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DEAR FRIENDS, DEAR CINEPHILES,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to enjoy the 2014 edition of the European Union Windows on Europe film festival.

Now at its 9th edition, this unique festival has been entertaining audiences since its launch in Canberra in 2005 as part of the National Multicultural Festival, Canberra.

The 2014 Festival edition is for the first time being organised in cooperation of the Sydney based non-profit company The Festivalists and will enthral crowds in Sydney and Canberra with a wide variety of thought provoking stories and attention grabbing documentaries. 

The programme’s central theme is European youth and many of the films address the experience of growing up in Europe today, with characters asserting their identity in the face of tradition, change and modernity.

The 2014 festival will screen in total 16 films from Germany, France, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Romania and Belgium. The stories include a canine rebellion against their owners in Hungary, two very different ways to spend your last days of freedom in Finland and Sweden before going to prison,

love separated by 10,000km, three young gay men on a journey of self-discovery, and the story of a sportswoman maintaining her strength and dignity in the face of a totalitarian regime. The documentaries include the challenge of meeting the world’s energy needs without destroying ourselves in the process, a 3D exploration of the souls of some of man’s architectural triumphs, a curious and witty exploration behind the scenes of Viennas Kunsthistorisches Museum, and a celebration of the great Irish institution—the pub! In short there is something for everyone.

Stories express who we are, our thoughts and feelings. Stories help define our places and our meaning. Stories are at the heart of both Australian and European cultures and—as we look back over the 52 year relationship between Australia and the EU—we see how story-telling is important to capture the strong cultural and social bonds between Europe and Australia.

So as you watch these stories unfold on the big screen please enjoy the expressions of art and culture, the ideas and creativity coming from today’s modern and vibrant Europe.

HE SEM FABRIZI—AMBASSADOR AND HEAD OF EUROPEAN UNION DELEGATION TO AUSTRALIA

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TICKETS PLAN YOUR WEEK

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10,000 KMSYD: FRI 21 NOV 6PM CBR: FRI 28 NOV 6PM FOLLOWED BY Q&A

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR CARLOS MARQUES-MARCET SPAIN, 2014, 99 MIN WITH NATALIA TENA, DAVID VERDAGUER

Alexandra and Sergi have decided to have a baby, but find their plans dashed when she receives an offer for an artistic residency in Los Angeles. For one year, they live apart, attempting to keep their relationship alive through the internet. But with their realities no longer shared and the touch of one another gone, can love survive across 10,000km? From the virtuosic 24 minute opening shot, this minimal epic takes us inside the intimate universe of two lovers, played with bravado by Natalia Tena and David Verdaguer. Heartbreaking and invigorating, it’s a resonant love story for our times.

FESTIVALS: SXSW (BEST ACTORS), SEATTLE (NEW DIRECTOR AWARD)

CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE (3D)SYD: WED 19 NOV 6:30PM CBR: SUN 30 NOV 11AM

DOCUMENTARY SYDNEY & CANBERRA PREMIERE DIR include WIM WENDERS, ROBERT REDFORD | AUSTRIA, DENMARK, GERMANY, 2014, 165 MIN

“If buildings could talk, what would they say about us?”. Six architectural portraits by six acclaimed filmmakers make up this fascinating 3D documentary project, an investigation into the souls of iconic buildings. Wim Wenders (Berlin Philharmonic), the late Michael Glawogger (National Library of Russia), Michael Madsen (Halden Prison, the world’s most humane detention centre), Robert Redford (Salk Institute), Margreth Olin (Oslo’s Opera House) and Karim Ainouz (the Centre Pompidou in Paris) explore how each of these landmarks reflects our culture and guards our collective memory.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN, EDINBURGH, VANCOUVER

CONCRETE NIGHT (BETONIYO)SYD: SAT 22 NOV 3:30PM CBR: TUE 25 NOV 6:30PM

SYDNEY & CANBERRA PREMIERE DIR PIRJO HONKASALO I FINLAND, SWEDEN, DENMARK, 2013, 96 MIN WITH JOHANNES BROTHERUS, JARI VIRMAN, ANNELI KARPPINEN

Simo’s older brother (and father-figure) Ikko is headed to jail for six months. The brothers spend one last night together, hanging out in the stifling slums of Helsinki. Ilkka offers words of advice to Simo but as the night progresses, bad decisions are made that could bring about the boys’ downfall. Finnish master Pirjo Honksalo conjures a dark and foreboding world that blurs the lines between nightmare and reality. Her emotionally resonant drama, rendered in jaw-dropping black and white, is a memorable cautionary tale of innocence lost.

FESTIVALS: TORONTO, ROTTERDAM, MELBOURNE

DOMESTICSYD: SUN 23 NOV 11:30AM CBR: SAT 29 NOV 11AM

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR ADRIAN SITARU I ROMANIA, GERMANY, 2013, 85 MIN | WITH ADRIAN TITIENI, GHEORGHE IFRIM, SERGIU COSTACHE

An apartment building in Bucharest is home to both humans and the animals they love (and eat). A series of one-shot vignettes in different flats tell intertwining stories of three men, Lazar, Mihaes and Toni, as they try to maintain domestic order, challenged by the animals—a dog, a cat, a chicken, a rabbit and a pigeon—and the emotional connections their families have to them. These richly drawn characters lead us through understated yet absurd situations, drawing a tragicomic picture of domestic life in contemporary Romania.

FESTIVALS: CHICAGO, SLAMDANCE

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THE GREAT MUSEUM (DAS GROßE MUSEUM)CBR (ONLY): MON 24 NOV 6:30PM

DOCUMENTARY DIR JOHANNES HOLZHAUSEN AUSTRIA, 2014, 95 MIN

Take a curious, witty and humorous peek behind the scenes at a world-famous cultural institution, Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum. Without interviews or voice-over, this magnificent observational documentary follows curators and conservators, administrators and marketers as they do their upmost to engage today’s modern aud-iences while preserving, displaying and contextualizing the past. Shot during the recent renovation and reinstallation of the museum’s Kunstkammer galleries, it offers more than a stunning armchair-tourist experience. This is an elegant love letter to great art and those who work tirelessly to provide access to it.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN (CALIGARI PRIZE), LOS ANGELES, LONDON

IN THE COURTYARD (DANS LA COUR)SYD: SUN 23 NOV 4PM CBR: WED 26 NOV 6:30PM

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR PIERRE SALVADORI | FRANCE, 2014, 97 MIN | WITH CATHERINE DENEUVE, GUSTAVE KERVERN, PIO MARMAÏ

Fortysomething Antoine decides to pack in his music career and becomes the unlikely caretaker of an old Paris apartment building. Meanwhile, a fissure in the living room wall of resident Mathilde could point to cracks of a more psychological nature. Antoine and Mathilde develop an awkward friendship, which just might get them through this difficult patch. Comedy veteran Pierre Salvadori elicits breezy chemistry between screen legend Catherine Deneuve and comic Gustave Kervern in this bittersweet (and occasionally hilarious) tale of friendship and mental breakdown.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN, INSTANBUL, NEW ZEALAND

ENERGIZED (MACHT ENERGIE)SYD: SUN 23 NOV 2PM CBR: SAT 29 NOV 3:30PM

DOCUMENTARY DIR HUBERT CANAVAL | AUSTRIA, 2014, 90 MIN

Nuclear meltdowns, wars over oil and gas, climate change and spiralling energy consumption: we have reached a crossroads and radical choices must be made. But how can energy needs be met without destroying our own existence? Does clean energy exist? Why aren’t we using it? In this cinematic world tour of a global crisis, we meet the rebels who clash with corporations, and the pioneers who lead by example. It’s a clear-headed analysis of the problem, and of the profit motives which stand in the way of a solution.

FESTIVALS: CAMBRIDGE, CINEMAMBIENTE, BEIRUT

FAIR PLAYSYD: MON 17 NOV 6:30PM CBR: SUN 30 NOV 4PM

DIR ANDREA SEDLÁČKOVÁ I CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, GERMANY, 2014, 100 MIN | WITH JUDIT BÁRDOS, ANA GEISLEROVÁ, EVA JOSEFIKOVÁ

Gifted young sprinter Anna is hoping to represent Czechoslovakia at the 1984 Olympics. She is placed in a State sponsored medical programme, but after collapsing at training, learns she is being fed anabolic steroids. In the face of a brutal regime that could jeopardize her chance at a better life, Anna must decide if and how to fight for her rights, including control over her own body. Andrea Sedláčková’s drama is a compelling insight into life behind the Iron Curtain and a celebration of ordinary folk who take a stand against totalitarianism.

FESTIVALS: KARLOVY VARY, LONDON, CHICAGO

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THE IRISH PUBSYD: SAT 22 NOV 6PM CBR: SAT 29 NOV 6PM

DOCUMENTARY DIR ALEX FEGAN | IRELAND, 2014, 75 MIN

Alex Fegan’s exceptionally endearing documentary is a celebration of the Irish pub, one of the greatest institutions in Irish society. This is a vibrant portrait of traditional publicans, whose establishments have been handed down through generations. Through their warmth, wit and wisdom, we gain an insight into not just a vanishing lifestyle, but the heart and soul of Irish culture. Filled with music, rich anecdotes and a keen sense of humour, The Irish Pub is sure to leave you smiling (and possibly planning a trip to Ireland).

LAND OF STORMS (VIHARSAROK)SYD: TUE 18 NOV 6:30PM CBR: THU 27 NOV 6:30PM

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR ÁDÁM CSÁSZI I HUNGARY, GERMANY, 2014, 105 MIN | WITH JUDIT BÁRDOS, ANA GEISLEROVÁ, EVA JOSEFÍKOVÁ

Footballer Szabolcs leaves Germany following an argument with a teammate to return to his Hungarian homeland, where he’s inherited his grandfather’s farm. A mutual attraction forms with local villager Áron, an apprentice stonemason. Impulse, lust and shame give way to a powerful if fragile relationship. Free from sentimentality and devoid of the clichés rife in similar gay dramas, this sensual and tender film is a journey of self-discovery in hostile lands. Expertly acted and directed, it’s an affecting portrait of young men trying to make a place for themselves.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN, SEATTLE, SARAJEVO

THE MAGICAL VOICE OF A REBEL (MAGICKÝ HLAS REBELKY)SYD: SAT 22 NOV 11AM CBR: SUN 30 NOV 2PM

DOCUMENTARY | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR OLGA SOMMEROVÁ CZECH REPUBLIC, 2014, 87 MIN

From humble beginnings, singer Marta Kubišová became a European pop sensation, until Soviet tanks rolled into Prague in 1968. Rather than exile, she chose to work in the shadows as a dissident to the Communist regime, sacrificing her singing career. With her comeback during the Velvet Revolution of 1989, she became a symbol of freedom in resistance. In the hands of veteran filmmaker Olga Sommerová, this entertaining portrait of a charismatic artist and activist tells a rousing story of Czechoslovakia and the fall Communism.

FESTIVALS: KARLOVY VARY (AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FILM)

NORTHWEST (NORDVEST)SYD: FRI 21 NOV 8PM CBR: FRI 28 NOV 8:30PM

SYDNEY & CANBERRA PREMIERE DIR MICHAEL NOER I DENMARK, 2013, 91 MIN | WITH GUSTAV DYEKJÆR GIESE, OSCAR DYEJKÆR GIESE, LENE MARIA CHRISTENSEN

18-year-old Casper lives in Northwest, one of the most impoverished areas of Copenhagen, and makes ends meet selling stolen goods to one of the local thugs. When a rival organized gang offers Casper an opportunity to move up in the ranks, he is hurled into a violent power play that could jeopardize his family. A complex, richly drawn character, Casper is compellingly played by Gustav Dyekjær Giese. Northwest is a tough, fast-paced and absorbing crime thriller loaded with real dramatic weight.

FESTIVALS: ROTTERDAM, TRIBECA, MELBOURNE

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SANCTUARY (FARO)SYD: SUN 23 NOV 6:30PM CBR: SUN 30 NOV 6:30PM

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR FREDRIK EDFELDT | SWEDEN, 2014, 90 MIN | WITH JAKOB CEDERGREN, CLARA CHRISTIANSSON

A man flees into the forest with his daughter to escape a prison sentence. Chased by police and social workers, they seek refuge in the Swedish wilderness. Isolated and forced to rely on each other for survival, Hella and her dad rediscover the strength of their bond. Around them is an untouched paradise, which turns hostile and idyllic, a fairytale-like metaphorical forest in which both characters will come of age. Boasting a unique aesthetic and affecting performances, Sanctuary is a moving cinematic journey.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (KREUZWEG)SYD: SAT 22 NOV 1PM CBR: SAT 29 NOV 1PM

SYDNEY & CANBERRA PREMIERE DIR DIETRICH BRUEGGEMANN | GERMANY, 2014, 110 MIN | WITH LEA VAN ACKEN, FRANZISKA WEISZ, FLORIAN STETTER

14-year-old Maria is part of a fundamentalist Catholic community. She lives her everyday life in the modern world, yet her heart belongs to Jesus. She wants to follow him, to become a saint and go to heaven. Formally rigorous, this transformative story of religion, devotion and radical faith is told in 14 fixed-angle long shots. Both a parable of extremism and a portrait of a saint, this assured, exquisitely crafted film is lit from the inside by the sensational performance of its young lead Lea Van Acken.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN (BEST SCREENPLAY), EDINBURGH (STUDENT CRITICS AWARD)

VIOLETSYD: THU 20 NOV 6:30PM CBR: SAT 29 NOV 8PM

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE DIR BAS DEVOS | BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, 2014, 82 MIN | WITH CESAR DE SUTTER

15-year-old Jesse is the only witness of the senseless stabbing of his friend Jonas. Guilt-stricken, he now has to face his parents and his gang of BMX riders and explain the unexplainable—how he feels about it. Composed of mesmerizing, hyper-real tableaux, shot digitally and in 65mm, Flemish director Bas Devos’ debut is formally and visually impressive. A narrative and emotional puzzle that plays like a fever dream of suburbia, Violet is rich with stunning images that linger in the mind long after the credits roll.

FESTIVALS: BERLIN 2014 (GRAND PRIX, GENERATION 14+)

WHITE GOD (FEHÉR ISTEN)SYD (ONLY): SAT 22 NOV 8PM

SYDNEY PREMIERE DIR KORNÉL MUNDRUCZÓ I HUNGARY, 2014, 119 MIN | WITH ZSÓFIA PSOTTA, SÁNDOR ZSÓTÉR, LILI MONORI

When her mother leaves her at her dad’s doorstep for the summer, Lili’s only companion is her smart and loyal dog Hagen. Lili’s Dad, unable to pay the new tax on impure breeds, casts Hagen out. As Lili searches Budapest for her friend, Hagen encounters the worst of a dog’s life, inspiring him to return as the leader of a canine revolution. A strong lead performance from Zsófia Psotta grounds the film, which plays as a poignant allegory of class and racial oppression before shifting vividly into genre territory.

FESTIVALS: CANNES UN CERTAIN REGARD (BEST FILM), MELBOURNE

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There is finely-plotted crime and swashbuckling romance this spring...

SWITZERLANDBY JOANNA MURRAY-SMITH

CYRANO DE BERGERAC BY EDMOND ROSTAND ADAPTED BY ANDREW UPTON ORIGINAL TRANSLATION BY MARION POTTS

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