ÉCU - THE EUROPEAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

India; it is a dynamic, tightly-packed nation that supports a culturally diverse population. Among the almost 1.5 billion people that make up its diverse cities and towns, thousands of expats inhabit these spaces.  The 2006 film  Outsourced documents American call center manager Todd (Josh Hamilton) as he becomes a hesitant expat close to Mumbai, India. Todd’s objective, as given by his American boss, is to train low-paid Indian employees in operating a new call center for the company, American Novelty Products.  Josh Hamilton as Todd in Outsourced (2006)   Quickly upon Todd’s arrival in India, the cultural differences are made clear to the audience. He is hesitantly pushed into an open-air taxi, eats street food that makes him terribly ill, and sits down on the train only to have the young boy who offered him a seat, sit on top of his lap.  The call center Todd is required to lead starkly contrasts the skyscraper office he was used to in the United States. In...

We live in a world where space and time create the foundation of our lives. When the place we are in and the time we act in tend to change, so will our reality and with it our actions and the story we tell. What would happen if place, time and action always acted as one? "Hey Jack, do you remember Mouse?" "Yeah."   "Yeah? Do you know where he is?"   He shakes his head. "Mm. I do. He's on the other side of this world." "What other side?" "Jack, there are two sides to everything.“ — Ma and Jack in a scene from Room (2015)   When we take a look at the drama Room published in 2015— directed by Lenny Abrahams — we   will hear the dialogue mentioned above. It is the story about Joy — a young mother called Ma in the film — who has been living locked up in a single room with her son Jack for years. This room represents the only reality of life for the two of them and especially for Jack. To save her son from the worst she keeps up the...

HIDDEN PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SPIRITED AWAY  Among the many movies produced by Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is his one movie that has won lots of different awards, the beloved one of most of the Studio Ghibli fans. Chihiro is only ten years old when her parents suddenly become pigs in a strange city, she finds herself surrounded by unusual creatures, scared and alone. She will be forced to work at the main bathhouse, where the rich inhabitants of the town take their baths…only they are not humans, they are spirits. After lots of unique adventures Chihiro manages to save her parents and return home. The unique experience helps her discover who she is, she turns out to be brave and without realizing it, she grows up.  Chihiro in  Spirited Away,  2001 Even if the film deals with an imaginary world, Chihiro’s growth is realistic, which is why the audience can easily emphasize with her situation. Chihiro simply represents each one of us while growing up: nobody really ever r...

  France and cinema From the Lumiere brothers’ The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station in 1895, through the trailblazing Nouvelle Vague movement of the late 50s and 60s, to broad-ranging modern classics – take the unsparing social drama La Haine or the whimsical Amelie (2001) – France has certainly established itself as an internationally-recognised bastion of cinema. The French state itself recognises the significance of cinema to France’s cultural identity. As a country that has actively encouraged a counter-movement to what is often seen as Hollywood’s profit-driven blockbuster machine, the French government began to subsidise filmmaking after World War II , in order to foster “the pursuit of film as pure art, not requiring enormous profits to be considered valuable”. Fast-forward to May of this year, and the state’s involvement in the industry continues – this time, through a recognition of the need for a rejuvenation of France’s filmmaking infrastructure. The French Cultur...

Still from 27. Source: Festival de Cannes On Friday morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Palme d’Or-winning director Flóra Anna Buda over Zoom. She was punctual; I was late. We discussed her recent short film 27, which in May won Cannes’ top prize. The animated film, inspired by Buda’s own experiences, tells the story of Alice, aged 27, who lives at home with her parents and her invasive younger brother. Alice lacks both privacy and independence, so lives in her fantasies and uses nights out for catharsis. An accident while intoxicated leads to a chastening encounter with the police. After watching the film, which Buda wrote and designed, it was no surprise to me that its creator was warm and ebullient. As we all know, it is not always the easiest to gauge someone’s personality through the confines of a Zoom call, but Buda’s brightness shone through. A viewing, particularly for readers in their 20s, is highly recommended. The link is below. Cannes Success First of all, a ma...

Documentaries, animation, and shorts were screened at Les Amarres in the 13th arrondissement of Paris on June 23, 2023 at a special screening hosted by ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival. At the screening, attendees saw six films who were awarded at the 2022 All Asian Independent Film Festival: ÉCU’s sister film festival. The selection of winning films all displayed an impressive range of talent. Broken This short documentary by director Nan Khin San Win features two women in Kayah State, Myanmar. The viewers are launched into a world where women live in daily fear of sexual violence. Among strong visuals, attendees praised its vulnerability. “The vulnerability among the women in Broken was both stunning and straining to watch. Although uncomfortable, I was extremely moved by these women’s stories and their daily lives, which largely contrast my own,” Video Production ÉCU intern, Emme Patat said. Baptism This Chinese film directed by Nan Li displayed a woman’s internal battle...

"I'm making a film about the passers-by, a sort of metaphor for life."   When I walk through the streets at night passing the angular rectangles which light up brightly, the question of what might be hidden behind these rectangles runs through my mind from time to time. What stories — and whose stories — would open up to me if I could catch a closer glimpse of other people's homes and lives? What is it that sparks our curiosity again and again about the paths others choose and how they deal with them? A little glance through the window could probably also turn out to be a look in the mirror. Through this the differences as well as similarities regarding each person's own story would become apparent. The Polish director, screenwriter and producer Paweł Łoziński opted for a different perspective for his film The Balcony Movie from 2021 — but holding the same curiosity inherent. As the title already suggests Łoziński recorded passers-by passing below from the perspe...