Europe on Screen, the longest-running international film festival in Indonesia, returned this year, 3-12 May, bringing dozens of quality European movies to Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Denpasar, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. EoS was held for the first time in 1990 under the name of “European Film Festival”, followed by the second edition in 1999, since 2003 the festival became an annual event under the current name of Europe on Screen.
The festival primarily screens the high quality film from European Union (EU) countries, and other participating European countries with representatives in Indonesia. The program comprises of film screenings, and other film-related events such as workshops, discussions, competitions, exhibitions, open air screenings, and many others. Most of the screenings and events are held in cultural centres, with supports from educational institutions, alternative cinemas and other types of venues.
This year the festival opened with Cartoon Saloon’s, The Breadwinner, an Oscar-nominated animated feature and international co-productions, including Ireland and Luxembourg, Directed by Nora Twomey, with Angelina Jolie as executive producer.
Continuing the festival’s tradition of bringing European filmmakers to Indonesia, this year EoS hosted Weronika Mliczewska (director, Long Way, Poland), Deirdre Barry (producer for animated films and series, Salty Dog Pictures and Animation Ireland; front row, centre), Jean-Pascal Elbaz (subtitling expert, France), Aliakbar Campwala (director, The Invisible Subtitler, UK) and Andreas Johnsen (director, Bugs, Denmark).
Jakarta is the anchor city of the festival, with 90% of the screenings and events are held in the city. The rest of the program is held in various cities across the country, such as Bandung, Medan, Denpasar, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. Other cities such as Makassar, Banda Aceh, Banjarmasin and many others have also participated in hosting the festival in the past.
More information and the latest updates about EoS can be found at www.europeonscreen.org
Instagram and Twitter at @europeonscreen and the official Facebook page @Europe on Screen.