A scene from “Icarus,” one of the featured films in the Cine Europa festival. Image: Contributed Photo

On the surface, Filipinos and Europeans are usually on the opposite side of the coin as both have entirely different cultures. But what brings them together is the love for family and maintaining relationships, which can be seen through films.

The 27th installment of the Cine Europa film festival, which ran from October 18 to 27 in Manila, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, and Iloilo, put the spotlight on familial bonds and different types of relationships, which French Embassy cultural and audiovisual attaché Martin Macalintal considered as its core.

“It’s all about the human values, how we can have peaceful relationships — any type of relationship — it can be romantic, family, parental, siblings, or friendly relationships, which is shown in the diversity of the films,” Macalintal told INQUIRER.net on the sidelines of the festival’s press conference in Mandaluyong.

This year’s lineup of Cine Europa films included Ukraine’s “Another Franko” and “The Taste of Freedom,” Italy’s “Diabolik,” Poland’s “Dangerous Gentlemen,” Luzembourg’s “Icare,” Finland’s “The Other Side of Hope,” Czech Republic’s “She Came At Night,” and Sweden’s “Tigers.”

Also part of the festival were Slovenia’s “The Man Without Guilt,” Hungary’s “Paw,” Belgium’s “Souvenir,” Romania’s “This World is My Arena,” Austria’s “Mermaids Don’t Cry,” Ireland’s “That They May Face The Rising Sun,” France’s “The Strange Case of Jacky Caillou,” Spain’s “The West Indies Fleet,” Lithuania’s “Remember to Blink,” Cyprus’ “The Man with the Answers,” Denmark’s “Long Story Short,” and Germany’s “Sun and Concrete.”

Touching on how the Philippines and Europe “lost so much” in the Second World War, Macalintal reiterated that many Europeans have been “wanting to keep peace” and prevent further damage from happening.

This, according to the French Embassy officer, was reflected in the festival’s lineup as it featured the evolution of wanting peace in a modern period.

“Ever since, Europeans have been wanting to keep peace and prevent war. When you watch European movies, there’s always the sensitivity of the filmmakers to show what human relationships are on a daily basis. It’s about the every day. The most important value there is to look at in European films is the value of peace,” he said.

With this in mind, Macalintal hoped the films were able to teach Filipino viewers the value of enjoying life in its peaceful moments.

“Enjoying life and the European lifestyle is part of it. Europeans would extend their lunch breaks to two to three hours, or have a coffee break or wine. That’s part of life. Beyond that, there’s liberty, freedom, and equality in society, as well as democratic values,” he said.

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