EU Film Days offers new insights into Europe

What is Europe?

It is not easy to give a single description for Europe with its wide and deep diversity, but a film may capture one aspect of such diversity, serving as a mirror that reflects people's hopes and fears.

As part of the annual EU-Japan Friendship Week, which aims to introduce Europe's diverse cultures, languages and history to the people in Japan, the EU Film Days festival, which will be held from May 29 to June 21 in Tokyo, brings together selected films from EU member states and introduces various aspects of Europe to Japanese and foreign audiences alike.

"Until now, we haven't set a specific theme, so it's been up to each embassy to decide on what kind of film to propose," explained Hiroko Takebe, cultural affairs officer at the EU Delegation to Japan who has been responsible for overall coordination of the event since 2010. "As a result, we are able to line up a wide variety of works every year," she said.

Embassies are asked to propose relatively new films that reflect the current state of Europe or a cultural aspect of their country. Although the concept is not that of a festival for old films, "we do also sometimes screen more 'classic' films, which can further add to the diversity of our program," said Takebe, adding, "While it's always nice to see the beautiful scenery and famous sites of Europe, there are also many works that project a more realistic image of today's Europe, which I find impressive."

For example, among the films featured this year, Austria's "Macondo" tells the story of a Chechen refugee family set in the industrial suburbs of Vienna showing very little of the traditional sightseeing spots associated with the former imperial capital.

According to Takebe, despite the lack of a predetermined theme, several films proposed in a given year often have common elements. This year, there are many films that include children as important characters, such as the above-mentioned "Macondo," as well as "Finn" from the Netherlands, "Banditenkinder — Stolen Slovene Children" from Slovenia and "To See the Sea" from the Czech Republic.

Besides award-winning films such as Poland's "Ida," which won the 2015 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award; and Ireland's animated "Songs of the Sea," winner of the grand prize at the 2015 Tokyo Anime Awards, the festival has introduced many films that had rarely been screened in Japan. This year, 12 films will be shown for the first time in Japan at EU Film Days.

Among them is Signe Baumane's animated film "Rocks in My Pockets" from Latvia, which has the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2015.

"It is a story of a woman with humor and courage discovering secrets within her family, seeking answers to find the roots of depression," explained Dana Rudaka from the Embassy of Latvia. "As female empowerment issues are a hot topic worldwide, the Latvian National Film Center offered it this year."

To overcome language barriers, the films are subtitled in Japanese or English (some are in both). For those who speak English, there are works with English subtitles only, and some works, including the two animated films with Japanese subtitles will be shown in English.

Another draw of the festival is the special guests who attend the event.

Hungarian actor Tamás Szabó Kimmel, who starred in "The Ambassador to Bern," is scheduled to make an appearance before the film's June 3 screening, which will be followed by a revival showing of "Made in Hungary," another film featuring the actor that was screened at the EU Film Days 2012.

Also, there will be a lecture on Polish documentary films on June 6 by the country's film critic Michał Oleszczyk, who serves as the artistic director of Gdynia Film Festival, as well as a programmer for Polish Filmmakers NYC.

"Poland has a rich tradition in film making as seen in the prestigious National Film School in Łódz, and documentary films are an important step for every filmmaker," said Koichi Kuyama from the Polish Institute in Tokyo.

"Oleszczyk will introduce different types of documentaries; from works based on patient observation to more dramatized creative works," he said. Prior to the lecture, Oleszczyk will also give a short commentary on the film "Ida" the same day.

When the festival launched in 2003, the idea was to organize joint screenings, resulting in 11 EU member states showing films at three different cultural institutes in Tokyo.

Annually held since then, the film festival has increased in size along with the recent EU enlargements such as the accession of 10 countries in 2004, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and Croatia in 2013. Since 2007, the screenings take place at the National Film Center, The Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

This year, the 13th edition of the EU Film Days brings together a record 26 films (including one short film).

In an effort to spread the festival beyond Tokyo, smaller-scale regional screenings have been organized around Japan in past years. This year, Kyoto will host screenings after Tokyo from July 1 to 12, showing a record 19 films at the Museum of Kyoto.

As of now, it remains a future challenge to involve all 28 member states.

"While it's true that liaising with all the participating partners on a joint program like this is a lot of work, EU Film Days is truly a rare opportunity for people to learn about and further develop their understanding of Europe without leaving Japan," Takebe said.

The films from EU member states should inspire audiences with various aspects and deeper insights into Europe.

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For more information, visit the official website at www.eufilmdays.jp