22nd Cine Europa focuses on humanity, friendship

MANILA, Philippines – The annual Cine Europa celebrates its 22nd year with 13 films focusing on the value of humanity and friendship.

Photo from Cine Europa Philippines 

European Union (EU) delegation to the Philippines’ Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Wiersing said the values from the 2018 movie “Quezon’s Game,” which highlights Filipino hospitality, will reflect in the selection of films in this year’s film festival.

The film festival’s screenings in Metro Manila will be from September 20 to 24 at Cinema 1, Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.  Admission is free.

“I saw a very very good, very touching Filipino movie two months ago or so which I recommend you to watch. It’s ‘Quezon’s Game.’ It’s about a very proud character of the Filipino history, especially for me as a German,” Wiersing said Thursday during the festival’s kickoff.

“It’s a very touching narrative about humanity, friendship and Filipino hospitality. The same values will also be reflected in the movies that we’ll be showing in Cine Europa 22,” Wiersing added.

“Quezon’s Game,” a Matthew Rosen-directed historical drama film, follows the onset of the Holocaust in 1983 where President Manuel Quezon welcomed the Jewish people escaping Austria and Germany to seek refuge in Manila.

The movies’ values, Wiersing stressed, “motivates people to show compassion, to be optimistic, to hope and not to despair, to survive and not to give up, to promote peace and friendship and not wage conflict.”

The participating countries in the 22nd Cine Europa are Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Cine Europa goes to Bohol 

Wierson also announced that Cine Europa, one of the longest running film festivals in the country, will hold screenings in Bohol for the first time on October 11 and 12.

“I’m also very excited that for the very first time, we will have screenings in Bohol from 11 to 12 October. This will allow us to increase our footprint in the Visayas,” Wiersing said.

Apart from Bohol, Cine Europa will also have screenings in Cebu, Iloilo City, Naga, Palawan and Leyte.  /gsg