3rd Press Release

 3^rd press release

Prague, 28^th March, 2012

19th Days of European Film festival opens with Silver Bear winner

Prague: Světozor and Lucerna cinemas on April 12–19

Brno: Art cinema on April 20-26.

 The Echoes of the Days of European Film:

Boskovice (April 25–27, 2012), Uherské Hradiště (April 25–27, 2012), Jablonec nad Nisou (April 25–29, 2012), Veselí nad Moravou (April 25–27, 2012), Ostrava (April 28–May 2, 2012)

The programme of the 19th Days of European Film (DEF) festival will offer over 40 films from more than 25 European countries. The Days of European Film will open in Prague’s Světozor cinema on April 12, 2012 with the Danish-Czech historical film A Royal Affair which won two Silver Bear awards at the International Film Festival in Berlin this year (script: Rasmus Heisterberg and Nikolaj Arcel, best actor in a leading role: Mikkel Boe Følsgaard). The film was made in Czech co-production and was shot mainly in the Czech Republic. Mads Mikkelsen, known for the James Bond film Casino Royale, appears in a leading role in this film directed by Dane Nikolaj Arcel. The film will be personally introduced by the Silver Bear winner Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen (from the Danish production company Zentropa) at the festival’s ceremonial opening. Marian Crişan, director of the film Morgen, will also take part in the opening event.

The Prague part of the Days of European Film will close with Coriolanus, a modern adaptation of one of William Shakespeare’s plays, on April 19, 2012. Its director, Briton Ralph Fiennes, has chosen a work by his compatriot for his debut as a film director, and he has joined forces with scriptwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator). Fiennes approaches Shakespeare with respect, which he confirms by the casting of brilliant actors who have played in Shakespeare’s dramas, such as Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox. Coriolanus won the following awards: the Austin Film Critics Association Award 2011: Breakthrough Artist Award; the British Independent Film Award 2012 for the Best Supporting Actress; Hollywood FF 2012: Hollywood Breakthrough Award – Actress of the Year; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award 2012: Best Supporting Actress; San Francisco Critics Association Award 2012: Best Supporting Actress, and others.

This year’s festival is again divided into thematic sections that have been extended since last year. The NATIONAL LEAGUE section will present films that have been officially proposed as candidates for Oscar nominations by individual countries this or last year. (Films presented in this section: Breathing, Simple Simon, Silent Sonata, Letters to Angel, As If I Am Not There and others.) The Austrian film Breathing is really worth seeing. It tells the story of a young man and his difficult path from prison back to society. This debut directed by famous Austrian actor Karl Markovics (Inspector Rex) won awards at festivals in Kiev and Zurich and the Label Europa Cinemas award at the Cannes festival.

The programme of the TO THE POINT section is drafted in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic and it is devoted to The European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, declared in 2012. The selected films subvert traditional stereotypes in depicting the old age in films and present the topic in an original way, each time from a different perspective.

The opening film of the To the Point section is the Turkish film Being Italian with Signora Enrica. The screening of this romantic comedy will be accompanied by a toast with light refreshments in the Lucerna cinema from 17:00 on Monday, April 16, 2012. Producer Elvan Albayrak will personally introduce the film in which the legendary Italian actress Claudia Cardinale plays the leading role. Czech actress Květa Fialová, patron of The European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, will also attend the event.

The Portuguese film José and Pilar from this section is worth mentioning. It depicts the last years of the Nobel Literature Prize winner José de Sousa Saramago as well as his peculiar view of the world and his relationship with his long-term common-law wife Pilar del Río. This extremely successful documentary won several audience awards and was shortlisted as a Portuguese candidate for Oscar nominations. (Other films presented in this section: Salt of Life, Constantin and Elena.)

The FILM & MUSIC section focuses on European films exploring music as their main theme along with purely musical films and documentaries. The music section will introduce, for instance, the Czech-South African documentary Punk in Africa, which maps the establishment and development of the punk movement in southern Africa. The section also offers Schwarzkopf , a film portrait of Nazar, a controversial Austrian rapper of Iranian origin, which provides a look into the life of children of immigrants in Austria. Another feature film, Off Beat, shows the hip-hop scene and its genesis in Switzerland.

The LUX PRIZE section offers a selection of films competing for the European Parliament’s film award, the LUX Prize. It will present its newest and recent winners as well as other finalists. The films in the LUX Prize section reflect the diversity of Europe and highlight various views of life in it. As with last year, the winning film will dominate the LUX Prize section. This is The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Robert Guédiguian, winner in 2011, in which an assault completely changes the life of ageing Michel who has just lost his job, and instead of his dream holiday in Africa he must face a completely different reality. (Other films in this section: Morgen, The Turin Horse, North.)

The BEST OF section gathers the most interesting works from national cinematographies during the past two years. Apart from The Giants by Bouli Lanners, awarded in Cannes, the section will present a unique Polish documentary film, The Doctors by Tomasz Wolski. It communicates the everyday troubles and joys of those who have chosen this profession in a visually thrilling way. The film Even the Rain directed by Spaniard Icíar Bollaín should also draw your attention. In this film, the young director Sebastian, played by Gael García Bernal, is shooting a film about Christopher Columbus and the conquest of the New World in Bolivia. (Other films in this section: Color of the Ocean, My Name Is Ki, Charisma, The Day I Was Not Born, The Art of Love.)

In cooperation with the MEDIA Desk Czech Republic, the Days of European Film will introduce a special section of films that successfully drew on financial support from the MEDIA programme in the past. The section called MEDIA - A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME will show films from 2002 to 2011, one for each year of the MEDIA Desk ČR’s existence. During the celebrations of ten years of the MEDIA European programme in the Czech Republic, festival viewers can see ten extraordinary films. (Films in this section: Control, The District, The Art of Negative Thinking, The Triplets of Belleville, The Turin Horse, Waltz with Bashir and others.)

This year, actor Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Silver Bear winner for the best actor in a leading role in the film A Royal Affair and also producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen (from the Danish production company Zentropa), will visit the festival and open it. The ceremonial opening will also be attended by Marian Crişan, director of the film Morgen. Elvan Albayrak, producer of Being Italian with Signora Enrica, will attend the film screening accompanied by a festive toast.

The accompanying programme of the 19th Days of European Film offers two conferences:

The first conference is entitled Video on Demand - a New Channel for Distribution of Films. The aim of the conference is to present a new initiative of the European VoD platform (EuroVoD) and its experience in terms of technological development, acquisition, promotion and distribution of films in various VoD markets in Europe. (The Internet and new technologies have launched a new era in the creation, production and distribution of films and they have brought new challenges and opportunities. As a consequence, the viewers´ expectations and their experience of watching films are developing towards a new model of non-linear distribution – towards Video on Demand. VoD provides films with a new chance of addressing the audience in a different way than screening in cinemas or broadcasting on TV). European House, Jungmanova 24, Praha 1 at 10:30 on Wednesday, April 18. The event is held by the EuroVoD, the Czech Film Centre and the Days of European Film.

Digitisation, Both Salvation and Destruction of Small Cinemas is the title of the other conference. It is to present the possibilities of saving cinemas that have no money for digitisation. This time the conference will not deal with the methods of digitisation and the advantages of digitisation for cinemas, but will focus on how to save cinemas that have no financial means for digitisation. At the conference, distributors will present their plans to limit or terminate the distribution of 35mm film copies and to launch the distribution of DCP (Digital Cinema Package) copies and alternative distribution media, such as DVD and BR. The other part of the conference will introduce projects that can help both digital and non-digital, traditional cinemas with their programme management, funding and operation. During the last part of the event, companies installing the respective equipment will show their cheapest solutions for cinema digitisation in accordance with DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) demands. The conference, which is part of the New Cinema 2012 project, is organised by the Pro-DIGI association in cooperation with the MEDIA Desk Czech Republic. Světozor cinema, Vodičkova 41, Praha 1 at 9:30 on Tuesday, April 17.

The entry to both conferences is free.

The concept of this year’s visual presentation of the DEF reflects a practical joke at the expense of our current society, based on discounts and bargains, and affected from all sides by the financial crisis in Europe and the world. The visual concept is reflected in the sale of tickets. We are selling them with various discounts and bonuses (such as the ticket sale on the “Slevomat” discount server, tickets for 30 crowns if bought on a concrete day, senior discounts etc).

Ticket price (without discount) is 90,- Kč.

Catalogues with the DEF programme are available in all festival cinemas free of charge.

This year’s innovation is online ticket sale that has been launched by Prague’s Světozor and Lucerna cinemas. Now you can not only book tickets on www.eurofilmfest.cz , but also buy them online.

The accreditation form for journalists can be downloaded on our website www.eurofilmfest.cz

in the PRESS chapter. Please send the completed forms via e-mail to

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by Tuesday, April 10 at the latest. Accreditation cards can be picked up at the box office in the Světozor cinema from 17:00 to 19:00 on Wednesday, April 11.

Detailed information on the programme, a catalogue to be downloaded and the latest information are available on our website: www.eurofilmfest.cz. The DEF is also presented on Facebook.

The concept and graphics of the 19th Days of European Film have been created by Bohdan Heblík (www.kofila.com).

The festival is held under the aegis of Czech Culture Minister Alena Hanákova, the

European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic and Bohuslav Svoboda, Mayor of the Capital City of Prague.

The festival is organised by embassies and cultural institutes of European countries, the Capital of Prague and the EC Representation in the Czech Republic.

With support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and The European Parliament – Information Office in the Czech Republic.

The festival’s general partner is FILM +.

The main media partners are public Czech Television and Czech Radio 1-Radiožurnál.

The media partners are Lidové noviny, Lidovky.cz, Expresradio, Respekt, Student Agency

and Šupito.

Contacts/ PR DEF:

Mgr. Michaela Hofmanová

Tel.: +420 732 372 424

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.eurofilmfest.cz

Post address: Národní 28, 110 00 Praha 1