34th European Film Festival kicks off

AMMAN — Under the patronage of HRH Princess Rym Ali, the 34th edition of the European Film Festival, funded by the European Union (EU) in Jordan and coorganised with EUNIC, will take place from November 13-25 at the Haya Cultural Centre Theatre.

The festival is organised with the participation of the embassies of the EU Member States and European Cultural Institutes, according to a statement from festival organisers. 

It will feature 15 European films, many of which are award-winning, including the Polish movie “Never snow again”, the Austrian movie “Oskar & Lili - Where No One Knows Us”, the French movie “My Donkey, My Lover & I”, the Belgian movie “Gods of Molenbeek”, the Cypriot movie “Family member”, the Dutch movie “Romy's Salon”, the German movie “The Audition”, the Bulgarian movie “BUBBLEGUM”, the Spanish movie “Fire Will Come”, the Irish movie “Here before”, the Italian movie “Run to You”, the Swedish movie “Cold Case Hammarskjöld” and the British movie “The Reason I Jump”.

This year, Jordan will be the guest of honour at the festival, with the screening of the award-winning film “Daughters of Abdelrahman” at the closing ceremony.

The EUFF aims to provide the audience with the opportunity to enjoy the European films, all of which will be screened in their original languages and subtitled in both Arabic and English. All screenings are free of charge for the public.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou said that “each year, the festival brings Jordanians and Europeans together and opens up a space for intercultural cooperation, diversity, exchange and dialogue. Since 2022 is the European Year of Youth, this year’s festival will be dedicated to the generation of young men and women that has suffered the most during the pandemic, as we take this opportunity to shine a light on the important role youth can play in building a better, greener, more inclusive and digital future, with plenty of opportunities to learn and interact with each other”.

The festival launched a "Mobile Film Competition" this year in cooperation with SAE Institute Jordan, a leading media arts institute. 

The competition provides filmmakers or anyone who has a mobile phone and is passionate about film-making an opportunity to produce their own film and participate in the competition. More details on the competition, its topics, participation terms and conditions are available on the festival's website: www.euffjordan.com. 

With the aim of supporting creativity in the field of filmmaking in Jordan, the winners of the competition will be celebrated and their films will be screened at the festival’s closing ceremony.

The European Film Festival (EUFF) is the longest-running foreign film festival in Jordan. This year’s festival is held in partnership with the Media Commission, the Royal Film Commission, the Greater Amman Municipality, SAE Institute and LOYAC.