On December 6, 2012, under the High Patronage of the Minister of Culture, H.E. Mr. Gaby Layoun, Embassies and Cultural Institutes of the European Union Member States, in collaboration with the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik organized and inaugurated, the 19th Festival of European Cinema, in a ceremony held at the John Paul II Amphitheater at the USEK Main Campus.

This Festival continued until December 13, 2012, and 38 European movies, given awards in international film festivals, was shown to reflect the diversity of European culture. Moreover, 19 short movies directed by students will be shown and an award will be given to the best one. The movies are being played at John Paul II Amphitheater at USEK and at Empire Cinemas, Zouk Michael.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the Dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Mr. Elias Tohme, praised the efforts deployed by the European Commission to Lebanon, on a cultural level among others. He thanked them for their contribution in displaying such European success within the University.

Mrs. Silke Hofs, in charge of communications in the European Commission to Lebanon, stated that this Festival expressed their desire to promote European culture in Lebanon; thus European movies would be shown in different Lebanese regions, such as, Jounieh, Zahle, Tripoli and Beirut. She concluded that this 19th festival is a living example of the strength of the European-Lebanese partnership.

Finally, the Director of the French Cultural Center of Jounieh, Melodie Bardin, thanked the University for hosting both the Festival and its organizers. In conclusion, the trailer of the first movie shown during the Festival was played. It was a Cypriot movie telling the story of “Lionidas”, a recently graduated cop dreaming of uncovering crimes in the city.

The full program of the Festival can be found on: 
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/lebanon
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/lebanon/documents/news/catalogue_jounieh.pdf