The European Union in Thailand, in association with SFX Cinema, will mark the European Year of Cultural Heritage with the European Union Film Festival 2018, Dec 21-26 at SFX Cinema Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre in Chiang Mai.

The festival features 14 films from as many EU countries, including Sanctuary (Ireland), Loving Vincent (Poland), The Other Side Of Hope (Finland), Belgian Rhapsody (Belgium) and Fanny And Alexander (Sweden). Each film will be screened with both Thai and English subtitles.

Here are some highlights:

Sanctuary

This Irish romantic comedy is about two people with developmental disabilities, Larry (Kieran Coppinger) and Sophie (Charlene Kelly), who meet at a care centre and fall in love. Care worker Tom (Robert Doherty) agrees to help the couple sneak away from their group trip to the cinema and spend time together at a hotel. But their actions are against the law, which doesn't allow sexual relations between people with developmental disabilities unless they are married.

Loving Vincent

A tribute to legendary post-impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh, this experimental animation was created using oil paintings on canvas, reflecting Van Gogh's preferred technique. A year after the artist's death, Armand, the son of a postman, is asked to deliver Van Gogh's final letter to his brother, Theo. Unfortunately, Theo has already passed away. Armand travels to Auver-sur-Oise where Van Gogh was living when he committed suicide. He finds Van Gogh's death to be suspicious and sets out to investigate what really happened.

The Other Side Of Hope

Aki Kaurismäki won Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival for his latest feature. Set in Helsinki, the Finnish comedy-drama tells the story of Waldemar (Sakari Kuosmanen), a salesman turned restaurateur, who befriends a refugee called Khaled (Sherwan Haji). Waldemar helps Khaled search for his sister Miriam (Niroz Haji), who vanished while they were fleeing the Syrian Civil War.