Four couples struggle on the edge of mother Europe. In countries troubled by economic and social crises they stumble through life with charm, sex and plenty of passion - a movie about the politics of love. In Sevilla, Juan (21) and Caro (23) experience the wonders of a young love. However, Juan is without a plan for the life that lies ahead of him and Caro desperately needs one. Siobhan (28) and Terry (23) live in Dublin. When they first met they fell – for love and for heroin, like other young habitants of this cold-weathered town. But now sober for some time, on their way to lead a common life, their passion seems to disappear. In Tallinn, close to the north-eastern border of Europe, Veronika, a 29-year-old go-go dancer, and her partner Harri (31), find themselves caught up in the toil of a patchwork family. Her oldest son proves to be a challenge for Veronika’s confidence in Harri. She wants him to accept Artur as his own. Meanwhile in Thessaloniki, Greece, Penny (23) is about to leave her long-time lover Niko (33) to go to work in Italy. But how do you leave someone who loves you too much?

Direction: Jan Gassmann

Production: Lisa Blatter, Jan Gassmann, Andreas Hörl, Florian Schneider, Maren Lüthje, Jan Gassmann, Andreas Hörl

Cinematography: Ramon Giger

Editing: Miriam Märk

Production Design: Anne Weick

Sound: Maurizius Stärkle Drux

Original Score: David Wengren

Original Title: EUROPE, SHE LOVES

Original Languages: English, Estonian, Spanish, Greek

Film Production Countries: Switzerland, Germany

Website: http://www.europesheloves.com

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/Europe-she-loves-912471015502665/?fref=ts

Statement of the Director/s
Autumn comes along in Europe and the streets are boiling. The whole is reflected in its parts - and vice versa. Just as decisions have to be made in Brussels, be it out of rational, emotional or economic reasons, we can observe the same structures in the smallest of groups; a relationship. This documentary about four couples on the edge of Europe becomes a parable of a continent. I’m portraying my generation, the forgotten, the lost, the dissatisfied – young people between twenty and thirty. It’s a film without much political talking, but filmed in settings and places where the political future of Europe will be decided. Four times love. Why? The contrast of the public and private space will convey the feeling of a continent in upheaval. While my protagonists stand in line for work and food, they try to get things to work and survive together. If we go even nearer, words disappear, no one talks anymore, there are only feelings. A touch, a look. In this film I was looking for those interstitials, spaces that usually are being filled with facts. What makes life worth living, if not love? I think documentary filmmaking should not leave the field of love to fiction film and hide behind scientific theories. And also politics should not only be commented in a rational way. A documentary film should transport emotions like any other cinematic genre. The more subjective a film is filmed and edited, the more condensed and precise the look on the topic becomes. No film is neutral.

This is my movie about us, the time bombs, the forgotten with unsure future, but with a lot of love.

Biography of the Director/s
Born in 1983, Jan Gassmann is a director based in Zürich. His first feature documentary CHRIGU premiered at the 57th Berlinale and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The movie travelled the world and amongst others, he won the «Filmcritics Switzerland Prize». In 2011, he made his first feature fiction film OFF BEAT which premiered at the 61st Berlinale in Panorama and was nominated for «Best Camera» by the Swiss Film Academy in 2012. With his next documentary KARMA SHADUB, he won together with Ramon Giger the Grand-Prix of the international Competition at Visions du Réel, Nyon, 2013. His next fiction film HEIMATLAND, a collaborative work, premiered in international competition at the Locarno FF in 2015, won awards in Zurich and Bern, and was just nominated for Best Film by the Swiss Film Academy.

Filmography of the Director/s
2014 - HEIMATLAND (with 10 directors)
2013 - KARMA SHADUB
2012 - STYLE WARS, doc.
2010 - OFF BEAT
2007 - CHRIGU, doc.
2003 - WITH 500 RUPIES TU HEAVEN, short

Awards Won
Dokfest Munich: FFF Förderpreis

World Sales:
Autlook Filmsales GmbH
Salma Abdalla
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E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +43 7 203 46 934
Website: http://www.autlookfilms.com/

Press:
2:1 Film
Jan Gassmann
Binzstr.23
Zurich, 8045, Switzerland
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +41 76 535 91 92
Website: http://www.2zu1film.com/