The Very Best of European Cinema ... Without the Jet Lag; 2011 European Union Film Showcase November 3-22

The 2011 AFI-EU Film Showcase opens on Thursday, November 3. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI) in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States and EU Member States, the 24th edition of the annual festival features more than 40 first-class films from European Union Member States. This year's showcase includes multiple award-winners, U.S. premiers, international festival favorites, local box-office hits, debut works by promising new talents, and seven official Oscar submissions for best foreign language film.

The Opening Night selection, The Woman in the Fifth, a British / French / Polish coproduction from Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski, is a moody Paris-set thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas. The Closing Night presentation on November 22 is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the highly anticipated screen adaptation of John le Carre's seminal Cold War thriller, featuring an all-star cast, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and John Hurt. The movie is directed by Sweden's Tomas Alfredson. All films will be shown at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center inSilver Spring, Maryland.

"The European Union Film Showcase provides Americans with an opportunity to see some of the very best European films," said Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United States. "This year's Showcase features a particularly strong line-up of films as it displays the exceptional quality of European filmmaking."

For more highlights of the EU Film Festival including the full schedule of films, please visit: www.afi.com/silver.

http://www.eurunion.org/ & www.twitter.com/EUintheUS

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States