The Europa League

The festival will open with Swedish film Svinalängorna (Beyond),which tells the story of how women,if they choose to,can be the most formidable force ever. Another film Fast Girls from the UK,details the intense personal rivalry between two athletes — one with a privileged background and the other forged out of hardships. It shows how they forgo their rivalry to help their country win the relay race.

“We chose ‘Celebrating Women’ as the theme this year because of the changing nature of women’s rights globally. Women issues all over the globe have become more pressing in the recent paste — be it in India,Europe or the Middle East,” says Fredrika Ornbrant,Consul General,Sweden,adding that this year,Sweden is participating in the festival in a big way — from showcasing the opening film to hosting a panel discussion on equality of women.

The House (Slovakia),My Personal Life (Romania),Applause (Denmark),Water Lillies (France),Take My Eyes (Spain),The First Assignment (Italy) and Back To Your Arms (Lithuania) are some of the films that will be showcased. The festival will continue till April 10 at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI).

Prashant Pathrabe,Director,NFAI,says,“The onus has always been on screening one film from one EU country to showcase their cultural diversity and also their cinema. Since there are so many films being screened,it gives the audience a wide choice of films to watch.”

A panel discussion featuring Lila Poonawala,Anjali Bryce Nair and Dileep Padgaonkar will discuss the various emotions portrayed by women on screen. Ornbrant,who will speak about gender rights in Sweden,says,“We are known to be one of the countries where women are on an equal footing. Gender equality is taken very seriously. So much so that women’s participation in the labour market is almost as high as men. Almost half of the members of our Parliament are women,and the same goes for ministers in the government. There are still a lot of challenges but we are working to address them,” she says.