NEW DELHI: Twenty-one well-known contemporary films from 19 European countries are to be screened at the 13th European Union (EU) Film Festival, which is being held in five Indian cities during April.

European Union member states embassies and the Delegation of the European Commission are collaborating with a number of local partners to organise the festival in New Delhi (1-8 April), Chennai (7-17 April), Kolkata (10-16 April), Calicut/Kozhikode (17-20 April) and Pune (24-30 April).

In this edition of the EU Film Festival, the diversity in the contemporary European film industry is showcased through an array of films, each representing a different member state that includes national and international hits with gripping thrillers, finger-on-the-pulse comedies and forceful modern-day dramas.

The festival is now part of the EU-India strategic partnership established at the 6th EU-India Summit in September 2005. The films being screened have been widely acclaimed in Europe and some have been awarded prestigious prizes in recent years. Only Belgium has two films.

The films that will be screened are Short Circuits (Slovenia), I Am (Poland), Kids in da Hood (Sweden), FC Venus (Finland), Waiter (the Netherlands), On the Other Side of the Bridge (Austria), Yella (Germany), After the Wedding (Denmark), It's Spring in Prague Every Year (Czech Republic), Two Syllables Behind (Slovak Republic), You and Me (France), Ultranova and Long Weekend (Belgium), Eighth Day of the Week (Hungary), Last of the High Kings (Ireland), Golden Beach (Estonia), Occident (Romania), Bye Bye Blackbird (Luxembourg), Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive (UK), Honey and Wine (Cyprus) and Fiction (Spain).

The festival is being staged in collaboration with the government of NCT of Delhi, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi; Nandan, the West Bengal Film Centre, Kolkata; Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Kozhikode; National Film Archive of India, Pune and ICA Foundation in Association with South India Film Chamber of Commerce, Chennai.

The union hopes to emphasise the importance of culture, particularly in light of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008. Its relations with India encompass a dialogue between modern nation states built upon ancient civilisations, enriched with myriad cultures, religions, ethnicities and languages, says an EU release.