European Films In Competition at FESTROIA

SUBMARINO (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark)

by Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor

It is good to know that European film festivals are so supportive of their fellow European filmmakers. Another example that is showcasing the best of new European cinema is FESTROIA, the leading film festival in Portugal.

Twelve of the best European films produced during the last year are competing for the main award of the 26th edition of FESTROIA. The prestigious Gold Dolphin will be determined by an international jury and announced on the final night of the Festival on June 12.

The film directors of the above films are a mix of newcomers to Portugal, as well as directors long admired here. Amongst the returnees are the Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who comes back with SUBMARINO, and Finnish director Saara Cantell with her film HEART BEATS.

Three more films from Northern Europe are represented in the Main Competition section, iincluding A FAMILY by Danish director Pernille Fischer Christensen; A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN by Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland; and THE APE by Swedish director Jesper Ganslandt.

Eastern Europe is strongly represented, including the films SOUL AT PEACE by Slovakian director Vladimír Balko; ALL THAT I LOVE by Polish director Jacek Borcuch; and three co-productions: ST. GEORGE SHOOTS THE DRAGON (Srdjan Dragojevic, Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria), IN THE LAND OF WONDERS (Dejan Sorak, (Croatia, Hungary), and METASTASES (Branko Schmidt, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia),

The last two films competing in the Official Section are also a result of co-productions: the Belgian-Dutch production THE STORM by Ben Sombogaart, and JAFFA, Keren Yedaya’s most recent work, made with money from Israel, France and Germany. Included on the Official Section, but screening out-of-competition, are the Greek film CANTEEN by Stavros Kaplanidis and CASE UNKNOWN by Polish director Feliks Falk.

For more information on this year's FESTROIA, visit: http://www.festroia.pt/?l=eng