EU Film Festival to open in Shillong on Nov 12 with 28 European films

Shillong will host the opening of the 31st European Union Film Festival (EUFF) on November 12, giving film lovers in Meghalaya the first look at a line-up of 28 films from the 27 EU member states and Ukraine, The Hollywood Reporter India reported on Monday.

After Shillong, the festival travels to New Delhi, where screenings run from November 25 to December 4, and then to Pune in December. It is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to India together with the embassies of EU member states and regional partners.

What is on the programme

The selection covers dramas, documentaries, animated films and sports dramas. Seven of the 28 films are directed by women and five are debut features, according to the organisers.

Among the titles drawing attention are Rose, starring Sandra Huller, which is Austria's entry for the 99th Academy Awards; Oliver Laxe's Sirat from Spain; the French drama The Richest Woman in the World; and the Italian film A Year of School. The Irish animated feature Wolfwalkers, the Belgian cycling biopic Merckx and Ukraine's The Taste of Freedom are also on the list.

Other entries include Bring Me Home (Bulgaria), Summer School, 2001 (Czech Republic), The Last Viking (Denmark), 22 Lengths (Germany), Mommy Blue (Hungary), Jippie No More (Netherlands), No Ghosts on Good Street (Poland), Path to the Impossible (Slovakia) and The Dance Club (Sweden).

Why Shillong matters to the organisers

EU Ambassador to India Jean-Eric Paquet said the festival was travelling this year to Shillong, Delhi and Pune, which he described as cities with a rich cultural pulse and a deep love for storytelling. He said the aim was to strengthen cultural ties between India and Europe by letting audiences experience Europe through its filmmakers.

Curator Artur Zaborski said the line-up was meant to bring the many voices of the EU to Indian audiences, with stories that are "joyful and sorrowful, historical and contemporary", covering politics, sport, society, family and love.

Opening in Shillong means audiences in the North East get the first screenings of a festival now in its 31st edition, ahead of the larger Delhi leg.

A platform for young Indian filmmakers

The festival will also screen 10 shortlisted films from the first EUFF Film Project, launched in September for emerging Indian filmmakers working in fiction, documentary, animation and hybrid formats. The winner will receive the EUFF Film Project Award 2026 and a chance to take part in the 15th Script Fiesta in Warsaw, Poland, from March 17 to 21, 2027.

The organisers have not yet announced the Shillong venue, screening timings or whether entry will be free. NEInsider will add those details once they are released.