Representing different countries, genres and styles, the “Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now!” programme will be screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on 6 and 7 July.

In cooperation with the festival and Variety, European Film Promotion (EFP) introduces a film selection of new, eclectic European films and their directors to the film industry. The line-up includes recent films reviewed by Variety critics.

The Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which runs from 4 to 12 July this year, is considered a key international event which bridges countries and cultures of Western, Central and Eastern Europe.

Financial backing for EFP’s spotlight at Karlovy Vary, in its 17th year, is provided by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the ten participating EFP member organisations.

According to EFP, films presented by their directors in “Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now!” are:

BLIND

Director: Eskil Vogt

Norway, The Netherlands

Norway’s Eskil Vogt makes a directorial debut with Blind, a tragic but playful tale of a woman whose loss of sight serves to sharpen her creative imagination.

GRAND PIANO

Director: Eugenio Mira

Spain

Eugenio Mira with Grand Piano presents his third feature, a Spanish thriller of a pianist who is threatened by an unseen gunman during a concert.

MACONDO

Director: Sudabeh Mortezai

Austria

Macondo is the fiction debut of documentary director Sudabeh Mortezai. Set in Vienna, the story centres on the 11-year-old refugee Ramasan, who finds himself torn between Chechen custom and his new Austrian environment.

CLASS ENEMY

Director: Rok Bicek

Slovenia

In the compelling Slovenian Class Enemy by Rok Bicek, a group of teens blame their demanding new German teacher and his demeaning methods after one of their classmates commits suicide.

WHITE SHADOW

Director: Noaz Deshe

Italy, Germany, Tansania

Noaz Deshe presents a staggering debut with the drama White Shadow, about African albinos, a film that evokes a world physically and spiritually out of balance.

CALVARY

Director: John Michael McDonagh

Ireland, United Kingdom

Writer-director John Michael McDonagh and actor Brendan Gleeson in Calvary portrait a tough-minded Irish priest with black humour who has to battle dark forces.

BLIND DATES

Director: Levan Koguashvili

Georgia, Ukraine

Awarded in Karlovy Vary last year, the humorous Georgian tragicomedy, Blind Dates, by Levan Koguashvili enrolls the story of Sandro, a lonely, 40-year-old Tbilisi teacher, who has little luck with online dating before he meets hairdresser Manana.

INSECURE

Director: Marianne Tardieu

France

Screened at Cannes this year, Marianne Tardieu`s directing debut, Insecure, takes a fresh and empathetic look at the personal insecurities of a small-town security guard.

QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM

Director: Andrei Gruzsniczki

Romania

Andrei Gruzsniczki’s striking black-and-white drama, Quod erat demonstrandum, takes a look at two academics targeted by the secret service in 1980s Romania, raising an atmosphere of cautionary hope, fear and betrayal.

CATCH ME DADDY

Director: Daniel Wolfe

United Kingdom

Catch Me Daddy is a feature debut of music video director Daniel Wolfe. The thriller about a British-Asian teen follows the story of an ‘honour killing’ set on the West Yorkshire Moors.

Participating EFP member organisations are Austrian Film Commission, British Council, Instituto de la Cinematografa y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA (Spain), Irish Film Board, Istituto Luce Cinecittà (Italy), Norwegian Film Institute, Romanian Film Promotion, Slovenian Film Centre, UniFrance films, and Georgian National Film Center.

Photo courtesy: EFP / BLIND DATES