EUFF offers rare glimpse into Europe’s filmmaking cultures, says EU Ambassador Herve Delphin

EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin says the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) has an unparalleled diversity, offering Indian audiences a rare opportunity to experience the full breadth of Europe’s filmmaking cultures.

Organised by the European Union, in collaboration with EU members states and regional partners, the festival is billed as an annual celebration of European cinema.

The film gala's 30th edition began in the national capital on October 31 and will run till Sunday before travelling to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It will showcase 28 acclaimed films from all European Union (EU) member states and Ukraine across 29 languages. Delphin said the festival reflects the wide-ranging creative traditions that define European cinema.

''It offers a palette of choice and experiences to an Indian public that otherwise you would never have. You may have a film festival of one given member state, but here the EUFF is really about diversity. In one setting, over two weeks, you have all these varieties. So I think this is really the unique character and quality of this film festival,'' the EU Ambassador told PTI.

Delphin further described EUFF as an important medium of cultural exchange.

“Between movie professionals and the public, they get to learn about filmmaking experiences and about what is on screen,” he said.

He highlighted the potential for deeper collaboration between Europe and India, which he described as “two strong movie industries”. ''I think in the future more cooperation and co-productions may emerge from these contacts. In that sense, the EUFF offers a complete package — experiences for the public, opportunities for professionals to meet, and the potential to strengthen our film industries from an economic standpoint,” he said.

Delphin hopes the festival becomes more than just a series of film screenings.

“I would wish that there will be masterclasses and panel discussions around. It’s not just about screening of movies, it's a whole... there will be workshops, and all this is like our incubators of future collaboration. ''It would be an added value of this film festival, not just offering to the wider public the chance of watching quality movies, but really helping to sow the seeds of future collaboration between European and Indian filmmakers,'' he said.

EUFF 2025 is screening films at four prominent venues in New Delhi - the India Habitat Centre, Instituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, and Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Centre.

The highlights of EUFF 2025 are films such as ''The Missile'' (Finland), ''Dying'' (Germany), ''Matters of the Heart'' (Denmark), and ''Happy'' (Austria).

Other notable titles include ''Julie Keeps Quiet'' (Belgium), ''The Trap'' (Bulgaria), ''Pelican'' (Croatia), ''The Waves'' (Czech Republic), ''Lioness'' (Estonia), ''Holy Cow'' (France), and ''Behind the Haystacks'' (Greece).

Artur Zaborski, curator of the EUFF, said all the films being showcased at the movie gala are ''universal''.

''What was really important for me was to bring the films that the Indian audiences can reflect themselves, tackle the issues and subjects that can be easily understood here in India as well. ''I don't believe that cinema is something that works only in some geographical places. I believe that cinema is something that is highly universal. And it can be working as much in Europe as it works in India. So, that was my biggest aim that I hope that I managed to succeed,'' he said.

Zaborski said since it is unrealistic to expect everyone to converge in one city, the festival is showcased across multiple locations to reach more viewers.

''India is such a huge country, it's such a great place, and there are so many inhabitants. It's very important for me so that we can share European cinema with as many audiences as possible,'' he said.

''So going to the different locations, going to the different cities was always the priority for the festival and I'm very happy that we can present the films in the three cities. It's also very important for me and I would like to underline that in the other locations we have almost all the films that were presented in New Delhi,'' he added.