30/09/2002

The Leeds International Film Festival which runs from October 3rd –13, has just announced its line-up and main highlights. The 16th edition will open with the English premiere of Ken Loach’s Sweet 16 and will close with Philip Noyce’s Aboriginal drama Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Among the festival’s numerous sidebars, Eureka will focus on a dozen new feature and short films from all around Europe including Damien Odoul’s provocative debut Le Souffle and the widely acclaimed Norwegian film Elling. Special showcases of Belgian cinema will include the UK premiere of Petites Miseres.
Romania’s veteran filmmaker Lucien Pintilie will be honoured with a special retrospective of his work presented in Eureka Archive.
The annual Leeds New Directors Competition which screens a selection of the most promising first and second features from international filmmakers whose films have had little exposure in the cinema circuit (such as French film Step By Step by Laurent Merlin) or originate from smaller production countries (such as Romania), will award the winning filmmaker with its Golden Owl Award.