The European Film Festival is back for the 4th time at Cinema Nouveau theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban from 5 to 14 May.

The lineup of films represents 12 countries, including Ireland and Croatia for the first time. Each film reflects the skills and take on the world of filmmakers who are not limited by national borders. American Honey, an award-winning British-made road movie set in America’s mid-west, is as much a magical mystery tour into Americana as it is a coming-of-age drama. King of the Belgians is a comedic piece coming out of Belgium, which sees the Belgian king and his entourage crossing the Balkans in a madcap adventure, after learning of a coup back home. Acknowledged by the Rotterdam International Film Festival, this movie is a road trip with a difference, at once thoughtful, hilarious and wild.

Strike a Pose is a Dutch documentary exploration of “Madonna’s men”, the male dancers who served to consolidate the pop icon’s message and status as an outspoken advocate for LGBT-rights. This winner of a jury award at the Key West Film Festival is an unrelenting documentary which exposes new aspects of a well-known story. Germany’s Toni Erdmann is the outlandish tale of how the passing of a family dog sets off a series of events with a major impact on a father-daughter relationship. Touted as an academy award winner for best foreign film in 2017, this is a must see, by all accounts.

Festival Director Katarina Hedrén who returns as the curator for the second time is delighted with the pickings: “With this year’s selection which includes films of different genres, textures and moods, the aim is to entertain, amuse and offer opportunities for reflection, new discoveries and recognition,” she says. “The theme binding the films together is cinematic excellence through acclaimed and award-winning films from 12 European countries.”

The 2017 selection is a mixed pot in terms of film themes which span from animal rights to family dynamics. Dramas and documentaries, comedies, tales of grief and a children’s adventure sit side by side on this eclectic and exciting programme. 

“The films are new, but the commitment remains the same: to offer audiences in South Africa an opportunity to experience acclaimed and award-winning European cinema”, adds Hedrén.

Motheo Matsau, Chief of Marketing and Sales at Ster-Kinekor Theatres, adds: “Our Nouveau cinemas are synonymous with the screening of the very best in art-house and foreign language films from across the globe, and the European Film Festival content certainly delivers on that promise.”

“European filmmaking has seen another year of highly creative output, and filmmakers continue to produce works that challenge and uproot. We are happy that Festival Director Katarina Hedrén’s 2017 film selection has given even more variety to the European Film Festival.”, says Norbert Spitz, Director of the Goethe-Institut, on behalf of the European partners.

The European Film Festival is coordinated by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, hosted by Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau, and organised in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 12 other European cultural agencies or embassies in South Africa: the General Representation of the Government of Flanders, the French Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Camões Institute, the British Council, and the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The European Film Festival is part of the EuropeFest, presenting in South Africa in May 2017 a diverse range of EU Member States cultural events.

The Belgian film in the 2017 film festival,  "King of the Belgians", is sponsored by the General Representation of the Government of Flanders together with the Embassy of Belgium. For further information on this film, visit www.kingof.be