European Union Film Festival to open with ‘La Chimera’

Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, the movie was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival

The 29th edition of the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) has announced that La Chimera will be the opening film to be screened at the event on November 7, 2024, in New Delhi. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival.

Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, the film follows a lovelorn Englishman as he plunders Italy’s historical treasures with a quirky gang. A blend of fantasy and comedy, La Chimera explores themes of lost love, relationships, life, and death. Yile Yara Vianello, lead actress in La Chimera (Italy) is travelling to India for the opening night.

Talking about the film, writer-director Alice Rohrwacher said,“The proximity of sacred and profane, of death and life, that characterised the years in which I was growing up has always fascinated me and given a measure to my way of seeing. This is why I decided at last to make a film that tells this layered story, this relationship between two worlds, the last part in a triptych about a local area whose attention is focused on one central question: what should it do with its past? As some grave-robbers say, down our way it’s the dead that give life.”

The festival will run in New Delhi till November 16, 2024, bringing to the Indian audience a bouquet of 26 award-winning European films in 31 languages, offering a window into European society, culture, and people. It is organised by the European Union, in collaboration with EU Members States and regional partners.

EUFF will be hosted across three iconic venues in New Delhi: India Habitat Centre, Instituto Cervantes, and Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan. The festival also marks the India premiereof several European films, including, What A Feeling, Because I Love Bad Weather, Stairway To Heaven, Death is a Problem for the Living, Jim’s Story, Without Air, Black Velvet, The Last Ashes, Blood on the Crown, Baan, Horia and The Man Without Guilt.

All films at EUFF 2024 will have English subtitles and will be on a first come, first serve basis. For more details, visit www.euffindia.com