A joint call to defend (film-) cultural diversity and pluralist democracy in times of increasing political crisis was issued on Wednesday during the general Assembly of the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas – CICAE in Cannes by leading independent exhibitors and industry professionals from across the world.

FNE together with UNIFRANCE is launching the Year of French Central European Films 2025 with a special focus on French films in Central and Eastern European countries plus Cyprus and Malta, and our partner countries’ films screening in France.

The East-West co-production market connecting cottbus is now open for submissions of feature film projects for its 27^th edition (5-7 November 2025).

The ten projects selected for the 12th edition of Transilvania Pitch Stop 2025 co-production platform are:

The World’s Largest Arthouse Initiative Is Set to Return on 23 November 2025 

With its record-breaking 2024 edition bringing together 90 000 spectators in over 600 cinemas from 46 countries worldwide, the upcoming 10th European Arthouse Cinema Day will make a global statement for (film-)cultural diversity, equity and dialogue across borders 

One global day of action that unites arthouse cinemas and their audiences from Ukraine to Bangladesh, from Venezuela to South Korea: The European Arthouse Cinema Day (www.artcinemaday.org) is the oldest, largest and most significant film-political initiative in the world. Its 10th edition will return on 23 November 2025 and bring together audiences, arthouse cinemas, and film professionals worldwide to take a stand for the values of independent cinemas. 

CICAE President Dr. Christian Bräuer: “The European Arthouse Cinema Day is a brilliant global initiative that unites the diverse facets of the arthouse scene. It showcases our collective strengths and reminds the world that arthouse cinemas are vital cultural pillars, embodying the values that make our societies unique. On this day, we not only celebrate the diversity of independent filmmaking and cinema as a unique collective and discursive space. The day also serves to strengthen the competitiveness of this unique ecosystem of independent filmmakers, producers, festivals, world sales, distributors and cinemas.” 

In its ten-year history, the European Arthouse Cinema Day, initiated by the global non-profit International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas - CICAE, has brought together over 500 000 spectators, filmmakers, and arthouse cinemas from more than 50 countries on all continents. 

In times of global crises and societal polarisation, in which the pluralist democratic order seems increasingly under threat in many places across the world, on European Arthouse Cinema Day, the globe’s independent cinemas join hands to make a clear statement in defence of pluralist democracy, equity, and cross-cultural cooperation. For this unique joint film cultural action, hundreds of participating cinemas collaborate across borders to organise special screenings and bespoke programmes, events and Q&As for audiences of all backgrounds to highlight the diverse cultural power and economic resilience of European film. Supported by dozens of prominent ambassadors over the years that include Wim Wenders, Ruben Östlund, Celine Sciamma, Agnieszka Holland or Levan Akin as well as political patrons such as the French and German ministers for culture and the First Vice President of the European parliament, Sabine Verheyen, they make it clear that arthouse cinemas stand in defence of film-cultural liberty; anytime, anywhere.

Contact Details and Further Information 

Founded in 1955, the CICAE (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai) is a non-profit association and the global representative of arthouse cinemas; bringing together over 2400 independent movie theatres with more than 4400 screens in 45 countries through the collaboration of twelve national and regional arthouse cinema networks (in France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela and the Network of Arab Alternative Screens), as well as individual cinemas, not yet represented by a national network, and festivals across the world. www.cicae.org. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the CICAE and, with it, seven decades since the birth of the global arthouse movement. 

You can find visual elements, videos, the trailer and pictures of the EACD 2024 here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10AKsTfr-uYvdfNT_JwFKtzU-T5XXiKOh?usp=sharing 

For further information on last year’s European Arthouse Cinema Day, facts and figures, its political goals, events, ambassadors and patrons, testimonials and useful links please see the information below. 

For questions or interview requests with Cinema Day stakeholders, please contact 

Sebastian Naumann and Quentin Bucher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

or +49 30 439 710 150. 

Everything on European Arthouse Cinema Day 

European Arthouse Cinema Day 2024 Breaks Records: Facts and Figures 

In its largest edition to date on 17 November 2024, 3000 screenings of European films took place in over 600 cinemas in 46 countries on all continents, accompanied by more than 250 international, national or local events. More than 300 different films from a total of 70 countries of production were shown, a third of them international coproductions and 40% films brought back to the cinemas for the occasion. 20 Premieres took place in 5 countries, many of which – e.g., GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (Poland, France, Germany) and CROSSING (France, Poland) – featured bespoke video interviews with their filmmakers that were shown during the screening. 

In a joint statement, organisations representing over 5000 cinemas and film professionals called for the protection of artistic freedom, peaceful dialogue, and pluralist democratic values. An impact study by Comscore found that “The EACD showed a positive impact on the number of European titles screened on November 17th for all key countries” and “positively influenced the tickets sold for European titles” in its sample countries France and Germany. More on the findings in this article : https://arthousecinemahub.com/best-practices/turning-nine-looking-back-on-the-2024-edition-of-the-european-arthouse-cinema-day 

The “European Cinema Day” rightly sees itself as the “Global Day of Action for the arthouse movement.” For me, it is the day when we must understand ourselves as cinema activists to collectively advocate across all geographical, political, and social boundaries for the expansion of our horizons and viewpoints. 

Wim Wenders for EACD 2024 read the full statement here: https://cicae.org/news/wim-wenders-is-the-first-ambassador-for-this-years-european-arthouse-cinema-day 

Empowering the arthouse world, highlighting European Cinema: Objectives of European Arthouse Cinema Day 

The arthouse sector’s Global Day of Action is the showcase of the collective power of independent cinemas. The European Arthouse Cinema Day aims to … 

• foster and drive collaboration between independent cinemas across borders and cultures to develop and disseminate best practices and increase the competitiveness of this uniquely innovative sector
• drive the interest, attendance and circulation of European films beyond their countries of productions
• help the sector grow by streamlining efforts, encouraging knowledge-sharing as well as spotlighting innovative and high-value projects
• using the initative’s substantial collective bargaining power to enable cinemas in lower capacity regions to attain streaming rights for films they would otherwise not have been able to share with their audience
• shine a light on the crucial role of arthouse cinemas in democratic societies and advocating for the continued and reinforced support necessary to fulfil their role of fostering open-mindedness, information, curiosity, tolerance and dialogue.

“It is a great honour for me to be the patron of the ninth European Cinema Day, which will be celebrated on 17 November 2024. This year's theme 'Democracy and Diversity' is of particular importance as it reflects the important role that cinema plays in promoting tolerance, supporting open dialogue and fostering intercultural exchange” 

Sabine Verheyen - First Vice President of the European Parliament - for European Arthouse Cinema Day 2024 

30 Filmmakers Supporting the Global Arthouse Day of Action 

The European Arthouse Cinema Day is supported by some of Europe's most prominent filmmakers and actors who serve as its ambassadors. So far, 30 ambassadors hailing from 10 different European countries have lent the Event their support, among others Ruben Östlund (Sweden, 2017), Alice Rohrwacher (Italy, 2018), Céline Sciamma (France, 2019), Agnieszka Holland (Poland, 2020), Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary, 2021), Lukas Dhont (Belgium, 2022), Matteo Garonne (Italy, 2023) and Wim Wenders (Germany, 2024). 

Return in 2025 for Its Largest Edition Yet 

The 10th edition of European Arthouse Cinema Day will take place on 23 November in over 50 countries, feature the largest group of ambassadors ever and contain many other new projects and initiatives. In the face of war, increasing populism and nationalist isolationism threatening peaceful cross-cultural dialogue everywhere, the 2025 European Arthouse Cinema Day will amplify its political stance even further. Registrations will open in June on www.artcinemaday.org. 

As Sabine Verheyen, First Vice-President of the European Parliament and Patron of the EACD 2024 said, “Film and cinema are not just entertainment, but reflect our society and culture, shaping and influencing how we see others and ourselves”. Accordingly, as the Hungarian parliament banned Pride parades, the European Arthouse Cinema Day highlighted the work of Romanian filmmaker Emanuel Pârvu and his latest film THREE KILOMETERS TO THE END OF THE WORLD showing the damages of conservative attitudes on queer individuals. As filmmakers across the world face increasing danger and reprisals for the simple act of creating art, Iranian filmmaker in exile Sepideh Farsi joined us to create the initiative’s central visual design. 

5.000 Industry Stakeholders from Across the World Sign Joint Statement for Democracy and Diversity 

On European Arthouse Cinema Day, the CICAE, together with organisations representing over 5000 industry stakeholders worldwide published a call to “Defend Democracy, Equity and Cross-Cultural Dialogue”, calling among others for the protection of free speech and artistic expression, for dialogue and exchange across communities, cultures, and borders, for the safety of audiovisual artists and cultural workers and for the support to essential cultural venues, such as independent cinemas. 

The list of countries and territories that have signatories is: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, U.S.A., United Kingdom and Mayotte. 

The Call can be found here : https://arthousecinemahub.com/best-practices/join-the-arthouse-movements-call-to-defend-for-democracy,-diversity-and-cross-cultural-dialogue. 

Wim Wenders on Why We Need Cinema Activism 

For European Arthouse Cinema Day 2024 ambassador and European filmmaking legend Wim Wenders delivered a powerful message on “Why We Need (Arthouse) Cinema Right Now”. He reminds us that while “We are politically in a precarious situation (…) If there is anything that can protect us from cheap and dangerous populism, it is education and culture” and calls on professionals across the sector to “understand ourselves as cinema activists to collectively advocate across all geographical, political, and social boundaries for the expansion of our horizons and viewpoints: with the intelligent, exciting, and moving stories, and the history that (arthouse) cinema has to offer”. 

Find the Full message here: https://cicae.org/news/wim-wenders-is-the-first-ambassador-for-this-years-european-arthouse-cinema-day. 

250 Cinema Day Events Worldwide 

European Arthouse Cinema Day is the occasion for innovative events highlighting the diversity of European film. Examples n 2024 include 

• a unique “blind” screening of the classic French film noir ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS using only audio description, offering an immersive experience for the hearing and visually impaired (in Berlin, Germany).
• In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a country with a virtually non-existent arthouse sector, a full day of screenings introduced over 1000 visitors to European films they might never have encountered otherwise.
• In Kyiv, Ukraine, screenings of DAHOMEY, EMILIA PEREZ, and PARADIS PARADIS provided a much-needed cultural reprieve.
• In Vienna, Austria free screenings of environmental films were organized as part of the EU Youth Cinema: Green Deal initiative.
• In Seoul and Daegu, South Korea, a four-day European cinema showcase featured 16 different European titles, attracting over 2,100 cinemagoers.
• In Barcelona, a special screening of BIRD was moderated by the Young Programmers of Moving Cinema, a group of 17- to 23-year-olds who meet regularly to curate and discuss films.
• Across Europe, an exclusive partnership with MUBI enabled the distribution of video interviews with major filmmakers like Levan Akin and Magnus von Horn, that were played alongside their films.

Read a full summary of events here: 

https://arthousecinemahub.com/best-practices/turning-nine-looking-back-on-the-2024-edition-of-the-european-arthouse-cinema-day 

One Day, All Year Long: The Arthouse Cinema Hub 

Initiatives surrounding European Arthouse Cinema Day extend all year round. The free digital platform Arthouse Cinema Hub (www.arthousecinemahub.com) serves to showcase the results and outcomes of the European Arthouse Cinema Day, as well as the findings and best practices gathered through its year-long activities and the best practices and initiatives partnering or associated with the project. 

For Arthouse Cinema Day, 2024 six specialised workshops with leading industry experts were held - three online and three at various industry events - bringing together over 200 exhibitors from over 45 countries, on topics such as marketing for independent cinemas, data gathering and young audience programming. 

“The European Arthouse Cinema Day is a powerful tool of collective bargaining power for arthouse cinemas, especially in countries where the Arthouse industry is still growing and advocating for more recognition. The EACD is also precious for its role as a platform for knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer transmission, by facilitating dialogue and relationships between arthouse professionals from different countries to learn from one another and translate successful initiatives into one’s own national context”. 

Marlena Gabryszewska, CICAE Vice President and President of the Polish Arthouse Association Stowarzyszenie Kin Studyjnych 

The film FLOW, directed by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis, was declared the winner of the 2025 LUX Audience Award at a ceremony today in the European Parliament hemicycle in Brussels.

On 25 April 2025, the National Film Centre of Latvia announced the results of its 2025 annual film production grant competition.