Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The 11th European Film Festival will take place in Tashkent from 23 to 25 October and will be held in Urgench for the first time on 27 October. The programme features 11 feature-length, documentary and animated films from European countries. All screenings will be free of charge.
The festival’s main venue in Tashkent will be the Palace of National Cinema Arts of Uzbekistan. In Urgench, screenings will be held at the Khudoybergan Devanov Cinema.
Films will be shown in their original languages with Uzbek and/or Russian subtitles.
The films have been provided by the embassies of Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovenia.
The Goethe-Institut and the Alliance Française in Tashkent are also participating in the event’s organisation. Some of the films have received national and international film awards.
The festival has been held annually since 2013 by the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan in cooperation with European embassies accredited in the country, with support from the Cinematography Agency under Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Culture.
On 23 October, audiences in Tashkent will see the Lithuanian psychological drama Remember to Blink, the French documentary In Search of the Snow Leopard, and the Italian documentary Ennio, about composer Ennio Morricone.
The 24 October programme includes the Cypriot documentary Vasilis Michaelides — Hidden Winds, the Slovenian sports drama Nika, and the Greek film A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear.
The latter tells the story of Chinese violinist Liu Jinxi and Greek architect Panos, who meet while walking through Shanghai.
On 25 October, the festival will screen the Luxembourg tragicomedy What If I’m Not Here, the Latvian biographical film Ulya, about the youth of basketball player Uljana Semjonova, and the Romanian film The Law School Gang, which explores the friendship of seven law students.
In Urgench on 27 October, audiences will be able to watch the French-Luxembourgish animated film A Boat in the Garden, the German drama Karla, about a 12-year-old girl seeking protection from her father’s abusive upbringing, and the Greek film A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear.
The festival’s additional programme includes a screening of short films for students on 28 October, organised by the British Council in Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Uzbekistan State World Languages University.
Open-air film screenings are also planned at the Moc Hub cultural space.
