The EUSFF brings three unique programs of European short films to Ottawa
OTTAWA, 17 April 2024 - The 12th European Union Short Film Festival (EUSFF) features three thematically unique programs of short films from 23 European Union Member States. The three programs offer a kaleidoscopic array of contemporary European cinema. A collaborative effort between the Canadian Film Institute (CFI), the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, and participating EU Member States, the EUSFF runs from May 2 to 3 at the Arts Court Theatre. The Festival is free to attend. Complimentary snacks and drinks will also be offered from participating EU Member States.
“We are excited to announce the 12th annual edition of the European Union Short Film Festival in Ottawa, as part of 9 May Europe Day celebrations. The festival will also be presented in Montreal in late May,” says Geneviève Tuts, Ambassador of the European Union to Canada.
“We are thrilled to unveil this unique and diverse programme of 23 short films from across the European Union, especially curated for this festival. Our heartfelt thanks to all those who are making this festival such a success, our friends at the Canadian Film Institute and our colleagues at the embassies and cultural institutes of EU Member States and the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).”
“We are thrilled to once again partner with the Delegation of the European Union to Canada to present the EUSFF,” says Tom McSorley, Executive Director of the CFI. “A perennial favourite with our audiences, this special festival further demonstrates the CFI’s commitment to celebrating the best in short form filmmaking. The EUSFF reminds us of the incredible cinematic talents in the European Union, veteran and emerging alike, passionately engaged in telling the stories of our times. It’s also a delicious springtime appetizer for the 40th annual European Union Film Festival in mid-November, a milestone event during the CFI’s 90th anniversary year.”
The Festival’s opening program, Women on the Verge, begins with the 2022 Polish short Instalove (dir. Marcin Niemkiewicz), featuring a girlfriend whose life is turned upside down when she discovers her boyfriend's secret. Including Instalove, the films in this program shine a spotlight on womanhood and the chaotic, mysterious, and triumphant lives of the films’ memorable protagonists.
The Saturday matinee program, The Places You’ll Go, is a collection of seven family-friendly shorts about the people, places, and memories we share on the road of life. The final program of the Festival, Band of Outsiders, closes with the 2023 Irish short Room Taken (dir. TJ O’Grady-Peyton), a moving depiction of the strange bond that develops between Victoria, an elderly blind woman, and Issac, a man who in desperate need of a place to stay who sneaks into Victoria’s home to live there.
The EUSFF schedule is available on the CFI’s website. Admission to the Festival is free.
About the Delegation of the European Union to Canada
Established in 1976, the European Union Delegation to Canada is a fully-fledged diplomatic mission and, as such, the natural contact point in Canada between the EU and the Canadian authorities. It also has a strong public diplomacy mandate designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the European Union as well as EU-Canada relations.
For additional information, photos, and media availability, please contact:
EU Delegation Press Officer Diodora Bucur
613-668-9434
About the Canadian Film Institute
The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) is a charitable organization that encourages and promotes the production, study, and appreciation of film in Canada and abroad. Incorporated in 1935, the CFI is the oldest film institute in Canada and the second oldest film institute in the world.
The CFI organizes ongoing public film programming, artist talks, and several international film festivals, including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the International Film Festival of Ottawa, and the European Union Film Festival. For more information about the organization, visit the CFI’s website.
For additional information, photos, and media availability, please contact:
Christina Frolova-Gregory (She/Her)
Communications Manager, Canadian Film Institute