Now in its fifth edition, the Eh! U European Film Festival seems to be really hitting its stride. Billing itself as “the free film festival” (since all screenings are subsidized by the various European consulates), this two-week festival is really a gift to the city’s cinephiles. This year features 26 films from 23 countries, and among them are no fewer than six submissions for the Foreign Language Academy Award. I’ll highlight those six, but be sure to check the festival site for others, as well as the schedule. Screenings mostly take place at the Royal Cinema, with the exceptions of the opening night film, The Karamazovs (Czech Republic) which plays at the Bloor Cinema, and the closing film, El Greco (Greece) which will screen at the Varsity. In addition to the high-profile films listed below, I can personally recommend an older film from Belgium in the programme, The Alzheimer Case (review), which screened at TIFF back in 2004.
The following are official submissions by their countries for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film:
- Austria: For A Moment Freedom (Director: Arash T. Riahi)
- Bulgaria: The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (Director: Stephan Komandarev)
- France: A Prophet (Director: Jacques Audiard)
- Germany: The White Ribbon (Director: Michael Haneke) – the film is a co-production of Austria, Germany, France and Italy, and is listed as an Austrian film in the festival guide.
- Netherlands: Winter in Wartime (Director: Martin Koolhoven)
- Romania: Police, Adjective (Director: Corneliu Poromboiu) – you can read my review from TIFF if you like.
P.S. For the curious, here’s the complete list of submissions for Best Foreign Language Film.