The European Film Festival will return to the UAE this month, expanding beyond the capital to include screenings in Ras Al Khaimah for the first time.
Organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the UAE in partnership with the Cultural Foundation and Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, the festival will run in Abu Dhabi from May 18 to 24 before moving to Ras Al Khaimah from June 1 to 5.
Screenings in the capital will take place at the Cultural Foundation, while the Ras Al Khaimah programme will be held at RAK Chamber Theatre. Tickets for screenings are priced at Dh25.
The annual event brings together a wide-ranging selection of European films, offering audiences in the UAE access to varied storytelling traditions, from established directors and emerging voices. This year’s expanded format aims to reach a broader audience, with organisers highlighting the role of cinema in fostering cross-cultural exchange.
The programme features more than a dozen films from across the continent, spanning genres and themes, and released in the past few years.
Among them is Italy’s Gloria! (2024), set in a 19th-century Venice girls’ school, where a young servant discovers music as a form of expression; France’s A Real Job (2023) follows a doctorate student navigating the realities of teaching; while Slovenia’s Elvis Starling (2025) centres on a teenager dealing with family upheaval.
Several titles anchor the programme with more expansive, character-driven narratives. Spain’s Close Your Eyes (2023) revisits the decades-old disappearance of an actor through a television investigation, using archive footage and testimony to blur the line between memory and performance. Ukraine’s The Taste of Freedom (2023) follows a young aspiring chef whose journey is reshaped by the discovery of a 1929 cookbook, weaving together questions of heritage, identity and ambition.
From Greece, Stelios (2024) traces the life of singer Stelios Kazantzidis, born in a refugee family before rising to national prominence, while exploring the relationship between music, hardship and public devotion.
Other highlights include Austria’s The Village Next to Paradise (2024), Luxembourg’s Kensuke’s Kingdom (2023), Romania’s The Secret of Pin-Up Island (2024) and Lithuania’s Runner (2021).
Malta’s The Theft of the Caravaggio (2025) brings a crime narrative rooted in art history, while Czechia’s Invincibles (2025) and Ireland’s Lakelands (2022) explore sport and identity.
With participation from EU member state embassies and cultural institutes, the festival continues to position itself as a platform for showcasing Europe’s cinematic diversity in the UAE, while strengthening cultural ties between the regions.
