‘Triangle of Sadness,’ ‘Holy Spider, French New Wave Retrospectives Lead Diverse European Film Month Slate

Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” and tributes to the French New Wave are among the most common programming choices for this year’s Month of European Film, a variegated showcase for continental cinema that will run across the continent from Nov. 13 – Dec. 10.

Piloted by the European Film Academy, the month-long initiative will extend across 35 partner cinemas in as many countries, with each theater hosting a unique program tailored to that specific market. Like three-dozen complementary programs rallying around the same banner, this year’s Month of European Film will feature screenings of recent festival standouts, retrospectives to directors Jonas Mekas and Lars von Trier, and country focuses on contemporary German, Portuguese and Nordic cinema – among many other moving parts.

“With the Month of European Film, the Academy is launching a new network,” says European Film Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol. “A large part of this network consists of movie theatres curating smart programs with handpicked films that cater for the curiosity and tastes of their local audiences. Programs that help to rediscover European film culture. For the very first time, all these efforts and initiatives are linked to each other over a longer time via the Month of European Film, carefully orchestrated by the Academy.”

“We are convinced that strengthening the visibility of European films, which feature our very own European stories and history shouldn’t be done only on a national level,” Knol continues. “This is a European question and need, one that can only be answered successfully together, by further joining forces. For us, this initiative is a first step. The Academy will be increasingly committed to this in the coming years.”

Launching with the European Arthouse Cinema Day on Nov. 13 and culminating with this year’s Reykjavik-hosted European Film Awards on Dec. 10, the four-week program is being pitched as Europe’s answer to awards season, offering a month-long window chock full of Q&As, retrospectives and themed screenings, all meant to raise fervor and awareness.

“Our goal in the future is to create more visibility for films from the annual Academy Selection as well as for the nominated films to a larger audience and to our members during the Month of European Film,” says Knol.

Stemming mostly from the Europa Cinemas network, participating theaters include Kino Aero (Prague), Trianon (Athens), Cinema Beltrade (Milan) EYE (Amsterdam), Cinema Ideal (Lisbon), Orion (Helsinki), Le Balzac (Paris), as well as the Tel Aviv Cinematheque and the Glasgow Film Theatre. Directors receiving retrospectives include New Wave stalwarts Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Agnes Varda, as well Lars von Trier, Jonas Mekas, Jacques Tati, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

The full schedule can be found here.

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