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Europa Cinemas hold annual conference in Paris

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A driving force for the circulation of quality European films across the continent, the Europa Cinemas network – headed by Claude-Eric Poiroux and presided by Claude Miller – kicks off its 13th annual conference today in Paris. The event – which brings together several hundred exhibitors, distributors and professionals – closes on Sunday.

Before the debates get underway, today ten European films will be presented in avant-première. These include Hungarian director Robert LakatosGood Luck! (Europa Cinemas Label Award at Karlovy Vary); Romanian filmmaker Adrian Sitaru’s Picnic (to be released in France on February 4, 2009); Bullet in the Head [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Spain’s Jaime Rosales; Involuntary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erik Hemmendorff
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile
]
by Sweden’s Ruben Östlund; Louise Michel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Delépine and Gustav…
interview: Benoît Jaubert
film profile
]
by French duo Gustave de Kerven and Benoît Delepine (to be released on December 24); Uberto Pasolini’s Italian/UK co-production Machan [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Europa Cinemas Label Award at Venice Days); French director Gaël Mocaer’s Une saison sans pop corn (“A Season Without Popcorn”); Jerichow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile
]
by Germany’s Christian Petzold; Revanche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Götz Spielmann
film profile
]
by Austria’s Götz Spielmann (Europa Cinemas Label Award in the Panorama section at the Berlinale); and Italian director Gianni di Gregorio’s Mid-August Lunch [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(to be released in March 2009).

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On Friday evening, UK director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Danny Boyle
film profile
]
(to be released on January 7, 2009) will be shown in avant-première and on Saturday a programme of trailers will be presented.

The Europa Cinemas annual conference will be officially opened tomorrow morning at the Méridien Montparnasse Hotel by Christine Albanel (French Culture Minister), Véronique Cayla (director general of the National Film Centre (CNC)), her German counterpart Peter Dinges (FFA) and Christophe Forax (representative of European Commissioner Viviane Reding).

The 2008 awards for Best European Exhibitors will also be presented at the event. Zurich Arthouse Kinos (Switzerland) will receive the prize for Best Programming and Dublin’s Light House Cinema and Irish network Access Cinema will pick up Best Entrepreneur. Meanwhile, the award for Best Young Audience Activities will go to Kino Centrál in Hradec Králové (Czech Republic).

The conference will also host several workshops led by eminent professionals: "What local and regional public policies should be implemented for movie theatres?", "Towards a solidarity between distributors and exhibitors without the transition to digital" (with the participation of France’s Haut et Court, Belgium’s Cinéart, Hungary’s Proton, Norway’s Film&Kino, the president of the French Association of Arthouse Cinemas, the director of UK group Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, and the heads of Arts Alliance, Ymagis and XDC) and "What place is there for European film in this age of screens and interactive media?" (led by Italy’s Lucky Red, France’s Universciné, Germany’s Pandora and the Netherlands Film Fund). Finally, there will be an appraisal and a discussion of Europa Cinemas’ prospects for 2009.

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(Translated from French)

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