R

esidents of North Sumatra’s capital of Medan have welcomed the European film festival, which will screen 15 films from May 5 to 14.

The “Europe on Screen (EOS) 2017,” organized by the Alliance Francaise (AF) Medan, allows the public to enjoy award-winning movies from France, Britain, Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany for free.

“I have checked the synopsis of each of the films, and I very much want to go and see Aladdin
[The New Adventures of Aladdin],” said Siti Munawaroh from Jl. Ayahanda.

The screenings are held every night at the Maple Theatre, Aston City Hall, which can accommodate 110 people.

Other films to be screened are A Perfect Day, Ballerina, Our Kind of Traitor, The Grump, Legend, The Girl with All the Gifts, Look Who’s Back, April and the Extraordinary World, Under the Shadow, Eye in the Sky, The Visitors: Bastille Day, A Man Called Ove, Paddington, and Here is Harold. “I can’t wait to see all the films. I will bring my family,” said Medan resident Danil Siregar.

The AF Medan has held EOS every year since 2012. “In 2016, there were only nine acclaimed films, but every screening was full of enthusiastic visitors; some even had to sit on the floor. A total of 1,180 visitors came to the event over the seven days,” said Alliance Francaise president Poggy Kurniawan.

The opening night featured A Perfect Day, a 2015 Spanish comedy-drama directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. Meanwhile, Here is Harold, a Norwegian comedy-drama by Gunnar Vikene, will be screened on the closing night.

EOS 2017 will also include a special segment of six retrospective films (three by Alfred Hitchcock and three by Luis Buñuel) and 11 films for open air screenings — all subtitled in Bahasa Indonesia.

“We show the winner of the Berlin Film Festival, we have an Oscar-winning film, a Golden Globe winner, the Best European Film of 2016 and many other prize-winning films. All entertaining. All for free,” said Orlow Seunke, EOS 2017 festival director.

The European Film Festival is a joint initiative of the European embassies and cultural institutions in Indonesia. The festival was held for the first time in 1990 with a second edition in 1999. Since 2003, it has been held annually under the banner “Europe on Screen.”

EOS 2017 will screen 74 films from highly acclaimed European filmmakers in six Indonesian cities, namely Jakarta, Bandung, Denpasar, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Medan.

“Films are an integral part of European culture, which we are happy to project to a wide Indonesian audience during this festival,” said Charles-Michel Geurts, charge d’affairs of the European Union delegation to Indonesia. “I hope that this festival will continue to build bridges between people with different beliefs, ideas and values through entertaining yet thought-evoking ways, as well as inspire the Indonesian audience to foster the Indonesian film industry as a crucial cultural asset with tremendous creative potential,” Geurts added.

“The European cultural and creative industries provide 7 million jobs and generate 4.2 percent of the EU’s GDP. Our film industry is one of the world’s most diverse and largest production centers,” said Geurts.