One of the most-awaited filmfests of the year is now ours for the taking.
The EU, in partnership with the Ayala Center Cinema and the Arts Council of Cebu, is presenting Cine Europa 12 – an array of contemporary and critically-acclaimed films participated by 12 EU member states and Switzerland – that will surely delight the Cebuano audience’s rather pihikan palate.
The filmfest will run from October 9-11, 2009 at Onstage (Ayala Cinema 1). Admission is for FREE on a first come, first serve basis. For more details please call the Arts Council of Cebu at (032) 233-0452.
FREE TO LEAVE
Austria
R-18
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 10:00am – 11:37 am
Everything seems to be running on track. For Anna and Ferdinand, for Thomas and Hanni. Thomas (Frank Giering) and Hanni ( Corinna Harfouch) are a married couple who live in a steady, well-oiled harmony. Anna (Lavinia Wilson) and Ferdinand (Robert Stadlober) are young lovers in the process of planning a future together. It is just one short moment that changes their whole lives. One kiss – short but impermissible, and nothing is as it was. Thomas Hudetz, train controller for the last twelve years (and without having put one wrong foot in that time), lets himself be distracted by Anna, the innkeeper’s daughter exactly at that point in time where there is traffic chaos due to a lorry blockade on the roads, the whole train timetable has come apart and the situation demands particular attention. By the time Thomas has reacted to the stop signal it is too late. Twenty-two (22) people have been killed, 21 passengers on the Paris to Budapest express and Joseph, Thomas’ best friend (Alfred Dorfer), who unexpectedly drove on to the railway crossing with his delivery van.
GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE
Czech Republic
PG-13
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 11:45am – 1:40pm
Peter, a brave but poor young man, is forced to leave home by his stepmother after his loving father’s death. While he is crossing the countryside, he saves two princesses when their horses get wild during a walk.
He falls in love with one of them, beautiful Angelina, but the other one, timid and kind Adela, will fall in love with Peter. On his journey, Peter meets the nice devil Jan, who was sent to bring his stepmother to hell. But their journey only starts and the friendship will bring them to various unexpected situations.
ORIENT EXPRESS
Romania
R-13
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 2:00pm – 3:31pm
At an old age. Prince Andrei Morudzi retreats to his castle in Romania during the two world wars, after having lead an eventful youth. There he is seen upon as a rare bird by the local folk, due to his strange attitude towards life and his exquisite manners, which don’t fit in the way of life of the villagers. But, in the end, despite trying to distance himself from the local people, he can’t but influence their humble existences.
JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY
Denmark
R-18
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 3:45pm – 5:30pm
Jonas is a nice, but worn-down husband and father, with wife, two kids and a house in the suburbs. One day, his life takes a dramatic, unexpected turn when he is the likely cause of a young woman, Julia, crashing her car. The next day, Julia wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and Jonas comes to visit. In a grotesque mix-up, Julia and her family mistake Jonas for her new exotic boyfriend Sebastian, whose return from abroad they had all been expecting. Jonas assumes the other’s identity, playing the part of the man Julia considers the love of her life. A whole new identity, a whole new life, a wide open, boundless world opens up to Jonas. But life is not lived on fantasies and exotic dreams – and one day truth comes knocking at the door.
CHRISTMAS STORY
Finland
GP
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 5:45 pm – 7:20 pm
A Finnish Christmas film for the entire family tells the touching story of how Santa Claus came to be Santa.
Hundreds of years ago in Lapland, a little boy named Nikolas loses his family in an accident. The villagers decided to look after the orphaned boy together. Once a year, at Christmas – Nikolas moves to a new home. To show his gratitude, Nikolas decodes to make toys for the children of the families as good-bye presents. Over the years, Nikolas’ former adoptive families become many, and soon almost every house has presents on its doorstep on Christmas morning. At thirteen, Nikolas is sent to live and work with Iisakki, a grumpy old carpenter, who forbids Nikolas to continue making presents for Christmas. Gradually, however, Nikolas wins Iisakki’s trust. Together, they began to look after the Christmas tradition that Nikolas has begun. When the aged Iisakki has to leave Nikolas and move away, the traditions of Christmas presents is once again at risk. Thankfully, Nikolas comes up with a solution that brings children joy every Christmas, even continuing today.
REC
Spain
R-18
Friday, October 9, 2009 | 8:00pm – 9:30pm
The film follows a Spanish late-night television reporter, Angela Vidal, through the lens of her cameraman, Pablo. During one report of the happenings in a local fire station in Barcelona, the duo follow a team of firefighters who got a call from an apartment building nearby about a trapped woman. When they arrive, they find the apartment’s residents huddled in the lobby. They go upstairs to find a woman who is obviously distressed. What follows is a night that none of them will ever forget.
YOU AND ME
France
R-13
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Editor of the magazine, “Toi et Mio”, Ariane tends to write her love life and that of her sister Lena, embellishing them. Meanwhile, their real life is far from Romanesque: Ariane clings to Farid who hardly cares about her, while Lena is bored with her companion, Francois. What if Ariane abandons her love for Pablo, the handsome Hispanic worker in her building, and if Lena allows herself to fall for Mark, the talented violinist? Between their real life and the glossy magazine stories, will the two sisters find their true love?
THE BLIND FLYERS
Germany
GP
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 11:45 am – 1:13 pm
The Blind Flyers follows the adventures of best friends Maria and Inga as they audition for a school band in the hope of appearing on a TV show. The two are just like typical music-loving teenagers, except for one thing; they are blind. The Blind Flyers is a refreshingly unsentimental film that promotes neither stereotypes nor puty, it is simply a film that shows that the handicapped are truly just like “normal” people.
This inspiring film has won awards such as the 2004 German Film Awards for Best Children’s Film, a special mention in the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival, and a Euro Kids Film Award in 2004.
THE DEMONS OF ST. PETERSBURG
Italy
R-13
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 1:30 pm – 3:28 pm
St. Petersburg, 1860. A member of the Imperial family is assassinated. A few days later the writer Fyodor Maikhailovich Dostoevsky meets Gusiev, a young man being treated in a psychiatric hospital. Gusiev confesses that he is part of the terrorist group involved in the assassination and reveals that his comrades are planning to kill another of the Tsar’s relatives. The young man also gives Dostoevsky the address of Aleksandra, their leader. Dostoevsky must find her body and try and convince her to stop this new attack. The writer is at his wits end, hounded by his creditors, under pressure to deliver his next book and plagued by frequent attacks of epilepsy. By day, with the help of Anna Grigoryevna, a young stenographer, he dictates “The Gambler”. At night, he continues his desperate search for the terrorist group.
LOVE IS ALL
The Netherlands
PG-13
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 3:45 pm – 5:45 pm
Love is like Santa Claus: you have to believe in it, otherwise it will not work.
Following her husband’s infidelity with their son’s teacher, Klaasje falls for a teenage Don Juan. Her best friend Simone seems happy with her own husband but her tenacious striving for perfection is beginning to take its toll on the marriage. Kiki is in love too, and enjoying her fling with Prince Valentijn, the most eligible prince within the Dutch royal family. Kees, an undertaker, and lifeguard Victor are in love. They intend to get married soon, but now Kees seems to be holding back.
All the storylines within this romantic comedy are linked to a greater or lesser degree. But sooner or later, every character ends up meeting Jan, the hero of this film, who, in his role of dues ex machine, sees to it that, in the end, love conquers all.
ZOO RANGERS IN SOUTH AMERICA
The Netherlands
PG-13
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 6:00 pm – 7:40 pm
While on the trail of an extremely rare butterfly, the ZOO Rangers save the South American rainforest form total destruction. When the ZOO Rangers are asked to find an extremely rare species of butterfly in South America, they initially split up into two groups. A number of rangers pay a visit to the members of the expedition that originally found the butterflies. The others go into the tropical rain forest to seek out the butterflies themselves.
DARK BLUE WORLD
Czech Republic
R-13
Saturday, October 10, 2009 | 8:00 pm – 9:45 pm
March 15, 1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia. Czech pilots flee to England, joining the RAF. After the war, back home, they are put in labor camps, suspected of anti-Comminist ideas. This film cuts between a post-war camp where Franta is a prisoner in England during the war. Franta is like a big brother to Karel, a very young pilot. On maneuvers, Karel crash lands by the rural home of Susan, an English woman whose husband is MIA. She spends one night with Karel, and he thinks he’s found the love of his life. It complicated Susan’s attraction to Franta. How will the three handle innocence, love, friendship and the heat of war? When war ends, what then?
SUNDAYS ON LEAVE
Romania
R-13
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 2:30 pm – 4:15 pm
It is late in the Ceausescu era in Romania, and Cristina is having a difficult time with her boyfriend. He wants her to have sex with him before he goes off to do his obligatory stint in the army. She wants him to marry her first. She also gets involved with her slightly rebellious actor, a would-be ladies’ man. He has some vague plans to defect – could those be the reasons he is receiving mysterious phone calls? Or are they the work of his anonymous admirer?
THE GUY IN THE GRAVE NEXT DOOR
Sweden
PG-13
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Desiree, a modern librarian with urban friends and interests is visiting her late husband’s grave when she meets Benny, a simple farmer. After his mother’s death Benny lives alone on the run-down farm, desperately seeking a woman to take care of him. In spite of their differences the two have that special dream of finding that special someone in common, and fall passionately in love. Benny wants Desiree to move in with him and start a family as soon as possible. But being a farmer’s wife is not something she is very enthusiastic about. Just presenting Benny as her boyfriend proves to be an embarrassing experience. And when she gets a tempting job offer in Stockholm she has to consider her priorities carefully.
RASCALS ON THE ROAD
Switzerland
PG-13
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 6:15 pm – 8:00 pm
Eugen, Wrigley, Baschteli and Eduard are four young rascals who spend their time playing pranks upon the citizens of 1960’s Berne.
Incidents involving an antique helmet and a leaky boat get them into hot water with their parents, and Eugen and Wrigley face cruel and unusual punishment: no scouts’ camp, and banishment to boarding school.
Our two heroes hightail it in order to look for Fritzli Buhler, the erstwhile King of Rascals, whose legendary pranks are still the talk of Berne’s cobbled streets. Their odyssey takes them to the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, where they are joined by Baschteli and Eduard, and by bicycle across the Alps to Zurich.
Pursued by worried parents, wrathful peasants and any number of policemen they travel all over Switzerland. While their parents and the authorities launch a nationwide search, the four boys strengthen their friendship and enter into a bond to rival that of the Swiss Confederation: “ We shall stand united as a people of brats..”
By the end of their adventures the four rascals will be famous – and much more.
THE DUCHESS
United Kingdom
R-13
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 8:15 pm – 10:05 pm
Academy award nominees Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes star in the Duchess: the compelling true story of a lavish world filled with smoldering passion, heartbreaking deception and stifling demands. Beloved by a nation but betrayed by her husband, Georgiana Spencer – the Duchess of Devonshire and “Empress of Fashion” – graced an agonizing choice between responsibility and love. This gripping portrayal of England’s “It Girl” has won acclaim from audiences and critics alike. She was vivacious. She was heroic. She was the Duchess.
—————————-
This list is also available on the website of the Arts Council of Cebu.
Original image of CE 12 poster courtesy of www.artscouncilcebu.org and edited for this purpose using brushes downloaded from the internet and a pattern native to Adobe Photoshop.
Special thanks to Ms. Wilma Entera of the Ayala Mall Group for forwarding the schedule. Ambyo, nay! 
). Crossing my fingers I’d get to devour these new ones along with those already in the list (see The Pile) before the year ends or I’d get non-stop cries of “you’re always buying books yet you can’t even finish them coz you’re too busy doing other stuff.” Some people can be quite, er, frank. Hehehe
)
This sweet bird design's from 
Get your dose of happy-ness in multicolors by 