Europa! Europa Film Festival returns for its Australian encore, and this year you can expect a riveting line-up of 29 films from 24 countries that will transport you from the edge of your seat and across the European continent.
The festival will take place across Sydney and Melbourne, and audiences can expect a smorgasbord of European films showing from February 16 to March 7, 2023. Melbourne screenings will be held at Classic Cinemas in Elsternwick and Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn.
While many Aussies will be forking out the cash to splash on a summer vacay overseas, why not save the money and be whisked on a visual journey of Europe through the diversity of the festival's film program. The selection caters to a circus of different genres and styles, including feel-good sports films, period biopics, disaster films, relationship dramas and comedies.
One of the highlights of the 2023 festival will be the Australian premiere of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s masterful Three Colours Trilogy – a triptych of psychological drama films that embody the bold spirit of European cinema’s arthouse boom of the 1990s.
French eco-thriller The Blaze will launch the festival’s program. Directed by Quentin Reynaud and featuring standout performances by André Dussollier and Alex Lutz, The Blaze follows Simon and his ageing father Joseph as they try and escape a devastating wildfire in the south of France.
The grand finale of the festival will be a special screening of Allelujah, a British film which features a star-studded cast including Judi Dench and Jennifer Saunders. Directed by Richard Eyre and adapted from the lauded stage play by Alan Bennett, the film explores the challenges of healthcare in a geriatric hospital facing closure while paying tribute to the UK’s National Health Service.
On top of this, Europa! Europa will screen eight films submitted by their home countries for the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. Highlights include the Armenian documentary Aurora’s Sunrise about a 14-year-old Armenian genocide survivor and Croatia’s entry Safe Place which follows a family over 24 hours as they navigate the struggles of caring for a suicidal loved one.
Other Oscar submissions include Slovakia’s Victim, a gripping and emotional story of a mother's relentless pursuit of justice; Estonia’s Kalev, a classic underdog tale based on a true story; and Georgia’s A Long Break, a tense drama that explores how we contextualize our school experiences as adults
Europa! Europa will also present a selection of critically acclaimed films that left audiences in awe during the 2022 film festival season. These include The Accusation, the award-winning The Odd-Job Men and the psychological thriller The Beasts.
Tickets for Europa! Europa Film Festival 2023 are $24, and you can also buy multi-film passes. Check out the full program of films by visiting the website.
