European Union Film Festival moves online and goes nationwide

22.10.2020

European Union Film Festival moves online and goes nationwide

The 2020 European Union Film Festival is moving online and it is going Canada-wide! From November 13 to 29, all of Canada will be able to enjoy the best of European cinema.

Usually held in movie theatres in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, due to the realities of COVID-19, the EUFF arrives as a virtual online event featuring not only 27 films from 27 European Union Member States, but also filmmaker interviews and other special content for fans of contemporary European cinema.

The three presenting organizations in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto are combining their efforts to take the EUFF Canada-wide for the first time. The 2020 EUFF will be available to film fans all over the country. The Canadian Film Institute in Ottawa, The Cinematheque in Vancouver, and the EU Film Festival of Toronto will organize and host the online festival, in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Canada and the 27 European Union Member States.

“This year's festival represents an unprecedented collaboration aimed at rewarding our devoted fans for their support over the years while, at the same time, providing cinéphiles across Canada an opportunity to explore the best contemporary European cinema,” says Dr. Christian Burgsmüller, European Union Chargé d’affaires in Canada. “We are delighted to be able to continue the decades-long tradition of presenting European cinema in Canada despite the challenges of this new COVID-19 age.”

“It has been a challenging year for everyone, but we are excited to still be able to offer this amazing film festival to people in our cities and, for the first time, to Canadians across the country. We may not be able to travel, but we can certainly go on 27 different cinematic voyages to the European Union,” says Canadian Film Institute Executive Director Tom McSorley, whose organization founded the Festival in 1984.

“For years we’ve tagged the EUFF in Vancouver as ‘Europe without the jet lag!’ And now film lovers don’t even have to take off from the couch or fly out the front door! We’re very pleased that in this shelter-in-place, social-distancing times, we’re still able to present this ever-popular annual celebration of European cinema,” says Jim Sinclair, Executive and Artistic Director of The Cinematheque, which has hosted the EUFF on Canada’s west coast since 1998.

“The EUFF in Toronto has been shaping the cinematic culture of one of the most multicultural cities in the world with rich and diverse programming for the last 16 years. We hope our exciting filmgoers (all 8,000+ of them) who stand in line every year, rain or shine, in Little Italy, will take advantage of this unique opportunity and enjoy watching this year’s line-up from the comfort of their homes,” says Jérémie Abessira, Executive Director of the EUFF Toronto.

The 2020 edition of the EUFF kicks off with the box office smash hit from Germany, ALL ABOUT ME, directed by Oscar-winning director, Caroline Link. Ranging from romantic comedies to historical dramas to political thrillers, the 26 other films includes work by established European directors as well as talented newcomers. There is something for everyone in this diverse array of 27 films. In addition to the films themselves, as a special feature, the EUFF will present interviews with many filmmakers whose works are being screened in the 2020 edition.

In this online edition of the EUFF, each film will be ‘live’ online for a 48-hour period, which gives patrons plenty of time to watch the films. All films are presented in their original languages with English, and, in some cases, French subtitles.

For further information, visit www.euffonline.ca

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European Union Film Festival moves online and goes nationwide