EU celebrates Cine Europa Festival with a green twist

MANILA, Philippines - The European Union celebrates Cine Europa Film Festival with a green twist in Palawan.

EU Ambassador Franz Jessen,  EU Member States Ambassadors-designate Harald Fries (Sweden), Dr. Gordon Kricke (Germany), Dr. József Bencze (Hungary), Mihai Sion (Chargé d' affaires, Romania), David Ambrus (Deputy Head of Mission, Hungary) and Laurent Legodec (Deputy Head of Mission, France) will launch a "Padyak para sa Kalikasan" (Bike for the Environment) on November 26 to highlight EU's environment advocacy and the importance of "Friendship," the theme of this year's Cine Europa.

Cine Europa screens in Palawan State University from November 22 to 25 while in Robinsons Mall from November 25 to 27. The festival is capped by a bike tour spanning 27 kilometers from Robinsons Mall to Impapay Water Station in Barangay Irawan.

Swedish film Unga "Sophie Bell" or "Young Sophie Bell" will be screened on November 25 at the Robinsons Mall in Puerto Princesa. A coming of age film, it talks about friendship between two young girls.   

In Palawan, biking (or "padyak" in the vernacular) was combined with the medium of film to emphasise EU's commitment to lowering carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to its 1990 levels in the framework of the first-ever universal global climate deal last year and, at the same time, to convey the message of friendship by way of biking with friends.   

Cine Europa now on its 19th year, is the longest running film festival in the country which has the widest potential of reaching large audiences as it screens in a variety of venues from theaters to malls and to universities. The theme for this year's festival is "Friendship" in line with the EU Delegation's 25 years in the Philippines. 

For this Palawan leg, two films will have special screenings on November 26 "Lakbay2Love" (Filipino movie about biking and friendship and a Swedish movie  "Bikes vs Cars," a documentary about the bike and what an amazing tool for change it can be. It highlights a conflict in city planning between bikes, cars and a growing reliance on fossil fuels.

The Cine Europa film festival showcases the quality and ingenuity of European filmmaking from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It also features Filipino great movies such as "Ma Rosa," "Imago," "Of Sinners and Saints" and "Mana" directed by Brillante Mendoza, Ruben Ribay Gutierrez, Ruben Maria Soriquez and Gabby Fernandez. 

Cine Europa started its screenings last September in Shangri-La Mall and finished its Mindanao tour at the FDCP Cinematheque in Zamboanga from October 12 to 16 and in the FDCP in Davao City from October 25 to 30. To culminate Cine Europa, its last, but certainly not the least leg, is in the FDCP's Cinematheque in Kalaw, Manila from December to 6 to 11.

Cine Europa is presented by the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, the EU Member States' Embassies, EU Cultural Institutes: Alliance Francaise de Manille, British Council, Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, Philippine-Italian Association, Embassy of Norway, EU MS Consulates and its partner organizations from the private sector, academe and government agencies.