Films from several European countries graced the screen at the Harris Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. EU Film Festival. Held from January 19th to 26th, the week-long festival was held for the third year and screened new films from other countries. This event is not limited to Pittsburgh. After its run at the Harris Theater, the film will travel to other universities across the country, including the University of North Carolina, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati.
Pitt's Center for European Studies, along with similar departments at partner universities and with funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the European Union, leveraged the cinematic arts as a means of disseminating knowledge of European culture. In an effort to increase the availability of this knowledge across the university, Pitt students, faculty and staff now have free admission to his EU Film Festival.
All films selected for the festival were released within the past five years. A certain movie “Somewhere beyond the chemtrails” was a featured film at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival. Managers from all stages of their careers were also in attendance, from prominent Polish manager Agnieszka Holland to Czech newcomer Adam Libanski. “lonely oaks” and “green border” tackled issues on the world stage, such as the survival of Germany's Hambach Forest and public perception of Poland's refugee crisis.
Randall Hare, director of European studies at Pitt University, said the EU film festival employed a variety of film genres to promote stories from other cultures.
“The ability to bring in interesting and powerful stories from other parts of the world at a time when the United States feels pretty closed off is something we're very passionate about,” Halle said. “We've tried to have a good mix of funny, serious, documentary, love story, and actually some important drama.”
Over six days, the theater screened eight films from different countries. It spanned both large countries famous for their film history and smaller countries where blockbuster movies joined the world stage.
Halle said the fusion of cultures on screen reflects Pittsburgh's unique melting pot of European cultures.
“Pittsburgh itself is a city of peoples from all over the world, with particularly deep ties to Central Europe,” Halle said. “So while we have films representing major film countries like France, Italy, Spain and Germany, we also have films from smaller countries like the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland.”
Weeks of behind-the-scenes work went into creating the festival. Ingrid Gomez O'Toole, coordinator of activities, events and partnerships at the Center for European Studies, said the experience was both gratifying and challenging.
“It was very rewarding to put everything together. [Halle] They were just trying to work with me to navigate the whole system of getting these movies,” Gomez-O'Toole said. “It's a different language, so we had to learn and implement everything.”
A lot of effort went into coordinating this event, resulting in a space that combines education and entertainment. These films were not only meant to be entertaining, but also served as a way for participants to learn about cultures different from their own.
Kirsten Steyer, Pitt's chief festival operations trainer and film festival organizer Screenshot: Asiasaid this cultural awareness is one of the most important aspects of the festival.
“I think one of the most important things they're doing is giving students, staff, faculty access to a culture that they're not familiar with,” Strayer said. “This helps humanize so many different kinds of people that we're not familiar with.”
Gomez-O'Toole believes the festival also has the effect of bringing people together, saying these films are an opportunity for people to see similarities between their own and other cultures.
“These themes are very fascinating and make us realize that the problems that are happening here in the United States are happening over there,” Gomez-O'Toole said. “It's nice to see a broader side. Bringing European culture here and vice versa.”
Many of the films focused on tough themes such as immigration, climate change, and prejudice, leaving audiences with strong emotions after the screen faded to black. After each screening, Randall Hall answered audience questions in her Q&A session at the festival and facilitated discussion about the topics they covered. Many audience members shared their insightful thoughts and feelings, primarily about the impact these films had.
Halle said he hopes these films will foster conversations about the similarities and differences between the U.S. and on-screen culture.
“I hope that people will watch a series of films where they will see worlds different from their own, and because the stories are told so well, they will do something about the similarities between those worlds. I hope you learn,” Halle said. Said. “That feeling of being lost and at home is something only great movies can do.”