From April 2nd until the 6th, Lumière Maastricht will be the venue for the Film Festival Maastricht 08. This year’s edition of the festival once again caters for the film lover’s taste with previews, special imported feature-films and shorts. In addition this year’s films can be categorized in special programmes. Emphasis is put on new feature-films made by women in ‘Female Directors’, the latest output of renowned filmmakers are placed in the limelight in the ‘Masters of Cinema’-programme and ‘European Cinema’ hosts a selection of films from all over the continent. Go to www.lumiere.nl/ffm/english to see the list of films suitable for English audiences.

European cinema
Last year, Film Festival Maastricht explored the cinematographic new borders of Europe, with emphasis on Romanian, Bulgarian en Hungarian cinema. This year’s edition once again sets out to delve into the films hidden in the continent’s covert hinterland. The films selected for the ‘European Cinema’- programme quite often gained the recognition of viewers in their countries of origin, only to be neglected by the international film public. Against the grain they commercially may seem, these films deserve a larger audience.

Masters of Cinema
There is no self-respecting festival that does not show the latest films directed by the famous names of the business. We don’t dare to differ.
To name but three, expected are the films: Be Kind Rewind, made by everyone’s favourite handicrafts-fanatic Michel - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Gondry, Cassandra’s Dream, the new neurotic but heart-felt tale by miraculously- turned-Londoner Woody Allen and the critically acclaimed new film Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn. The festival presents them before their general Dutch release-dates.

Female Directors
Whether you are interested in an effeminate approach to filmmaking or not, the films comprising the ‘Female Directors’- programme are worth every film viewer’s consideration. The films made by women comprise a meagre 10 percent of the share of films being released each year and we think that the attention they deserve has been long overdue.

Music Special
The films gathered in this category represent music in all its glorious aspects. The charming Across the Universe is diffused with a timeless collection of songs by the Fab Four, while Doctor atomic, a registration of post-modern opera director John Adams is guaranteed to interest opera-lovers.

Rotterdam en route
Rotterdam en Route presents a collection of the best films shown at this year’s Film Festival Rotterdam, the most significant film festival of The Netherlands. La Antena is a wildly inventive Argentinian allegory set in a hypermodern city where the dispotic ‘Mr TV’ rules over its citizenry bereft of the power to speak, while Go with peace Jamil is a bleak Arabic tale set in Scandinavia.

Shorts
According to tradition, short films aren’t neglected by Film Festival Maastricht. Check the festival-website for details about the titles on show, they are all subtitled in English.

General information
Festival venue: Lumière Cinema – Bogaardenstraat 40 b Maastricht

Ticket sales: Ticket sales start on Monday March 31, at 15.00 in Lumière

Opening times ticket counters:
Mon. March 31 – Fri. April 4: 15.00 – 22.00
Sat. April 5 & Sun. April 6: 09.30 – 22.00

Reservations: By phone during the opening times of the ticket counter (043-3214080) or through the internet. Reserved tickets have to be collected at least thirty minutes before the beginning of the film. It is recommended to pick up tickets during the advance sales period to avoid queuing during the festival.

Ticket prices:
Single tickets: 8 euro
65 + : 7 euro
Members Lumière/students: 6,50 euro

Website: www.lumiere.nl/ffm