Treasures from Europe

These movies have proved to be a rewarding educational experience for teenagers and adults.

They provide a fresh, new angle for looking at themes from another cultural point of view.

One of my all-time favourite movies is Nowhere in Africa directed by Caroline Link. A German family living in Kenya when World War II begins must determine its place in the world when the British round up Germans to put them in detainment camps.

Jettel, a lawyer’s wife, who had a difficult time initially adjusting to life in Nairobi, can’t fathom what is going on around her. She pleads to return home to Germany saying, “But I am German.” For Jettel, her nationality takes precedence over her religion Another favourite movie, Tangerines, written and directed by Georgian director Zaza Urushadze, tells the story of a man from Apkhazeti who takes in two soldiers from opposing sides during the 1990 war in Georgia.

This movie about how war ravishes a country and destroys families haunts me to this day. My English class in the Port of Spain Prison found this movie to be exceptional as well when I took it for them to see.

This year I enjoyed watching Shola Amoo’s British docudrama, A Moving Image, about the gentrification of Brixton, England.

This docudrama asks probing questions about the effects of gentrification, highlighting what is lost when poor, ethnic people are pushed from their neighbourhoods because young, middle class youth or uptown business people decide to invade areas of a city where they never wanted to live or work before.

This turned out to be an excellent movie to teach the meaning of theme and the importance of defining a thesis statement. As Nina, once a resident of Brixton, decides to move back to her childhood neighbourhood and document what is going on, suspicious residents constantly question her motives as they probe the purpose of her film.

Danish director Lone Scherfig turned The Finest, a book about a World War II romance, into a spellbinding film. The German film The Culpable directed by Gerd Schneider probes layers of deceit and sexual abuse in the Catholic Church on a whole new level. Unlike Doubt, and other movies I’ve seen, which makes viewers question the innocence or guilt of the priest, this movie makes the priest’s guilt clear.

Kenau, a Dutch historical film directed by Maarten Treurniet, presents the legendary story of a brave woman from Haarlem, Netherlands, who reportedly helped her people fight the Spanish in 1573.

Eastern European films are always among my favourite for their simple, compelling stories and exquisitely framed shots. This year’s films did not disappoint. Sailing to Paradise, a Slovenian film directed by Blaz Zavrsnik, tells the story of a troubled young man and woman who meet unexpectedly and flee their personal pain on a sailboat.

The Polish documentary feature Casa Blanca, set in Havana, Cuba, now takes its place among my most treasured European Film Festival memories for it unforgettable story of a an elderly woman and her 37-year-old Down syndrome son.

This film directed by Aleksandra Maciuszek is a heart-wrenching tale of two people who can’t take care of each other, struggling to take care of one another.

The European Film Festival truly is an entertaining and educational treat that cannot be missed so look out for it next May.