowned Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. When Vermeer allows housemaid Scarlett Johansson to assist him in the studio, rich patron Tom Wilkinson picks her as the subject of the painting he’s commissioned from Vermeer. Eduardo Serra’s dazzling photography evokes the distinctive Vermeer lighting throughout. Directed by Peter Webber. 2003. 

· Denmark’s THE GREEN BUTCHERS [De gronne slagtere]. This hilarious blacker-than-black comedy features two “can’t-make-it-in-the-real-world” buddies who set up a butcher shop that fizzles, but is reinvigorated when a series of people start disappearing. Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen and produced by AFI alumnus Kim Magnusson. 2002.  

· Luxembourg’s ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A SAINT [J’ai toujours voulu etre une sainte]. Recipient of the Golden Zenith, Best First Feature award at the Montreal Festival, this touching drama tells the story of 17-year-old Marie Kremer’s journey from a life of invention—brought on by being abandoned by her mother as a child—to facing life as it is. Directed by Geneviève Mersch. 2003. 

· Finland’s UMUR. Lyrical evocations of magnificent Finnish landscapes infuse this sensitively told tale of unresolved love between border guard Heikki Rantanen and Minna Turunen—the Umar of the title who lets Rantanen in—and then pushes him away. Directed by Kai Lehtinen. 2002. 

· Belgium’s (Flanders) KASSABLANKA. This controversial film of forbidden multi-cultural love between 17-year-old Muslim Leilah and the 19-year-old son of a neo-fascist Flemish nationalist—set in the Kassablanka district of Antwerp against an unprecedented shift towards the extreme right—reflects the real-life outcome of recent communal elections. Directed by Ivan Boeckmans and Guy Lee Thys. 2002. 

· Belgium’s ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS. Director/writer Tom Barman’s tale of eight dreamers’ experiences on a sweltering afternoon in Antwerp, intended to “swing, rock, stutter, blow back and forth and shamelessly lack climax,” infused with a compelling soundtrack by Herbie Hancock and many others. Directed by Tom Barman. 2003. 

· Sweden’s REUNION [Klassfesten]. The smash-hit comedy by Sweden’s popular writing/directing team Mannes Herngren and Hannes Holm captures Björn Kellman’s bittersweet experience facing his teenage crush Sacha Baptiste at their high school reunion. Directed by Manns Herngren and Hannes Holm. 2002.  

· Spain’s WE ARE BEING WATCHED [Nos miran]. In this low-key thriller, cop Carmelo Gomez investigates the disappearance of a businessman—only to discover that thousands have disappeared from Spain in the last 20 years. Directed by Norberto Lopez. Winner of the Fantasporto Festival Critics Award. 2002. 

· Portugal’s THE STONE RAFT [A Jangada de Pedra]. In this adaptation of Nobel laureate José Saramajo’s magically realistic and bitingly satirical novel, five people jammed in a Citroen 2CV experience mysterious God-like powers when an inexplicable crack in the Pyrenees separates them from the mainland on a floating Iberian Peninsula. Directed by George Sluizer. 2002. 

· Greece’s LOSER TAKES ALL [O Hamenos ta pairnei ola]. A bawdy, raucous adventure featuring Yannis Aggelakas as a down-and-out philanderer who, thrown out by his wife, traverses seedy bars and strip joints through murders and manhunts, collecting an entourage of loser-loving outsiders before taking off for an island off the coast of Peru. Top Greek band Tyros provides a haunting score. Directed by Nikos Nikolaidis. 2002. 

· Austria’s POPPITZ. In this frenetic comedy from the star/director/co-scenarist of the Düringer/Sicheritz team (WANTED), hotshot car salesman Roland Düringer, fed up with the pressures of work and family, goes on vacation to Cosamera—but finds it’s no vacation paradise. Directed by Harald Sicheritz. 2002. 

· Sweden’s EVERYBODY LOVES ALICE [All älskar Alice]. A sensitive “no-sides-taken” telling of the break up of a marriage from a child’s point of view. Lena Endre won the Sochi Festival’s Best Actress award for her portrayal of the spurned-for-another-woman mother whose daughter Björk (Special Mention, Sochi Festival) teams up with the other woman’s son to spoil their parents’ budding relationship. Directed by Richard Hobert. 2002.  

· Hungary’s A KIND OF AMERIKA. This Hungarian comedic spin on how to score a Hollywood deal features Csaba Pimdroch, Gyozo Szabo, Ferenc Hujber and Tibor Szerveth as the cast of characters whose real skill is acting—ranging from the Hungarian music video director who really wants to make a Hollywood film to the brothers who pose as producers to impress a Hollywood producer… who’s really a Hungarian national. Directed by Gabor Herendi. 2001. 

· Poland’s SQUINT YOUR EYES [Zmruz oczy]. Mixing absurdist dialogue with jump-cut editing, this auspicious directorial debut by Andrzej Jakimowski features a series of quirky and inexplicable things happening under the “watch” of bearded Warsaw expatriate Zbigiew Zamachowski in his job as a warehouse guard. Directed/written by Andrzej Jakimowski. 2003. 

· Czech Republic’s ONE HAND CAN’T CLAP [Jedna ruka netleská]. This Czech comedy smash from LONERS director David Ondricek features Ivan Trojan as a restaurant owner and family man whose life runs amuck when screwball ex-employee Jirí Machácek (to whom he owes a bundle) shows up just out of the pen. Directed by David Ondricek. 2003.  

· Hungary’s BÁNK BÁN. First-time director Csaba Káel adapts the Ferenc Erkel national epic opera of Middle Ages Hungary—complete with love, lust, betrayal and revenge. Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond captures stunning location footage of the Hungarian countryside and its Gothic castles. Directed by Csaba Káel. 2001. 

· Finland’s THE HANDCUFF KING [Kahlekuningas]. A comic and poignant coming-of-age tale of 12-year-old Miikka Enbuske’s attempt to avoid a tragic home life by first escaping into a rich fantasy life, then crossing the Swedish border for a real-life friendship with Emil Lundberg. Directed by Arto Koskinen. 2002. 

· Germany’s WOLFSBURG. Vintage suspense characterizes this Berlin Festival FIPRESCI Award winner featuring Benno Fürmann as the man who accidentally runs over a child and drives on, only to show up later as the love interest for the child’s mother, Nina Voss, on her quest to find the murderer the cops can’t find. Directed by Chritian Petzold. 2002. 

Screening dates and times are accessible online at AFI.com/Silver. 

Tickets are $8.50 for the general audience; $7.50 for seniors, students and AFI members.  

Tickets for AFI Silver Theatre screenings will be available online at www.AFI.com/Silver or at the AFI Silver Box Office starting at noon on weekends; 5:45 p.m. weekdays. For programming information, call 301.495.6700. 

Tickets for AFI National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center screenings will be available at the AFI Kennedy Center box office in the Kennedy Center’s Hall of States, open one-half hour before screenings.  The box office is not open on days when no screening is scheduled. For program information, call 202.785.4600.  

The AFI Silver is located in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, at 8633 Colesville Road (between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street). Conveniently located, the AFI Silver is two blocks from the Silver Spring Metro stop and easily accessible from the Capital Beltway (I-495), less than two miles from either the Georgia Avenue or Colesville Road exit. Phone: 301.495.6720.  Web: http://AFI.com/Silver.