Despite censorship, EU film festival will run for 12th time [Archives:2008/1154/Culture]

Sarah Wolff
The conference for the upcoming 12th annual European Film Festival, to be held in Sana'a, Aden and Sayoun, revealed the tribulations behind the festival's organization, with sparks flying between European Union (EU) member state representatives and the censorship division of the Ministry of Culture.

The representative of the Ministry of Culture, Jamal Majam, spoke along with representatives from participating countries including Italy, Poland, France, Germany and an attache from the European Union about the difficulty of selecting, acquiring and dismissing films for the festival at the French Cultural Center in Sana'a on Saturday.

Eight films from across the European Union and Turkey will be shown in Aden, Sana'a and for the first time, in Sayoun, all at the end of May through the beginning of June. The films, which will be shown in Sana'a at the Yemeni Cultural Center, are free and open to the public. Because of scheduling conflicts at the YCC, the exact dates have been changed a number of times.

Films such as award-winning “The Lives of Others”” from Germany and “”The Queen”” from the United Kingdom were chosen for their ability to convey the attitudes and ideas about contemporary Europe to all types of Yemeni audience members – young