For years, the EUFF has showcased films that capture the diversity of stories and cultures unique within the nations of Europe. From disillusioned dreamers in Denmark to midlife, coming-of-age life crisis in Cyprus; from a Franz Kafka-like personality in the Czech Republic to a young writer navigating girlhood and personal loss in Hungary. The EUFF has championed the kind of cinema that mirrors the beauty and harshness of real life on the other side of the globe.

Cinema as a mirror

Among the 27 films to see in The Cinematheque this November is the Oscar-nominated Porcelain War, first shot and shown in 2024. Nominated for an Academy Award and winning the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Porcelain War follows three Ukrainian artists defiantly finding beauty as they defend their culture and country against the Russian invasion.

Between Anya Stasenko’s interest in ceramic painting, Andrey Stefanov undertaking a harrowing mission to get his family to safety abroad, and Slava Leontyev becoming a weapons instructor for ordinary people who have become unlikely soldiers, the film centres on the porcelain figurines that these three artists create to embody the past, present, and future of Ukraine.

Proceeds from the screening will benefit the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, a charitable foundation that develops, organizes and delivers assistance projects generated by Canadians, directed to Ukraine.

Another example of a film to watch is Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story, the opening film for this year’s festival which will be showcased by the Consulate General of Ireland on Thursday, November 12, to mark Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. With perspectives written by Gabriel Byrne and Walter Mosley and directed by Sinéad O’Shea, the film focuses on 93-year-old Irish writer Edna O’Brien who recounts her controversial life, her novels like The Country Girls, prolific love affairs and stardom through personal journals read by actress Jessie Buckley.

Many might be interested in whimsical tales like Even Pigs Go to Heaven, a zany musical comedy about the dramas of villagers and their pigs in the Zagorje hills of Croatia/North Macedonia. Set at the outset of the Croatian War in 1991, plucky main character Anka (Nataša Dorčić) finds her favourite sow Bebe expressing a desire to mate for the first time. With Anka forced to play matchmaker with a strapping Serbian boar, Even Pigs Go to Heaven reimagines the Croatian landscape with cheery saturated colours and meticulous production design, all infused with good-natured humour and plenty of local flavour. If it was not weird enough, the film is narrated by none other than Jesus Christ himself.

Cinema as art

Each of the films in the EUFF reflects in some manner the livelihoods, culture, tribulations, and beauty of their countries and culture. Moreover, they represent a shared and communal experience that many Canadians will resonate with even though audiences in The Cinematheque may be half a world away from where these EU films were set.

For more information on these films and the dates to watch them in The Cinematheque, you can check out the link here: www.thecinematheque.ca/series/euff-2025?srsltid=AYCX9vImM_C2DKAmaRRcAE4ChBys0bLS9wpZeImPuP5QuJ_v-qruRxWC

You can also check out The Cinematheque itself if you are curious to see the other cinematic portfolios the studio promotes: www.thecinematheque.ca/?srsltid=AYCX9vIfZyGsb1KujJQroDwSI3ePkjp6Ho4whiIBCYoOXq01CC-Nf8Pg

Additionally, the link to Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story can be found here: www.thecinematheque.ca/films/2026/blue-road-edna-obrien