Dear fans of the silver screen,

Welcome to a festival which takes us to the Europe of film. Our city occupies a strategic position rightin the centre of this continent, and thus is to some extent predestined to host a renowned festival reflecting Europe through thepopular and universal medium offilm. What is more we can follow on from a good tradition–a mere half year after theLumière brothers first showed the public in Paris their “moving pictures”they showed them also in Brno, which was the first film production on the territory of the future Czechoslovakia.Our city still welcomes domestic and foreign film-makers today. Through the Brno Film Office and the South Moravian Film Fund they are offered active multilateral cooperation as well as financial support. So it is by no means out of the question that soon works shot in and around the South Moravian Metropolis and with its support will begin to meet with success at film festivals.

Great background, projection spaces equipped with the latest technology and a receptive audience have also been found in Brno by the organisers of the Days of European Film. This year again they mainly want to work with the audience and provide them with varied topics that are currently being shared all over Europe. I have no doubt that they will be at the cutting edge, as well as being demanding and at times even somewhat controversial. Here they will present some fifty films covering sport, erotica and nature conservation, but also for example elections and the media’s image of the world. We will also encounter an accompanying programme aimed at schools, families with children and the elderly. Film professionals and fans can among other things look forward to workshops as well as knowledgeable and engaged debate with the participation of artists. I believe that all these attractions will bring to Brno’s cinemas yet more movie enthusiasts, to be convincedthat European cinema has today truly a global dimension and impact.

Markéta Vaňková

Mayor of Brno