19-04-2009

16th Annual Days of European Film Open Tomorrow

    Prague 16-23 April 2009 / Brno 25-30 April 2009 / Olomouc 27-30 April 2009

    The 16th DAYS OF EUROPEAN FILM will open with the Romanian film Boogie (directed by R. Muntean, 2008) in the Světozor theatre in Prague tomorrow on 16 April 2009.

    The story of the film takes place on the coast of Black Sea and reveals all the things that can happen as a result of a coincidental meeting of former high school classmates and the main male character spending a vacation with his family there. The film, shot in an interesting way (contact sound, static shots), draws us into the story and a viewer consequently becomes a direct participant of the confrontations of various life attitudes.

    With his previous films (Furia, Fury, 2002; Hartia va fi albastra, The Paper Will Be Blue, 2006), the director has already become one of the Romanian creators who are increasingly successful on a wider international scale.

    His films are successfully screened at all prestigious festivals.

    Alexandru Baciu who wrote the screenplay for this film and who cooperated with this director in the director's previous film Hartia va fi albastra (The Paper Will Be Blue, 2006) will be a guest at the ceremonial opening.

    On Friday 17 April, a seminar will take place in the building of FAMU (The Academy of Performing Arts), the main topic of which is Screenplay Writing and Development Process in Central Europe. How to write a good screenplay? Will an ideal manual or method be found? Pavel Jech, the dean of FAMU, will be the moderator of this debate. Milena Jelinek from the Columbia University will be a special guest. Guests from film schools as well as the general public will be able to get a peek of the new perspectives and personal methods of the individual participants of this open discussion.

    The seminar will be in the Czech language (details on the seminar are attached to the press release).

    Světozor will be really packed with action on Saturday! After all-day screenings, a night full of surprises awaits us. An evening show composed of improvised performances and humour will entertain the fans of Cabaret Caligula as well as others. The proficient moderators of Radio Ivo will change the theatre's audience into the listeners of a sound drama... Cabaret Caligula will present its new vaudeville, inspired by second-rate film genres, and in the end, we will be able to watch the cult film of all times, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. This programme starts at 23.00 - in the Světozor theatre. Admission fee is mere 100 CZK.

    Regrettably, we must announce that Pierre Richard will not come to Prague. But we are very happy that the director Christophe Barratier will come to the ceremonial closing of the festival to personally present his film Paris 36 (Faubourg 36).

    Instead of the Hungarian film called Ester's Legacy, another Hungarian film called Off Hollywood (2007) by the director Szabolcs Hajdu will be screened during the festival. It tells the story of a directress, which takes place during a single day - during the day of the premiere of her new film. It is a comedy full of typically intense situations and witty dialogues.

    A number of film creators are heading to Prague!

    Boogie, the opening film, will be accompanied by Alexandru Baciu, the screenwriter. (16-17 April)

    The Polish director Grzegorz Pacek will come to present his film Wednesday, Thursday Morning to the Prague audience. (17-19 April)

    Another Polish director, Maciej Wojtyszko, the director of the film Louise's Garden, will also visit the festival. (18-20 April)

    On 18 April, Andreas Eicher, the producer of the German film Nothing But Ghosts, will present this film in the Lucerna cinema. This successful producer will be a member of the Pilsen Finals jury in the following days.

    The Slovak film The Last Caravan will be presented personally by the director Peter Beňovský. (21-23 April)

    The documentary called Memories of a Border-Guard Dog will be accompanied by Karel Prokop, the director of this film. (21-23 April)

    The ceremonial distribution pre-premiere of the film Paris 36 will be presented by the director Christophe Barratier in the Světozor theatre on 23 April.

    We will be happy to arrange interviews with the individual artists after prior agreement over the telephone. Please, write, call - at anytime!

    You can find detailed information as well as any possible changes at http://www.eurofilmfest.cz/.

    On behalf of the festival team

    Jana Gabrielová

    Contact information:

    Address for mail: Národní 28, Praha 1, 110 00

    Tel.:+420 602 273 946

    Fax: 221 105 303

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    www.eurofilmfest.cz