Cine Europa maintains its strong ties with loyal patrons across the Philippines as it pushes through with its 23rd edition in the virtual space

FILM FEST OPENER Karoline Herfurth and Hannah Herzsprung plays the protagonists Fanny and Mel respectively, in the German film *Sweetheart*s

Helmed as one of Europe’s grandest and most exciting film festivals, Cine Europa is currently ongoing despite the pandemic. This year, the flagship film fest organized by the European Union (EU) delegation together features a carousel of movies never before seen in the Philippine entertainment landscape, which can be streamed online.

For the 23^rd edition, 19 movies from 20 European countries will be made accessible entirely for free through cineeuropaph.com. All one has to do is register.

“The film festival aims to expose the Filipino public to films, which rarely make it to the commercial theaters,” says first counselor of the EU delegation to the Philippines Rafael de Bustamante. “The celebration of the cultural partnership between the EU and the Philippines continues with Cine Europa, which is getting bigger every year,” he adds.

EU delegation to the Philippines, Rafael de Bustamante

Rafael also emphasized how EU wants to sustain its tradition of providing highly-acclaimed European films to the Pinoy moviegoers. “Cine Europa wants to increase cooperation between our creative industries, and to maximize reach through the use of new platforms,” he says.

On Oct. 31, the annual viewing festival kicked off with a screening of the German film Sweethearts at the SM Mall of Asia drive-in cinema along Seaside Boulevard in Pasay City.

Renowned German actress Karoline Herfurth directed the comic-thriller about professional criminal Mel and her easily-panicked hostage Fanny. Forced together by fate and an ill-executed diamond heist, the couple is pursued by a relentless detective and the greedy Berlin underworld.

A unique aspect of the festival this year is its utilization of the Festival Scope, EU’s library of quality films, which allows the delegation to show films from countries not represented in the Philippines.

The EU delegation collaborates with the European Union member states embassies, the Embassy of Switzerland, cultural institutes such as the Goethe-Institut, Instituto Cervantes Manila, and the Philippine-Italian Association, to conduct the film fest amid the health crisis. This shows how these organizations value the support of the Filipino movie-going public.

Cine Europa runs until Nov. 29. cineeuropaph.com

#Rafael de Bustamante

Where to watch exclusive European films online