European Union Film Festival in India

The 23rd European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will be held in New Delhi in June 2018 at the Siri Fort Auditorium. The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world’s largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India.

The European Union Film Festival is organized by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India partnering with the Delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States in various city film clubs.

The festival will traverse through 11 cities in India including New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa from 18th June till 31st August. Celebrating diversity, the EUFF will screen movies from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

With a selection of 24 latest European films from 23 EU Member States, this years’ film festival brings some unusual stories for the world cinema enthusiasts.

The EU Film Festival 2018 to be held from 18 – 24 June in Delhi, brings to the city a selection of some of the finest and most riveting films coming out of Europe today.

The films to be screened at the EUFF are – The Magic of Children (Austria); Labyrinthus (Belgium); Viktoria (Bulgaria); Cowboys (Croatia); Boy on the Bridge (Cyprus); Tiger Theory / Teorie Tygra (Czech Republic); Walk with me / De Standhaftige (Denmark); Land of Mine / Under Sandet (Denmark); The Man Who Looks Like Me / Minu Näoga Onu (Estonia); Unexpected Journey (Finland); 9 Month Stretch / 9 Mois Ferme (France); House without Roof / Haus ohne Dach (Germany); Kissing? / Ontos Filiounte? (Greece); Kills on Wheels (Hungary); Taranta on the Road (Italy); The Lesson / Izlaiduma Gads (Latvia); When You Wake Up (Lithuania); A Wedding / Noces (Luxembourg); Letter for the King (Netherlands); A Brave Bunch (Poland); Mother Knows Best (Portugal); Little Harbour / Piata loď (Slovakia); The Bride / La Novia (Spain) and Eternal Summer (Sweden).

India and European Union:

As long-standing partners, India and the European Union (EU) are committed to dynamic dialogue in all areas of mutual interest as major actors in their own regions and as global players on the world stage. Both are working towards enhancing the EU-India Strategic Partnership, established in 2004 and based on the shared values and principles of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the promotion of peace and stability.

The European Union’s development cooperation with India spans several decades with a successful track record including on education, health, water and sanitation.

Whereas India graduated from low to medium income country (OECD 2014) the EU-India cooperation has also evolved from a traditional financial assistance type towards a partnership with a focus on common priorities.

Indian-EU cooperation now includes blending initiatives which combine grants from the EU with loans from international financial institutions and leverage additional funding for specific nationally identified development needs.

In addition, the EU supports institutional capacity building in key strategic areas such as renewable energies, trade and environment. At the 2017 EU-India Summit, leaders reiterated their intention to strengthen cooperation on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and agreed to explore the continuation of the EU-India Development Dialogue. In this context, new ways of engaging in areas of mutual interest between the EU and India are being developed.

Currently, the portfolio of projects/programmes with some EUR 120 million benefiting India, out of which ca € 70 million are implemented through Civil Society Organisations. Projects support the implementation of the EU-India Agenda for Action-2020 in areas such as social and human development, ICT, energy, water, climate change, urban development and resource efficiency.

Working with civil society, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), cooperatives, the academia, business associations, trade unions, women and youth associations, among other entities, is an integral part of EU-India cooperation.

India’s vibrant civil society is a key partner in development, often playing a critical role in reaching out to the most remote and vulnerable population groups, address specific social, economic and environmental challenges, test new models of intervention and make globalisation and technological advances work for all.

The EU seeks to strengthen civil society by supporting a wide range of stakeholders and activities aiming at strengthening capacity development processes, promoting social dialogue, facilitating citizens’ active engagement and networking as well as promoting innovation and best practices.

About 60 projects involving civil society actors are ongoing for a combined amount of over € 70 million in EU funding. Almost all projects work in direct partnership with various government programmes, schemes and institutions, at various levels, from centre to state, district, block, taluk and village levels.