Limelight: Rise of the euro By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Have you seen a Danish film lately? Portuguese? Dutch? How about Latvian? Hungarian? Slovak? Most of us have not heard of one, let alone seen one. How could we, when the theatres around the globe show nothing but US films! Why, it may easily lead one to believe that film-making was exclusive to a place called Hollywood. Yet Europe produces more films annually than does the US (US=400 plus, Europe=500 plus). The trouble is that they are largely unseen or unheard of by the rest of the world and even within Europe. The situation in every European country comes down to a bipartition between Hollywood films and national ones. The lion's share of viewing goes to the US with 75-82 per cent, while European films' share outside their native market is a mere seven per cent, and only one per cent of the US market. National market share rarely exceeds 10-20 per cent. Because the US is a big heterogeneous "world in miniature", its films are made for the whole world, and the world is simply addicted to Hollywood movies. The more we see them, the more we become attached to them, their stars, their techniques, their genres, and their way of life. Globally 3,000 films are produced per year. Although 100 countries have an active film industry only 30 of them produce more than 20 films, only five more than 200 films annually China, Japan, the Philippines, US, and India alone 800 plus. Prolific and affluent, Hollywood invaded the world market by the quality of their product. They have reduced the art to an exact science. Their forte is the vagaries of men and women, their loves, their conflicts, their joys, their sorrows. They delight, amuse, and tickle us. Our parents watched, we watched, our children watched. Our attraction grew as we were transported from dull, dreary lives to fantastic adventures, thrills, romance, glamour, and excitement. Like simpering, whimpering, hungry children "Big Mama" fed us with a big spoon. Hollywood films became utterly irresistible; they lightened our toils and soothed our sorrows. Increasingly dissatisfied with this inequity, Europe is enacting harsh protective measures. France has implemented several restrictions in favour of its own film industry, considered the healthiest on the continent. Other EEC countries support their industries by imposing quotas and funding films through TV, studio, co-productions, etc. Once upon a time European films were on an equal footing with Hollywood, but two world wars took their toll on their industries. A stroke of good luck coupled with a concerted effort by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Culture brings a bouquet of Europe's finest films to our shores this month, arranged by the European Union in Egypt, and acting president Ambassador Tjeed F de Zwann of the Netherlands. The programme of 20 films from 20 European countries was organised by film critic Samir Farid and the films are screened at the Cairo Opera compound, Cinema Palace in Garden City, and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina auditorium in Alexandria. The UK entry heads the list with Ken Loach's AE Fond Kiss (2003). As he is wont to do, director Loach (winner of several awards including Director of the Year BAFTA 1965, and Cannes Jury Prize 1990) asks some hard questions about race, religion, and immigration in a multi- cultural Britain, post-9/11 and the Iraq War. Cassim, one of three children of immigrant Pakistani parents, weeks away from marrying his cousin Jasmine, falls in love with music teacher Roisin Hanlon -- smart, talented, beautiful, independent not Pakistani or Muslim, but Scottish and Catholic! A departure for Loach, AE is given a fresh new spin, lifted by his able direction above the stuff of melodrama. Light, funny and refreshing with a happy ending, it is "an antidote to cynical British romances", his best commercial success to date, and well worth your time. Spain, recently placed on the international map by Oscar- winning director Pedro Almod�var, and matinée idol Antonio Banderas, brings us Smoking Room (2000). Written and directed by Julio Wallovits and Roger Gual, the film explores the lives and frustrations of 12 Spanish men working in a US company. Following a "No Smoking" order, they campaign to have a special room where they can smoke and talk and reveal the hypocrisies behind the façade of a happy post-industrial society. Movie-goers may already be familiar with Ireland's entry Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) the film version of Brian Frier's Tony Award winning play. A bittersweet semi- autobiographical account of the five unmarried Mundy sisters in 1936 rural Ireland. Director Pat O'Connor assembles a brilliant cast led by Meryl Streep and Catherine McCormack ( Braveheart ). This bravura production has been shown in Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and is well-received by cinefiles across the globe. Finland's One Way Ticket to Mombasa has also received wide acclaim garnering 24 international awards. "Theoretically", says director Hanu Tuomeinen, "it is the journey of a young boy growing from 17 to 18." Two terminally ill boys dream of their future, their lives and loves and a trip to the exotic, warm, and sandy beaches of Mombasa. The opportunity offered us this month is the second in an extensive attempt to re- introduce the films of Europe to our viewers. The first was a "week of European films" launched last year by docu/director Marianne Khouri, a resounding success with every seat sold out throughout the duration. Fifty years ago European films were regular fare in our metropolis and around the world. Many European stars made their fame and fortune in Hollywood, but many others gained international acclaim by remaining in their native countries, like Michéle Morgan, Jean Marais, Dirk Bogarde, Sacha Guitry, Silvana Mangano. This is almost impossible today. Europe was cinema's original home. The concept may have had many fathers, but France is credited to be the legitimate mother of the new art form of the 20th century. France's famous brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiére were the first to achieve success in perfecting moving pictures, but it was the imagination and creativity of French magician Georges Méliès who saved the industry from extinction. After the first initial excitement died down and audiences became bored, Méliès used his magic to tell stories through the use of the new art. That was the answer. Audiences were mesmerised and wanted more. Despite all the breathtaking technical advances of today, a story is still what the audience wants. During WW I production almost stopped in Europe but demands for films did not. Hollywood took over, and has never let go. Migration to the US triggered by Nazi rumblings and unrest, sent Germany's best talents to Hollywood, who brought the art of film to new heights. Europe's loss was Hollywood's gain. A prophetic reflection by Upton Sinclair in 1917 that American "cinema would unite the world and help to Americanise it", was not far off the mark. Hollywood dominates the world market today, and very likely will tomorrow. It is a simple case of supply and demand. But all is not lost. The best film festivals are still held in Europe -- Cannes, Venice, Berlin, San Sebastian, and European films are showing some strong signs of a healthy revival. They seek a long life of happiness and prosperity along side Hollywood block-busters, and will likely get it by preserving their ethnicity and offering cultural diversity to a wider audience, not by pale copies of American originals. Italy's examples of Il Postino (1996) and Life is Beautiful (1999) demonstrated how a local theme can achieve universal appeal that translates generously at the box-office. Consider how a united euro dollar has risen from a shaky period of cynicism and scepticism to become the strongest currency in the world today! If European films are inspired by the triumph of the euro, they will undoubtedly recover their rightful place in the world of cinema and provide the viewers with a spectacular mosaic of artistic delights. Variety's, the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour William Cowper (British poet 1731--1800)
