The European Film Days, which are for many years an established part of Europe Day celebrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened at the Meeting Point cinema in Sarajevo on the evening of Friday, 10 May. Until 19 May, film lovers  will have the opportunity to enjoy 11 European films every evening at Meeting Point free of charge.

The audience for the first night of the European Film Days 2024 was greeted by Adebayo Babajide, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, María Teresa Lizaranzu Perinat, Ambassador of Spain to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sabine Kernthaller, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the EUNIC network of cultural institutes of EU Member State embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"During the Europe Day celebrations, as we honour our EU founders’ vision of a united, peaceful and thriving Europe, we are reminded that culture, in particular, can help build bridges and a better understanding of the world around us. This is certainly true for film, which is a highly accessible form of art. We are pleased, therefore, to host again the European Film Days from 10 to 19th May, featuring a selection of successful European productions and we are particularly proud to show them in Sarajevo, the host city of one of the most popular International Film Festivals," said the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Babajide.

This year's edition of the European Film Days was opened by the Spanish comedy "My Big Night" (2015) directed by Alex de la Iglesia. The film was presented by the Embassy of Spain in BiH. “European Film Days are an excellent opportunity to celebrate Europe Day with film and diversity of European film tradition. Spain has a rich film industry largely supported through EU programmes and they enable us to preserve our cultural identity. This film is a good example of a part of our Spanish culture and we choose a good and humoristic film to open our festival,” said the Spanish Ambassador.

The Director of the Austrian Institute, Sabine Kernthaller, spoke on behalf of the EUNIC network in BiH, “EUNIC cooperates in over 100 countries worldwide with local stakeholders to promote European culture and it is a pleasure to open another edition of European Film Days, which are small compared to others in this city but have over the years developed into an important festival  witnessed by the number of audience,” added Kernthaller.

Screenings start every evening at 20:00, except for Saturday, May 19, when two films are being screened: at 18:00 "Not with you" (Denes Orosz, 2019), a romantic comedy presented by the Hungarian Embassy, ​​and at 20:00 the drama "Barbar Otto" (Ruxandra Ghitescu, 2020), presented by the Embassy of Romania in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Free tickets are collected at the Meeting Point cinema one hour before the start of each screening.

The European Film Days programme is organized by the EU Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with EUNIC - Cultural institutes of EU Member State embassies with embassies of Spain, the Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Hungary and Romania.

More information about the European Film Days programme and the Europe Day in BiH celebrations are available at www.europehouse.ba  and www.kinomeetingpoint.ba .