The 3rd European Film Screenings (EFS/03) was launched in Abu Dhabi on 19 October with a grand celebration at the World Trade Center Mall in the attendance of numerous officials and public figures, alongside members of the international media.

Among the attendees were Patrizio Fondi, Head of the European Union Delegation to the UAE; Dusan Horniak, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the UAE; Hussein Wehbe, Regional Director of Aramex in the UAE; and Slovakian film director Ivan Ostrochovský who directed the inaugural film Koza; in addition to Alessandra Priante, Founder and Artistic Director of EFS.

Running from (19 -27 October, 2016) in the UAE, the EFS/03 will screen 17 European films carefully selected by the European Film Academy and the participating European Embassies in the UAE. The programme will also be screening five Arab feature films from Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon and the UAE, along with a bundle of short films from Switzerland.

The third edition of the European Film Screenings (EFS) is held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, and is hosted by the EU Delegation to the UAE and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the UAE, in collaboration with Novo Cinemas in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The European Film Screenings is now recognized as one of the most esteemed independent cultural events in the UAE. This year's edition operates under the support of the European Film Academy, for the first time in its history, and, Eurimages, two of the most prominent cinema institutions in Europe, and is sponsored by Tharwa Productions, Aramex and Jumeirah. Furthermore, and for the first time, the EFS/03 will dedicate an entire Arab-European features programme.


The film screenings will be hosted by Novo Cinemas at its Abu Dhabi-based venue, the World Trade Center Mall Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi from 19-26 October, 2016, and at Ibn Battuta Mall and Dubai Festival City Mall in Dubai from 20-27 October, 2016.


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