Cine-Europa Press Party, Shangri-La Plaza, 2 October 2007
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Cine-Europa Opening, Cebu, 5 October 2007 Remarks by EC Ambassador Alistair MacDonald Your Excellency, dear colleagues, friends from Cebu, thank you for joining us this evening for the opening of the Cine-Europa festival of European film, here in Cebu City.. A special word of thanks to our partners in this event, including of course the Arts Council of Cebu, Ayala Cinemas, Duty-Free Philippines. Good evening to you all 3 maayong gabii kaninyong tanan.
I 9m delighted to be with you for the opening of this 10 th Cine-Europa festival. This year is very important for us, since we 9re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European Union, and the 30 th anniversary of EU-ASEAN relations (and the 17 th anniversary of the opening of the EC Delegation here in the Philippines, though that 9s not in itself a particularly significant number). For the first time, we 9re opening the Cine-Europa festival here in Cebu 3 there was such an interest here in the last few years, that we thought it would be good to have the opening night here.
This is going to be a very special Cine-Europa, since we have a total of 23 films, from 15 countries 1 in the EU. These films touch on the full range of human interests 3 from a children 9s adventure to a dark political drama, passing through comedy, tragedy, romance, sex, and a range of both historical and modern social issues. We often talk about the EU as representing unity in diversity.
I think ... more.
that the range of films being shown in Cine-Europa this year confirm that, at the same time as they confirm humanity in all its diversity 3 a humanity that we share, across Europe and here in Asia, made rich by our diversity. I 9m sure that all of you will find something to enjoy over the next four days, something to make you laugh, maybe something to make you cry, and certainly something to make you think. I hope that all of you will be able to enjoy as many of these films as you can, and I hope that you will come along and enjoy the films being shown here.
I 9d like to take a moment now to look back. The first Cine-Europa festival in the Philippines was in September 1998, so this year is the 10 th Cine-Europa. We opened in Cebu in 2001, and in Davao in 2005.
In 1998, for the first Cine-Europa, we had 11 films, from 10 countries, and an audience of some 20,000. Last year, for Cine-Europa 9, we had an audience of 40,000, and this year I 9m hoping for even more. The festival will be running in Cebu from tonight, 5 th October, through till Monday 8 th , at the Ayala Centre 3 then we 9ll be in Davao from Thursday 11 th till Monday 15 th , then in Manila from Thursday 18 th to Wednesday 31 st .
I 9d like to give a special word of thanks tonight, to the Arts Council of Cebu, and to Md Petit Garcia. We really appreciate, Md Garcia, the help you 9ve given us in bringing European arts to the Visayas. My thanks also to our other partners, in Ayala and in Duty- Free Philippines.
And most of all, my invitation to you to enjoy everything that the European cinema has to offer. Mabuhii kamong taman ! (Mabuhay sa inyong lahat.) 1 BE, CZ, DK, DE, ES, FR, IT, LT, MA, NL, OS, SF, SK, SV, UK
