Toronto welcomes EU films

Greek filmmaker Lucia Rikaki will be traveling to Toronto, Canada, this weekend to present her latest feature, «Hold Me» at «Eh! U Meet the Europeans,» or the 3rd Annual European Union Film Festival of Toronto. Starring Katerina Lipiridou as the 33-year-old Julia, Rikaki’s drama draws its inspiration from Internet blogs and is about a successful radio presenter who creates a blog, inviting people to share their stories of loss and, through the forum, tries to reach out to strangers, knowing that there is someone special to be found. For the purposes of the film, Rikaki did indeed create such a blog and has selected stories posted by the users as the raw material of her screenplay. The plot takes a supernatural turn as Julia discovers that she has a knack for penetrating people’s thoughts and predicting their futures. Cypriot drama In «Honey and Wine,» Cypriot filmmaker Marinos Kartikkis also looks at the life of a woman haunted by her past. Starring Androula Irakleous and Elena Dimitriou, «Honey and Wine» tells the story of two women who forge a life-changing relationship after being brought together by a mundane event. Both these Greek-language films will be screened among another 21 at the Toronto event, where 23 of the European Union’s 27 member states are represented. The festival will also include a panel discussion on Sunday on «The State of European Cinema,» to be held at the Toronto Goethe Institute. The panel is composed of Nicole van Kilsdonk from the Netherlands and director of the entry «Johan,» Rikaki and France’s Frederic Schoendoerffer, director of «Crime Insiders.» The discussion will coordinated by Angelica Fenner, film professor at the University of Toronto. The films being screened at «Eh! U Meet the Europeans» have been brought to Toronto with the collaboration of the embassies, consulates and cultural institutes of EU member states in the Canadian city.