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2015 ÉCU Film Festival opening ceremony to feature British filmmakers

ECU-film-festival-2015-opening

ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival opens tonight with a line-up of 10 films including two entries from the UK at Cinéma Les 7 Parnassiens in Paris, France beginning at 8 pm.

Films being screened today will include:

'Solo Finale', directed by Ingo Putze (Germany): A woman and a man meet in an abandoned opera where they embark on a magical pas de deux between time and space.

'Flexibility', directed by Remedios Crespo (Spain): Europe, near future. The workers of a stickpin factory gather urgently to avoid the impending plant closing. The differences between the workers and the top management are not the expected ones.

'Ambition', directed by Tomek Bagiński (Poland): On a remote planet, a Master watches his Apprentice carry out tests with nanotechnology as she tries to prove herself worthy of advancement. Featuring Aidan Gillen from The Game of Thrones.

'Amongst', directed by Mohammed Alsalman (Saudi Arabia): A person wakes up in the fog of confusion between decisions and affiliations, obedience and disobedience.

'Killing My Girl', directed by Tasos Giapoutzis (United Kingdom): A young South Asian woman lives away from home, in London, with her husband and in-laws. The film depicts her struggle to undergo sex-selective abortion against her will.

'The Bigger Picture', directed by Daisy Jacobs (United Kingdom): This is the stark and darkly humorous tale of two brothers struggling to care for their elderly mother. Richard flees as soon as anything practical needs to be done while Nick is left to carry the burden. This film won Best British Short Animation at the 68th British Academy Film Awards and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards.

'The Anklet', directed by Guillaume Levil (France): At the top of a mountain, a man clumsily recites his declaration of love: "I did hesitate, but I chose you..."

'The Emotional Darkness of the James River', directed by Michelle Marquez (USA): This experimental film provides an emotional roller coaster experience that was musically and visually designed based on a neuroscience research project that correlates a mathematical parameter (fractal dimension) of sounds and images with the selective triggering of emotional states. Enlighten yourself by looking at the world from your personal point of view while dreaming inside your curiosity.

'The Dandelion', directed by Sophie-Clémentine Dubois (Belgium): The Dandelion, or how to save a restaurant with a hedgehog, a singing fish and a little bit of imagination...

'Stop All Jerk!', directed by Armel Gourvennec (France): Are you one of those? Do you remember the fifties? No? So please stop it and go for a ride!

During the three-day festival, ÉCU 2015 will present 84 films from 32 countries competing in 12 categories for 25 awards, including the festival's highest honour, 'Europe's Best Independent Film 2015'. In addition to film screenings throughout the weekend, festival attendees can attend an array of professional filmmaking workshops and Director Q&As. After-parties will be held across the city featuring live musical performances. The festival runs from the 10th to the 12th of April at Cinéma Les 7 Parnassiens and Cinéma Le Lincoln in Paris.

In its tenth edition, ÉCU continues to be a discovery point for much of Europe's talented independent filmmakers who are driven by pure passion and the need to make great cinema without the benefit of large production budgets and constrictions.

A live concert, brought to you by ÉCU's Official Music Partner, Access Film-Music, will follow the conclusion of the screening beginning at 10 pm in Péniche Henjo Time located at Quai de la Tournelle, Paris.

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