AFI Silver Theatre Announces All-Virtual 2020 AFI European Union Film Showcase Lineup

The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center announced today the complete slate of films being presented online for the 2020 AFI European Union Film Showcase, which will take place December 2-20. Now in its 33rd year, the Showcase, which typically takes place at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, is one of the largest and long-running showcases of European cinema in the United States. While the AFI Silver Theatre remains temporarily closed, this year's Showcase has been re-imagined as a virtual event set to highlight 48 films representing 25 EU member states, including award winners, regional box office hits, debut works by up-and-coming talents and new works by leading auteurs, plus 12 U.S. and North American premieres, and seven submissions for this year's Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film. More than half of the titles in the Showcase will be available to view online from anywhere in the United States.

This year's AFI European Union Film Showcase opens on December 2 with César winner Martin Provost's (SÉRAPHINE, THE MIDWIFE, VIOLETTE) big-hearted feminist comedy HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE, starring Juliette Binoche as a buttoned-up finishing school headmistress caught up in the revolutionary spirit of May 1968. The Closing Selection, scheduled to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, is German director Niki Stein's sweeping Beethoven biopic LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN, starring Tobias Moretti (THE DARK VALLEY, THE GERMAN LESSON, A HIDDEN LIFE) and Anselm Bresgott (THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD) as the great composer.

The lineup also highlights several high-profile titles by established European auteurs, including Thomas Vinterberg's (THE CELEBRATION, THE COMMUNE) Cannes-and Toronto-selected dark comedy ANOTHER ROUND, starring Danish superstar Mads Mikkelsen (AFTER THE WEDDING, HANNIBAL, A ROYAL AFFAIR) in his first collaboration with the director since 2012's Oscar®-nominated THE HUNT; the Czech Republic's Oscar® submission CHARLATAN, Polish director Agnieszka Holland's (EUROPA EUROPA, MR. JONES, SPOOR) acclaimed portrait of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek; French director François Ozon's (BY THE GRACE OF GOD, POTICHE, SWIMMING POOL) deliciously sun-drenched, 1980s-set gay romance SUMMER OF 85; Berlin School auteur Christian Petzold's (BARBARA, PHOENIX, TRANSIT) post-modern fairy tale UNDINE, starring Franz Rogowski (TRANSIT, VICTORIA) and Paula Beer (FRANTZ, TRANSIT), who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival; and acclaimed stage director Phyllida Lloyd's (MAMMA MIA!, THE IRON LADY) powerful Sundance-debuted HERSELF, about an Irish mother (Clare Dunne, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME) who escapes her abusive spouse and embarks on building a "tiny house" for her family.

Additional highlights include anticipated new works from some of Europe's rising talents, including Emmanuel Courcol's (CEASEFIRE) Cannes-selected THE BIG HIT, about an unlikely troupe of prison inmates who stage Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"; the U.S. premiere of BALLAD FOR A PIERCED HEART, Greek director Yannis Economides' (KNIFER, MATCHBOX, SOUL KICKING, STRATOS) wickedly funny gangster comedy; the U.S. premiere of Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert's (MUG) NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN, Poland's Oscar® submission; and the U.S. premieres of two whip-smart Italian satires, both set in Rome: the D'Innocenzo brothers' (BOYS CRY, screenwriters on DOGMAN) dark suburban satire BAD TALES, winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival; and actor-turned-director Pietro Castellitto's (TWICE BORN) THE PREDATORS, winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival.

The Showcase also boasts several outstanding documentary selections, including the North American premiere of VIENNA SYMPHONY, Iva Švarcová and Malte Ludin's delightful look at the inner life of one of the world's greatest orchestras; LITTLE GIRL, Cannes award-winner Sébastien Lifsz's (ADOLESCENTS, COME UNDONE, GOING SOUTH, WILD SIDE) powerful and poignant documentary about THE JOURNEY of a seven-year-old trans girl to be recognized by her school, her peers and her community; Romanian director Radu Ciorniciuc's ACASĂ, MY HOME about a family displaced from their home on the Bucharest Delta, winner of a Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival; Luxembourg's Oscar® submission RIVER TALES, filmmaker Julie Schroell's portrait of Nicaraguan actor and teacher Yemn Jordan Taisigûe López; and THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES, an adaption of German forester and author Peter Wohlleben's best-selling 2015 book "The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World."

Complete list of Oscar® submissions for Best International Feature Film:

ANOTHER ROUND [DRUK] (DIR Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark)

APPLES [Μήλα] [MILA] (DIR Christos Nikou, Greece)

CHARLATAN [ŠARLATÁN] (DIR Agnieszka Holland, Czech Republic)

EXILE [EXIL] (DIR Visar Morina, Germany/Kosovo)

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN [ŚNIEGU JUŻ NIGDY NIE BĘDZIE] (DIR Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Poland)

RIVER TALES [CUENTOS DEL RÍO] (DIR Julie Schroell, Luxembourg)

TRUTH AND JUSTICE [TÕDE JA ÕIGUS] (DIR Taniel Toom, Estonia)

Complete list of U.S. and North American Premieres:

ASSANDIRA (DIR Salvatore Mereu, Italy)

BAD TALES [FAVOLACCE] (DIR Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo, Italy)

BALLAD FOR A PIERCED HEART [Η ΜΠΑΛΑΝΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΤΡΥΠΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ] [I MPALANTA TIS TRYPIAS KARDIAS] (DIR Yannis Economides, Greece)

FEBRUARY [FÉVRIER] (DIR Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria)

GRIMM RE-EDIT (DIR Alex van Warmerdam, Netherlands) - North American Premiere

HELENE (DIR Antti J. Jokinen, Finland)

MARE (DIR Andrea Štaka, Croatia)

MOSQUITO (DIR João Nuno Pinto, Portugal)

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN [ŚNIEGU JUŻ NIGDY NIE BĘDZIE] (DIR Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Poland)

UNCLE [ONKEL] (DIR Frelle Petersen, Denmark)

PINOCCHIO (DIR Matteo Garrone, Italy)

THE PREDATORS [I PREDATORI] (DIR Pietro Castellitto, Italy)

VIENNA SYMPHONY - INSIDE THE WIENER SYMPHONIKER [TONSÜCHTIG - DIE WIENER SYMPHONIKER VON INNEN] (DIR Iva Švarcová, Malte Ludin, Austria) - North American Premiere

Complete list of Special Presentations:

ANOTHER ROUND [DRUK] (DIR Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark)

BREAKING SURFACE (DIR Joachim Hedén, Sweden)

CHARLATAN [ŠARLATÁN] (DIR Agnieszka Holland, Czech Republic)

HERSELF (DIR Phyllida Lloyd, Ireland)

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE [LA BONNE ÉPOUSE] (DIR Martin Provost, France) - Opening Selection

ISAAC [IZAOKAS] (DIR Jurgis Matulevicius, Lithuania)

LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN (DIR Niki Stein, Germany) - Closing Selection

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN [ŚNIEGU JUŻ NIGDY NIE BĘDZIE] (DIR Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Poland)

SHOULD THE WIND DROP [SI LE VENT TOMBE] (DIR Nora Martirosyan, France)

THE BIG HIT [UN TRIOMPHE] (DIR Emmanuel Courcol, France)

UNDINE (DIR Christian Petzold, Germany)

VIENNA SYMPHONY - INSIDE THE WIENER SYMPHONIKER [TONSÜCHTIG - DIE WIENER SYMPHONIKER VON INNEN] (DIR Iva Švarcová, Malte Ludin, Austria)

For updated information and tickets, go to AFI.com/Silver/EUShowcase.

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