EU Film Festival “Europe on Screen” set to kick off on 7 June

Film enthusiasts in 8 Indonesian cities will have the opportunity to enjoy 75 films from 28 European countries

Jakarta, 27 May 2024 – Europe on Screen (EoS), an annual film festival screening contemporary European films, will return to Indonesia on 7-16 June 2024. Over 10 days, 75 latest European films will be screened for free in eight cities in Indonesia: Jakarta, Bandung, Denpasar, Malang, Medan, Sidoarjo, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

"We see a growing enthusiasm from the Indonesian public towards Europe on Screen, with many requests to hold this festival in their cities. Therefore, we have added two new cities: Malang and Sidoarjo, making a total of eight cities for  EoS 2024. In addition, we will present films from 28 European countries, including three countries that are joining for the first time this year: Cyprus, Lithuania and Georgia," said the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Denis Chaibi.

The 24th edition of the festival this year solidifies EoS as the longest-running international film festival in Indonesia. In addition to screening films from European countries, EoS 2024 will also feature three short films from Indonesia and an Indonesian film shot in Europe; as well as fringe events related to the film industries of Europe and Indonesia.

Chicken for Linda! (France, 2023), an animated comedy film by Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta, has been selected as the opening film of EoS 2024. This film won Best Feature at the 2023 Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Meilleur film d'animation at the 2023 César Awards 223, as well as a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Meanwhile, Michael Fetter Nathansky's film Every You Every Me (Germany, 2024) has been selected as the closing film of EoS 2024. The fantasy romance premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival 2024 and was nominated in the Best Cinematography in Feature Film category at the Deutscher Kamerapreis 2024.

Nauval Yazid, Festival Co-Director of EoS 2024, explains the selection process of films screened at EoS 2024: “As a mid-year film festival that coincides with long school holidays, we offer a wide variety of films at EoS 2024. There is an animated comedy that opens the festival; we also have romantic comedy, action, thriller, documentary, and exciting European-style slasher films. Our hope is that film enthusiasts of all ages can enjoy the diverse selection of films at this festival, as all of our screenings are free and open to the public.”

To contribute to the Indonesian film industry as well as to bridge the European and Indonesian film industries, EoS 2024 will hold a Short Film Pitching Project (SFPP) competition where winners will receive partial funding for their film production.

“This year we received 197 applicants from various regions in Indonesia: from Medan, Pontianak, Denpasar, to Kupang. The Short Film Pitching Project of EoS, which has been running for six years, has produced dozens of short films that have been screened not only at EoS, but also local and international film festivals. At EoS 2024, we will also premiere the SFPP 2023 winning short films by emerging filmmakers from East Java, Jakarta and Tangerang,’ said Meninaputri Wismurti, Festival Co-Director of EoS 2024.

The winner of the EoS 2024 SFPP will receive cash and non-cash prizes from EoS, SAE Indonesia, Kemala Home Living, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.

EoS 2024 will also host Eamon Little, the Irish screenwriter of That They May Face the Rising Sun (2023), as a festival guest. He will attend all the film’s screenings at EoS 2024 as well as conduct a scriptwriting workshop in Jakarta. The workshop is open to the public who are interested in learning about film scriptwriting.

EoS 2024 also highlights the legendary Italian director Lina Wertmüller, who became the first female director in the world to be nominated for Best Director at the 1976 Academy Awards. Lina Wertmuller's classic films: The Lizards (1963), Swept Away (1974), and Seven Beauties (1975) can be watched in the EoS 2024 ‘Retrospective’ programme, and an exhibition of her work can be enjoyed at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Jakarta.

As a warm-up session, pre-festival events as part of the so called ‘Road to EoS 2024’ have been held from March and will continue until early June 2024, both in-person and online. The in-person Road to EoS 2024 is screening films featured in past EoS and are taking place in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan, Bandung, Bekasi and Jakarta. Meanwhile, the online sessions – in the form of Instagram Live chat and discussion – features film experts from Indonesia and Europe.

Films at EoS 2024 can be watched for free from 7-16 June 2024, at all festival locations by visiting the venue directly. For screenings in Jakarta, the public can register one hour before the film starts at the venue. All information regarding EoS 2024, including film screening schedules and side events taking place during the festival, can be found at www.europeonscreen.org and Europe on Screen official accounts on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Facebook.