News Release
October
22, 2003
No. 64/03
AFI AND THE EU COMMISSION’s WASHINGTON DELEGATION TO PRESENT
16th ANNUAL EU SHOWCASE FILM FESTIVAL
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 16th 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.
