European Union Film Festival Turns 16 Tomorrow, Doesn't Care If You Didn't Get It Anything
By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 28, 2013 7:00PM
When the 16th Annual European Union Film Festival kicks off tomorrow at the Gene Siskel Film Center, it will be with a fanfare completely out of proportion to its quality. The event lasts nearly a month, showcases dozens of interesting films, and features cool events and sidebars. But as far as we can tell, there's not even a logo for it. Come on guys, how hard is it to superimpose that circle of golden stars thing that the EU calls a flag onto a film reel? Or, um, the power button of a digital cinema projector?
No, this festival continues on in its quiet, businesslike way, unfazed by its prosaically bureaucratic name, relentlessly focused on great programming rather than splashy marketing. Having grown over the years into perhaps the most reliably enjoyable event on the Chicago movie lover's calendar, the EUFF has definitely matured. Did you forget to observe its sweet 16? EUFF won't withhold its affection, offering an impressive 61 feature films on tap from across the 27 member states of the European Union (sorry, Croatia, you should have ratified earlier if you wanted to get in this year).
Among the films we are looking most forward to is Tabu from Porguguese director Miguel Gomes, which cropped up on a lot of last year's best-of lists on the continent, and it looks stunning in black and white. In the Fog, Sergei Loznitsa's follow-up to the supremely impressive My Joy (which knocked our socks off a couple of years ago), is in our can't-miss bucket as well. Left Bank legend Alain Resnais brings his follow-up to the 2009's much-loved Wild Grass, and his latest, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet! will surely be among the hottest tickets. There should still be buzz left over for Hannah Arendt, an exploration of one of the most important episodes of post-war intellectual reckoning: Arendt's struggle to cover the trial of Adolf Eichmann for the New Yorker.
Throw in tomorrow night's opening night film, Stella Days, with Martin Sheen as a priest trying to bring some cosmopolitan cinephilia to the newly-electrified boondocks of Ireland, which will be presided over by the Consul General of Ireland, and a festival of new Spanish Cinema, and your plate may already look full. Remember, though, that festival rules apply: if you take a gamble on seeing something that nobody knows about and may never get shown again, you're doing it wrong. Sample something new.
The European Union Film Festival starts Friday, March 1, and continues through Thursday, March 28, at Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State. Tickets are $11, $7 for students, and $6 for Film Center members. A 6-movie pass is available for $50. A complete schedule is available online,.