The European Union ambassador to The Gambia Immaculada Roca i Cortés has shared insights into the 2025 European Film festival celebrations in Banjul starting Thursday May 15-19 2025. The European Film Festival showcases the best of European cinema in over 100 EU delegations around the world. Since its inception in 1985 it has grown into one of the largest and most popular film festivals in the world.
This is the 4th edition of the festival organised by EU in Banjul and will consist of 4 powerful and entertaining films from France, Italy, Spain and Germany to be screened at Alliance Francaise.
According to ambassador Cortes, the European Film Festival is one EU delegation’s cultural diplomacy events organised in partnership with member states represented here in the Gambia aimed to promote cultural exchange and dialogue and sharing of ideas and subjects. “It is a festival that celebrates cinematography excellence from Europe and it is bringing history with stories, modern histories, stories that resonate with both the European Union and the Gambia. Short Gambian films are also going to be shown in order to actually put together the richness of the different cultures, the dialogue between the cultures and what the cinema brings to it. This year we have French, Spanish, German and Italian films chosen by the different embassies. We want it to be films that bring messages. And this year most of those films talk about subjects that matter in the world nowadays. Talk about migration, talk about resilience, talk about justice, exchange of ideas and ways of seeing things. About compromise, about ethical dilemmas, which are subjects that are both appealing to Europe, but as well to the Gambian citizens,” Ambassador Cortes stated.
She said the films to be screened are modern award-winning films that have been acclaimed internationally. According to the ambassador the EU delegation is committed to expanding the festival to include more Gambian films to further enhance cultural exchanges, dialogue and sharing of ideas.
“We really would like at a certain moment for this to be at a European Union- Gambian film festival, we’re working on it and we will continue developing it. Culture is something that brings people together. And is the nicest way of actually talking and exchanging between peoples that come from different origins, with different backgrounds, and to actually join in this diversity. The European Union has 27 members and our motto is united in diversity, and this is something that can be applied further away. We talk about principles, about ideas, about individual stories. We hope that we bring stories that put us together, that connect people together.”
The ambassador expressed the EU continuous support to the cinema and creative industries in the Gambia citing the launch of a new youth empowerment project which focuses on supporting youth and women in tourism and creative industries.
She added that Gambia has a very important vibrant civic society and youth entrepreneurship community which needs to be supported and accompanied in the development of their creativity.
