BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [November 2017]

Calgary European Film Festival
18 countries present different views, different worlds on the big screen
Adrian “Adi” Galvan arrived in Canada from Romanian
in the late 2000s like many other immigrants
when the economy was still thriving. Today he works
as IT analyst but also directs the Calgary European
Film Festival which has grown immensely in the past
few years.
In 2011 there was a Romanian film fest, with a few
Bulgarians in attendance who were also interested in
getting involved. Then individuals from France, Poland
and Czechoslovakia followed and the first European
Film Festival in the city was launched in 2012. Five years
later there’s now 18 European countries represented.
Galvan says that the selection of films is determined
by members of the community for each country. “We
assist them with negotiating the distribution fee for the
film the want, and the shipping costs and details. The
criteria we ask is that the film isn’t older than two or
three years, and that it’s been presented at an international
film festival and maybe won some awards.”
Citing his some of the films he’s really excited about,
Galvan says Norway’s The King’s Choice nominated for
Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, a
Hungarian film Kills On Wheels described as “a meaningful
action-comedy of a wheelchair-bound assassin
gang” and The Stopover about two young French
female soldiers who try to take a break in Cyrus after
their tour of duty in Afghanistan but are troubled by
what they experienced fighting. He admits he biased towards
the Romanian entry, Graduation, which centers
on the trails and tribulation of a young girl preparing
for university and is suddenly confronted with an tough
challenge for her and her family.
The diversity of culture and opportunity to experience
some fabulous foreign films and meet some
new firends presents itself with an open invitation. The
screenings will be held at the Eau Claire Market Cinema
from November 5 -12. For a description of all the film
and scheduled go to calgaryeuropeanfilmfestival.ca.
16 | NOVEMBER 2017 • BEATROUTE FILM