30/11/2023 - In December, arthouse films by young auteurs such as Franciska Eliassen, Sabrina Sarabi, Pedro Aguilera, Adrián Silvestre and Dragomir Sholev can be watched for free in 32 European countries

Works hailing from Norway, Spain, Poland, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus and France: launched in 2016 with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA in order to bolster the circulation of young European arthouse cinema and raise its profile, the ArteKino Festival is back for its eighth edition, which will unspool from 1-31 December 2023. On the menu are 12 films that internet users will be able to access free of charge directly on arte.tv as well as on ARTE’s cinema-focused YouTube channel. The programme will be accessible in 32 countries.

Standing out in the line-up are three films that were first unveiled at Locarno: Sister, What Grows Where Land Is Sick? [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Norway’s Franciska Eliassen (Special Mention in the Cineasti del presente section and awarded the Amanda for Best Actress in its home country), No One’s With the Calves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sabrina Sarabi
film profile] by Germany’s Sabrina Sarabi (winner of the Leopard for Best Actress in ​Cineasti del presente) and Semret [+see also:
trailer
interview: Caterina Mona
film profile] by Switzerland’s Caterina Mona (premiered on the Piazza Grande).

Also featured in the showcase are Splendid Hotel [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Spaniard Pedro Aguilera (with French thesp Damien Bonnard in the lead role), My Emptiness and I [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile] by his fellow countryman Adrián Silvestre (unveiled in the Big Screen competition at IFFR and winner of the Special Jury Prize at Málaga), and All Our Fears [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Poland’s Łukasz Ronduda and Łukasz Gutt (which scooped multiple awards at the Gdynia Film Festival).

Also worth pointing out are A Sibila by Portugal’s Eduardo Brito, .Dog [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Cyprus’s Yianna Americanou (Award for Best Co-production at Greece’s Iris Film Awards), Vamos a la playa [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bettina Blümner
film profile] by Germany’s Bettina Blümner and Ladybitch by her follow countrywoman Paula Knüpling and Spaniard Marina Prados, Fishbone [+see also:
interview: Dragomir Sholev
film profile] by Bulgaria’s Dragomir Sholev (singled out by filmmakers and critics in his home country), and the documentary Sundays by Greece’s Alethea Avramis.

Two awards (endowed with €20,000 and €10,000, respectively) will be handed out: internet users will be able to vote for the winner of the European Audience Award, while the Youth Jury Award will be given out by 15 European citizens aged between 18 and 25 (in partnership with Erasmus+). In addition, a European Cinephile Award (with an Interrail Pass into the bargain) will be bestowed upon two of the voters.

(Translated from French)