10 Picks for Days of European Film 2014

The Days of European Film Festival, now in its 21st year, returns to Prague’s Lucerna and Světozor cinemas from April 10-17 before moving on to Brno (at Kino Scala) April 18-22. Showcasing a diverse selection of new films from European countries, the festival aims to celebrate European culture and is organized with the cooperation of many of Prague’s European embassies and cultural institutes.

Tickets to festival films cost 100 CZK and can be purchased online or at the Lucerna and Světozor box offices; advance booking is recommended. Many (but not all) of the films are screening with English subtitles; exceptions are noted on the festival website.

Days of European Film 2014 kicks off with an opening-night screening of Richard Ayoade’s The Double on April 10 at Lucerna. This second feature from former IT Crowd star-turned-director (his debut, Submarine, is also screening at the fest), a loose comic adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel about a man driven crazy by his doppelganger, stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, and Ayoade’s IT Crowd co-star Chris O’Dowd.

But you don’t have to catch The Double at the Days of European Films fest; the film will see a wide release in Prague starting April 17. Many other festival films, however, won’t see wide distribution in the Czech Republic or elsewhere.

Here are 10 films (from 10+ different European countries) that you may not otherwise get a chance to catch. Each film is screening in an English-friendly version (in English or with English subtitles).

AUSTRIA/GERMANY: The Wall

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Julian Pölsler’s survival drama, with sci-fi overtones, has already played the festival circuit and opened in a small release stateside, where it won moderate praise (especially for its stark cinematography). It was Austria’s official submission to the 2014 Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film.

BELGIUM/FRANCE/LUXEMBOURG: The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears

I caught this surreal horror-thriller from directors Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani (who previously made the similarly striking Amer) at the Kino Aero’s Shockproof Film Festival a couple months back; a gorgeously shot and designed little Giallo riff, this nightmarish experience is frequently maddening but highly recommended.

ESTONIA/GEORGIA: Tangerines

This anti-war drama from director Zaza Urushadze, about a Tangerine farmer who takes in a wounded opposing solider during the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict, won an Audience Award at last year’s Warsaw Film Festival.

GREECE: J.A.C.E./The Daughter/Boy Eating the Bird’s Food

A trio of new Greek films seem to reflect economic conditions in their native country. J.A.C.E. – Just Another Confused Elephant (a co-production with Portugal, Macedonia, and Turkey) looks at the Athenian underworld of murder and child trafficking; Thanos Anastopoulos’ The Daughter (co-produced with Italy) is a tale of bankruptcy and revenge; and a young man is driven to extreme measures to feed his hunger in Ektoras Lygizos’ Boy Eating the Bird’s Food.

IRELAND: The Sea

Stephen Brown’s drama, from John Banville’s novel about a man returning to his childhood retreat after the death of his wife, stars Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Rufus Sewell, and Natascha McElhone. It’s been nominated for an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Film.

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LATVIA: Mother, I Love You

Latvia’s official submission to the 2014 Academy Awards, from director Janis Nords, has already won awards at last year’s Berlin and Los Angeles film festivals. The film, about a young boy’s lapse into crime, has been likened by Hollywood Reporter critic Neil Young to the Truffaut classic The 400 Blows.

POLAND: Traffic Department

This crime drama from Polish director Wojciech Smarzowski (The Dark House, Rose), about a murder in the Warsaw Traffic Department, won a rave review from Variety’s Alissa Simon, who called it a “gritty, gripping, intelligently made crime thriller.”

ROMANIA: Everybody in Our Family

No contemporary film festival would be complete without an entry from Romania’s burgeoning film scene; director Radu Jude’s slice-of-life drama about divorce and child custody, which has won awards in Philadelphia, Sarajevo, and Slovakia, fills that requirement for Days of European Film.

SPAIN: La Plaga

A working-class drama set in the suburbs of Barcelona, writer-director Neus Ballús’ film dominated Spain’s Gaudí Awards in 2014, winning prizes for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

SWEDEN: TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard

Co-produced with Denmark, Norway, UK, Netherlands, Germany, this documentary about the infamous peer-to-peer torrent website and its founders, who were brought to trial over copyright infringement charges, began life as a Kickstarter project. The film, of course, has been distributed for free via online file-sharing sites since its release.