The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, in partnership with the Metropolis Cinema Association and in cooperation with the European Union Member States, is pleased to announce the 28^th European Film Festival in Lebanon. This new edition will be held from 25 September to 4 October 2023.

The European Film Festival will open on Monday 25 September with the Spanish film Ramona by Andrea Bagney, which won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2022 Rome Film Fest.

The programme of this 28^th edition presents a wide variety of screenings and events:

• 27 recent feature films from Europe allowing the audience to watch prize-winning films, which were screened at major international film festivals, as well as the first or second productions of emerging directors;
• 1 ciné-concert with live music;
• 1 classic feature film “Cría Cuervos” in tribute to Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura;
• 1 Lebanese production “Riverbed” by Bassem Breche to close the Festival;
• 12 short films produced by young emerging Lebanese filmmakers, and competing to win awards offered by Member States;
• 1 Film Expression Workshop: “Taabir”.

The feature films’ selection includes two animated films for the young audience. The Festival will invite children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds to these screenings.

Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale “The Little Match Girl” (published in 1845) was adapted into a silent film in 1928 by Jean Renoir. In collaboration with Metropolis Cinema and Irtijal, the Festival will present a unique ciné-concert experience with the original music of Frequent Defect.

The Festival will award three prizes for the films participating in the Short Film Competition. Winners will be invited to attend a leading international film festival in Europe in 2024, in partnership with Goethe-Institut Libanon, l’Institut français du Liban and the Embassy of Poland in Lebanon.

The Film Expression Workshop: “Taabir”, led by filmmaker Corine Shawi and university professor Yara Nashawaty, will invite six participants aged forty and above to produce short video diaries and train them to develop their own cinematic style.

This edition’s poster was designed by Lebanese graphic designer Zeina Eid, following a competition launched online. The artist aimed to encapsulate the sense of wonder and awe experienced inside a cinema.

The Festival closes on Wednesday 4 October with the Short Film Competition Award Ceremony, followed by the Lebanese premiere of the film “Riverbed” by Bassem Breche, in the presence of the filmmaker and film team.

The 28^th edition of the European Film Festival will run in Beirut in: Galaxy Grand Cinemas, Theatre Caracalla, Beirut Art Center and the Italian Embassy Garden. In its continuous effort to promote and disseminate European culture to the widest possible audience, the Festival is scheduled to run in regions across Lebanon throughout October, including Hermel, Saida, Tripoli, Jounieh, Byblos and Zahle.