European Union Film Festival picks: Stories of love, survival and endurance

The annual edition of the European Union Film Festival kicked off in Delhi in October, followed by screenings in Bengaluru. The festival’s final leg will be held in Hyderabad between December 5 and 14.

Twenty-three productions from the EU member states and Ukraine will be screened in Hyderabad. The programme includes Three Kilometres to the End of the World, Romania’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar in 2024.

Also on the list are Matters of the Heart (Denmark), The Trap (Bulgaria), The Waves (Czech Republic) and Pelican (Croatia). Here are reviews of three unmissable films, each one different in theme and tone but united by curiosity and empathy about the human condition.

Happy (Austria)

Sandeep Kumar’s film is about an Indian undocumented immigrant trying desperately to stay on in a country that has no place for the likes of him. Happy Singh (Sahidur Rahaman) has lost his appeal for asylum to Austria. Happy doesn’t have the papers that will let him stay on and care for his daughter Maya (Shirin Grace).

Happy works terribly hard to support himself and Maya, delivering newspapers and later setting up a food delivery business. Forced to constantly look over his shoulder, and aware that time is running out, Happy is happiest in the company of his beloved daughter.

The crisply narrated and poignant...

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