Islamabad, 9 December 2021 (TDI): On 8 December, the EU organized a film festival that shows award winnings European movies to audiences across Pakistan. The Pakistan National Council of Arts hosted a premiere of the first-ever European Film Festival (EUFF) in Islamabad.
To promote cultural dialogue, mutual understanding, and cultural cooperation, the ongoing European Film Festival will showcase a wide range of European films to a vast Pakistani audience.
First time in Pakistan, the European film festival takes place globally to praise the diversity and creativity of European cinema, tradition, and culture. Islamabad’s event brought together actors, filmmakers, journalists, diplomats, students, and representatives of civil society.
Thomas Seiler, Chargé d’affaires a.i., and the Deputy Head of the Mission at the EU Delegation to Pakistan stated:
“We are excited to be hosting the first-ever European Film Festival in Pakistan. This celebration of cultural diversity and cross-cultural dialogue through cinema highlights the EU’s firm commitment to strengthening its relationship with Pakistan, particularly at the people and local community levels. Film is a gateway to other cultures, which is why we have called it ‘Europe ki aik Jhalak’. It is an amazing medium that connects people across borders, faiths and ethnicities and celebrate our common humanity.”
Panel Discussion
On the opening night, three films, all co-productions, were shown. Two feature films, i.e. My Brother Chases Dinosaurs (Italy/Spain), as well as Our Struggle (Belgium/France), were shown. Following the screening, it held a panel discussion about “Family Relations.”
Elena Gomez Aoiz, Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of Spain, moderated the panel along with guests from the Pakistani film and TV fraternity including Sarmad Khoosat, Sania Saeed, Anam Abbas, Haris Khalique.
21 European films have been nominated to receive awards. They will be screened at this film festival, which highlighted the issues that reflected cultural diversity in Europe and their relevance to Pakistan. The training will be provided to young filmmakers from Pakistan, which will teach them the technical aspects of filmmaking.
Umar Riaz and Haya Fatima, two award-winning filmmakers, will manage the classes. Classes are open to all qualified participants, on a first come first basis.
On 12 December, the festival will also be moving to Pakistan’s other cities, such as Faisalabad in Peshawar, Karachi, and Lahore.
All public are welcome to attend the screenings at venues like Storia Art Gallery in Faislabad, Sethiyan Di Haveli in Peshawar, District 19 in Karachi, and Olo Junction in Lahore.
 in Islamabad... (read more)){kind=link}