Landell Mills organises European film festivals in Tajikistan and Rwanda
Landell Mills organised two successful European film festivals in October. The first festival was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from the 13th to the 15th of October. Nine films were shown at Kayhon Cinema over the three nights and entry to all screenings was free. More than 650 people attended the festival over the three days.
The film festival was launched with a press briefing by the Ambassador of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr Hidajet Biscevic. Following this, the first film, 'The Fencer', a joint creation between producers from Finland, Estonia and Germany, was screened. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Golden Globes, and in 2016, won two Jussi Awards for Best Picture and Best Cinematography.
The European Film Festival is one of several events organised under the 'European Union Cooperation in Central Asia: Visibility Events' contract that Landell Mills is managing. Landell Mills worked closely with Kayhon Cinema to promote the event, producing a trailer that was shown at the cinema in the lead up to the event and shared on social media. Other promotion included a radio advert, billboards, posters and flyers.
The 2017 European Film Festival in Rwanda took place across three cities, beginning at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre in Kigali on the 18th of October, before moving to the University of Rwanda in Huye, and ending at the University of Tourism, Technology & Business in Rubavu on the 22nd. Approximately 2,000 people in total attended the festival.
11 films from 10 EU countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK) were screened at each of this year's venues. The most popular film was 'Victoria' (Germany) which 300 people attended, whilst the children's film, 'Songs of the Sea' (Ireland) was very well-attended by families.
The festival followed the successful 2016 European Film Festival in Rwanda, which Landell Mills also managed as part of the project: 'Visibility and Communication Activities for the EU Delegation to Rwanda.' Landell Mills produced various materials to promote this year's festival, including posters, a festival programme and short film trailer. The festival was also promoted heavily through a social media campaign, which included videos from participating actors and online quizzes.
