In the opening ceremony attended by H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Community Development of the UAE, patron of the event, and by filmmakers and key international figures, the 2nd European Film Screenings Program was launched in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a ten-day bonanza on cinema in the UAE. The event is presented by the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg together with the Embassy of the EU Delegation to the UAE and is supported by Novo Cinemas in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Media partners are: The National and Abu Dhabi Classic FM.

Among the prominent figures in attendance at the inauguration were the Ambassadors of the participating European Countries, the director of the Film Fund Luxembourg, Mr. Guy Daleiden, Stéphan Roelants, the producer of the opening film Song of the Sea, Laurent Witz, the director of the Oscar winning short film Mr. Hublot, Mohamed Al Otaiba, Editor in Chief of The National, and Alessandra Priante, EFS Founder, in addition to Emirati filmmakers and cultural figures of Abu Dhabi.

The program comprises 18 films in collaboration with the participating embassies to the UAE, in addition to a selection of Emirati short film scurated by the Emirati Cinema Campaign to be screened before the evening screening of the European films. The event is organized for the second time around by Alessandra Priante, Founder and Artistic Director of the event.

Screenings will be hosted by Novo Cinemas through 21-30 October 2015 in its Abu Dhabi- based venue at WTC Mall and starting 22 to 31 October at Novo Cinemas in Dubai's Ibn Battuta Mall.

All screenings are free of charge and seats are allocated on a first come/first serve basis.

www.europeanfilmscreenings.com