European film days in Damascus
Syria, Culture, 6/3/2003

The Syrian National film Organization, of the Syrian ministry of culture in cooperation with the Greek Presidency of the EU opened on June 2nd "the European Film Days in Damascus."

The event's opening ceremony which was held at the Damascus Sham Palace Cinema was marked by screening the Cannes Film Festival Winner "Dancer in the Dark," by the Danish director Lars Von Trier. The other participating films will be screened at Ramietta Cinema. They are: "Les Convoyeurs Attendent," Belgium; "Another Mother," Holland; Tommy and the Wild Cat" Finland; " Belphegor, Le Fantome Du Louvre," France; " Nobel," Italy; "Solas," Spain and "Faithless," Sweden.

The film days have been organized by the Syrian national film organization in collaboration with the Danish Institute in Damascus.

"Dancer in the dark" from Denmark tells the story of Selma who is a Czech immigrant and a single mother working in a factory in Rural America. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is loosing her eyesight and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate. She is slowly saving up the money needed for an operation for her son, but a neighbor steels her money and the drama of her life escalates..

The " Les Convoyeurs attendent " from Belgium tells the story of Roger Closset who lives in a factory district on the outskirts of the town. Roger is a reporter for the local paper and by listening in on the police band on his rigged up radio he gets first hand news for his articles. At the dawn of 2000 he wants to make it big. Roger sets his hope on winning the prize car in the Shopkeeper's Association Contest. Any feat will do! He makes his son compete for the door-opening record 40,000 times in 24 hours! Roger leaves nothing to chance.. An American style coach to give the boy scientific training, a door and jamb in the garden for workouts. Will that be enough to open the door to the third millenary for Roger Closset and his family?

In Holland's " Another Mother," we have Riga in 1992. Latvia has been independent of the former Soviet Union just for two years and the Latvian boy Elvis has been struck dumb by the traumatic experience of witnessing his mother's death. His desperate father Juris kidnaps him from hospital and goes off in search of another mother for his child. In view of the difficult economic and social situation in Latvia, he only sees one way out, namely Marie, his Dutch Childhood pen friend. The film tells the story of Juris and Elvis's trip to and across Holland and their adventure after they find the new mother.

"Tommy and the wild cat" from Finland tells the story of a twelve year old city kid who moves with his dad from a big city in Southern Finland to a Lapp village near the world's most northern Wildlife Park. His father is an animal researcher whose job is to look into the possibilities of returning a wild cat to its natural habitat in the wildness. His project fails, and the wildlife park decides to sell the wild cat abroad. Tommy and the wild cat is a family adventure about childhood, friendship, nature and survival.

The French film " Belphegor, Le Fantome Du Louvre is but a thriller adapted from the famous TV series which was presented in the 1960s, in which the main role was played by the star Juliette Greco. It tells the story of Liza, a young lady that lives by the famous museum. She ends by chance in one of its tunnels. An ancient mummy's soul embodies her and provides her with superhuman power. A thing which changes her life. With the help of her friend the electrician together with an expert police detective and an archaeologist, she manages to overcome all the troubles which turned her life into hell.

The "Nobel" from Italy is on a long journey of the writer Alberto, to Austria, Germany and Denmark. A journey by car, with him a young journalist interviewing him. For Alesandro, the young journalist, it is a journey towards what is ambiguous and sacrifices of literature. As for, Alberto, it is a journey to discover the richness of the soul which he had denied all the time.

" Solas" from Spain is about a poor troubled neighborhood in a large city, in an untidy flat, two women, a mother and her daughter are forced to live together for a while. The mother senses that her time has finished. The daughter, Maria, left pregnant by a man who wants nothing to do with her. Above them lives the neighbor who has been alone for so long with his dog. The mother steadily and persistently uses her gentleness to break down Maria's harshness and the neighbor's loneliness, until she makes them understand that love is the only thing that can help them to pass through the long tunnel of their lives with dignity.

Sweden's " Faithless" is an emotional drama about three adults in a love triangle and the restyling devastating consequences. Written by Ingmar Bergman, and directed by Liv Ullmann, " Faithless " is based on a true episode in the life of the Swedish director.

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