Cine Europa 16

The Shang Cineplex was once again the source of quality foreign films as it hosted Cine Europa which was celebrating its 16^th year. Once again, I found myself among the guests, including members of the diplomatic corps from various participating European Union nations and notable people from the business and the arts/culture scene, who took part at the opening night cocktail reception held at the Shangri-La Plaza Atrium.

A toast to Cine Europa's Sweet 16

We were once again treated by music from a string quartet composed of Kim Mirandilla-Ng, Maria Lourdes Miguel, Vanessa Celemente and Angelita Moris who played movie tunes and music originating from the European Union member nations. Tenor Nic Norman Tugaff serenaded the crowd with a selection of famous operatic arias while a couple of mimes who roamed around the cocktail area proved to be very popular among the phone camera wielding guests. But I do hope that the entertainment for next year’s opening will be different for a change.

Kim Mirandilla-Ng, Maria Lourdes Miguel, Vanessa Celemente
and Angelita Moris

En Kongelig Affære/A Royal Affair

The film screened during the opening was the historical drama En Kongelig Affære/A Royal Affair from Denmark. This film directed by Nikolaj Arcel was based on true events from Danish history during the 18^th century when young Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (Alicia Vikander) was married off to the mentally unstable King Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Følsgaard). No love sprung out of this marriage and the queen eventually entered into a secret affair with the king’s physician and eventual adviser, the German Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen).

The affair between the young Queen and Struensee, both freethinkers, also brought forth liberal changes in the kingdom but that didn’t sit well with the King’s stepmother who also had ambitions of her own. She and the other disgruntled members of the royal court conspired to overthrow Struensee’s influence on the King and exposing the Queen’s affair was the perfect way to do it.

It amazed me that this happened at the time when monarchs ruled their domains absolutely and that their personal affairs could affect the course of the whole nation. And this was no exception. En Kongelig Affære/A Royal Affair is just one of those films wherein I would want to dive into history books right after watching to know more about the characters and the events surrounding that era.

Cine Europa 16 goes to the Ayala Center in Cebu this October 4-6, 2013, and then to Liceo de Cagayan University on October 10-13, 2013 and finally at the Cinematheque in Davao on October 15-20, 2013. This film event is organised by the European Union Cultural Group in Manila which gathers together the Embassies and Cultural Institutes of the European Union (Representations in Manila including the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines and the European cultural institutes (Alliance Française, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Philippine-Italian Association, and Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Independent Film Cooperative, the Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Arts Council of Cebu and Liceo de Cagayan de Oro. Porsche Design supports Cine Europa 16.