Our history

The Europe by Europe festival was born in 2006, under the impetus of filmmaker Irena Bilić, with a clear objective: to create a bridge between European auteur cinemas in all their diversity.

At the time, few festivals in France offered programming specifically dedicated to the European continent as a whole, focusing on independent auteurs, countries with low production capacity, singular voices or the importance of continuity in European cinema, from the pioneers through the classics to contemporary cinema.

From the outset, the festival has been part of an artistic, cultural and political approach : defending cinema as an art of freedom, memory, language and the encounter between peoples.

The first edition of the festival, then called the Southeastern European Independent Film Fair, was held in Normandy (Bernay, Évreux, Moulin d’Andé). It was produced by Art Gothique Tendre – Evropa Film Akt, an association founded by filmmaker Irena Bilic and artist Nenad Zilic. The screenings were intimate, the discussions lively, and the reception enthusiastic.

In 2008, in response to growing demand, the festival moved to Paris, while occasionally maintaining regional branches (Évreux, Rouen, Le Havre, Lisieux, Pont-Audemer…). Since the 2013 edition, screenings have taken place in Paris and Île-de-France (L’Entrepôt Cinema, the Saint-André des arts, Filmothèque du Quartier Latin, Grand Action, the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation, Méliès, Christine 21, Eden, Atalante, Studio des Ursulines, Louis Lumière School, Balzac, Pathé Les Fauvettes…).

This change of territory marks a strategic turning point: Paris becomes the beating heart of the festival, with roots in renowned art house venues, foreign cultural centers, university venues, and international partners.

From the very first editions, the festival has asserted a unique vision :

• Giving a voice to non-national European films,
• Highlighting countries that are underrepresented in commercial circuits,
• Create continuity between the masters of the 7th art and the next generation,
• Cross artistic, historical, political and philosophical perspectives.

Each year, a strong theme guides the programming: a common thread allowing for dialogue between the works and offering critical reflection on our times.

• 2009 : New perspectives on love and war.
• 2010 : Freedom and dependencies.
• 2011 : Heroes and Antiheroes.
• 2012 : Silence and noise.
• 2013 : Memory and Becoming.
• 2014 : Light and Darkness.
• 2015 : Body and soul.
• 2016 : Chaos and Harmonies.
• 2017 : Migration exists. Death does not.
• 2018 : Borders.
• 2019 : Animals and Mens.
• 2020 : Animals, mens, machines, robots.
• 2021 : Bodies in motion.
• 2022 : Black and white.
• 2023 : Portraits, landscapes, world.
• 2024 : Faces of men, faces of history.
• 2025 : Tell Me Lies – in tribute to Peter Brook.

Over the years, the festival has structured its program around major sections :

• Official competitions :
  • 🏆 Prix SAUVAGE (feature-length fiction film)
  • 📽️ Prix PRESENT (documentary)
  • 🎞️ Prix SAUVAGE CORTO (short film)
• Young Jury Prizes :
  • ⭐ Prix LUNA (young professionals)
  • 🐺 Prix LUPETO (European students)
  • ✨ Prix E-MOTION (young people of the European Movement)
• Non-competitive sections :
  • 🎬 THEMA (theme of the year)
  • 🌿 Wildlife (films related to ecological issues)
  • 🧪 Experimental Salon (research cinema)
  • 🌍 Connections (international collaborations)
  • 🤝 Meetings and events (signings, masterclasses, debates…)

Each edition is also punctuated by tributes to great filmmakers, national retrospectives and carte blanche to renowned programmers and critics.

The festival has always been keen to provide visibility :

• To authors from French overseas territories,
• To minority filmmakers,
• To films on issues of gender, migration, colonial memory,
• In rare languages, often not widely spoken.

It has shown films in Albanian, Nenets, Armenian, Finnish, Turkish, Greek, Norwegian, etc., with significant translation and subtitling work each year.

Over the years, the festival has welcomed major figures from European cinema, such as :

🎥 Agnès Varda, Carlos Saura, István Szabó, Eugène Green, Ralitza Petrova, Albert Serra, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Claude Carrière, Márta Mészáros, Jonas Mekas, Krzysztof Zanussi, Roy Andersson, Anja Breien, Ildikó Enyedi, etc.

Each jury president leaves a mark, embodying the diversity of European sensibilities.

Since 2008, the festival has invested in numerous partner venues, notably :

• The cinema The 7 Parnassians,
• The Pathé – The Fauvettes,
• Le Studio des Ursulines,
• The Film Gallery,
• L’École Cinéma Club,
• The Lincoln,
• The Méliès at Montreuil,
• The Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation,
• The Arts Arena,
• The INALCO,

And many cultural centers, embassies and universities.

Each of these places is chosen for its programming, its audience, its accessibility, and the quality of the exchanges it allows.

Europe by Europe is supported by the Evropa Film Akt association, created in 2005, with a clear mission : to bring Europe into dialogue through cinema.

The artistic direction has been provided by Irena Bilić since the beginning, and the presidency has been entrusted to Ghislaine Masset since 2024..

Over the years, volunteers, interns, students, researchers, translators, journalists, filmmakers, activists, professors, projectionists and enthusiasts have contributed to bringing this project to life.

With nearly 20 editions to its name, the festival continues to evolve with :

• Opening up to new formats (exhibitions, publications, workshops)
• A digital platform for masterclasses
• New strategic European partnerships
• Programs throughout the year, outside of the festival, in the neighborhoods
• The objective of welcoming 30 European countries per edition by 2027

The festival continues to be rooted in its time, while maintaining a critical and poetic perspective on cinema as a reflection of our societies.