Faced with a growing demand from local audiences, the Europa! Europa Film Festival was born out of a need to represent a range of diverse countries and cultures, bringing their voices and viewpoints to this island nation.
The festival’s offerings discuss themes of ageing and youth, and explore conflict, both historical and recent.
There are films by and about women, and about immigration and refugees, told from multiple perspectives.
The Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) in Sydney is one of the festival’s sponsors and is delighted to promote three films in the line-up.
Making their Australian debut are: Io sto bene, directed by Donato Rotunno; Europa, which is the result of a collaboration between Italy, Iraq and Kuwait; and Il Legionario, directed by Hleb Papou.
Io sto bene is set in the 1960s, in the wake of the catastrophic situation in Italy, and tells the story of Antonio Spinelli, who navigates his relationship with love, loss and his Italian identity.
Based on real-life events on the so-called “Balkan Route”, Europa explores the lives of migrants smuggled into Europe across the Turkish border, who are often subject to violence, intimidation and illegal pushback.
The goal for Iraqi-Italian filmmaker Haider Rashid was to create an immersive experience for his audience, testing their empathy as they follow the protagonist’s terrifying journey.
Meanwhile, Il Legionario is a timely film that examines the issues of race and class in modern Italian society through the lens of a tense and thrilling drama.
The film was inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences of living as an immigrant in Italy.
The festival will run simultaneously in Sydney and Melbourne from February 4 to 27.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit the website.
