The 2017 Baguio European Autumn Festival, Cine Europa Film ‘Terror-Ihr Urteil’ Takes Centerstage

Photo by Moe Abellera

Hon. Thorsten Gottfried with the European Community in Baguio City.

The Baguio Museum launched the 2017 Baguio European Autumn Festival back to back with the reception ceremonies of the 2017 Cine Europa Film Festival on Oct 14. The Autumn Festival is held to celebrate the friendship between the Filipinos and the Europeans in the country, which is reflective of Europe Day – an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe. The festival’s theme this year is “Expanding Worldview.”

Stella Marie de Guia, the Executive Director of Baguio of Museum Inc., had direct oversight on the afternoon’s events. Among the day’s distinguished guests who graced the event are Hon. Mauricio Domogan, Mayor of Baguio City; Hon. Mark Go, Congressman, Lone District of Baguio; Hon. Thorsten Gottfried, First Secretary on Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Manila; and Mr. Wilfredo Manalang, the Executive Director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Baguio Museum: The Cultural Venue for International Exchange

In the opening of the Autumn Festival, Mr. Nicolas R. Tabora, Chairman of Baguio Museum Inc., welcomed visitors, and the Friends of the Museum. He reiterated that the museum’s Board of Trustees have “brought forth in the community, that the Baguio Museum becomes the cultural venue of the different exchanges in the city and between other countries around Asia, the Pacific, the US and Europe.” This resonates through the various events that the Baguio Museum hosted such as the Philippine-American Friendship Month (July), the 8th Tanabata Festival (August), and the 2017 Cine Europa Film Festival (October).

The Hon. Mauricio Domogan, in turn, congratulated the Board of Trustees of the Baguio Museum Inc., for making such kind of activities possible in the City. He said that if only different countries in the world will focus on the talents that God has given them in improving and promoting this kind of relationship, between different countries in the world and not on the race in building nuclear weapons which causes destruction, he is sure that this will contribute much to the peace in the global village. As an example, he stated that during the 1990 Killer Quake, the European Union gave Baguio City a grant to study urban planning at BLIST (Baguio, Benguet, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, and Tuba) which was significant in the City’s rebuilding. Since such relationship is beneficial to both countries involved, Mayor Domogan encourages the body to institutionalize this kind of cultural exchange in Baguio to inform the society on the importance of culture and to foster societal growth and improvement.

Congressman Mark Go also expressed his thanks for the invitation and said that much is accomplished through such social integration. In lieu of the celebrated Filipino-European friendship, he says that “Baguio City is a prime example of what a progressive metropolitan melting pot looks like.” In the Filipino-European interaction over the years, both countries have shared more than just economic interests, but have also shared in things that enrich the soul. This speaks a lot about the Filipinos as a people, the Congressman says. Filipinos make good business partners and even better friends. In closing, the Hon. Mark Go reminds everyone that “as we celebrate the interplay of our cultures through arts, such as music, architecture, and film, we recognize the beauty of each other’s customs, traditions, and values. We reflect upon our similarities and differences and ultimately develop mutual respect.”

The European Union (EU): Its Past, Present, and Future

The speech of Hon. Thorsten Gottfried, First Secretary on Cultural Affairs of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, focused on three questions about the European Union and these are: “Where are we coming from?,” “Where do we stand,” and “What are we heading for?” Understanding the answers to these questions fosters a further appreciation of the country’s relationship with Europe and the world.

He began by presenting that the EU was formed after World War II, which was a time of pain and division among European nations. Now to uphold peace among these countries, the EU was created. In addition to peace, the aspect of development and improvement in the economy are also reasons why the Union was established. Throughout the years of key trade and peaceful relations, economic success was attained.

Presently, the Secretary explains that it has been a challenging decade. Because of the ongoing social unrest and conflict in Syria and Afghanistan, there has been an influx of refugees seeking asylum in Europe. Specifically, these refugees seek solace in Germany because of a provision in their law that states, “Persons persecuted on political grounds shall have the right of asylum” (Article 68). This law has had polarizing effects. On one hand, refugees would have a sense of comfort in knowing that Germany is there to help them. But on the other hand, people smugglers took advantage of this and brought people to Germany for selfish reasons. This situation brought about one million refugees to Germany in the year 2015. Another 300,000 followed in 2016 and in 2017, 150,000. This led Germany to ask the other Member States of the EU help to share the burden by having these refugees seeking asylum distributed among the European nations to provide care and assistance in the name of solidarity.

Such situations posed questions. One of these is, “How should the European Union have handled the refugee problem?,” “Should the EU remain as it is?,” or “What is the EU heading for?” These questions were thrown to those present in the festival and the exchange of ideas that followed after shows that there is much to learn about the points of views of various nations. These are what cultural exchange brings about – dialogue, burden-sharing, encouragement, and solutions.

Kidlat Tahimik Responds to the Forum 

With all the discussions about borders and changing borders, Kidlat Tahimik left some images for the guests to ponder on. He shared his experience of about forty years ago, when he experienced crossing borders through Europe as an artist. It was he who brought the first Filipino jeepney in Paris in the early 70’s. He crossed the borders of France, Germany, Italy and even Switzerland in that colorful Sarao jeepney with the traditional and colorful sarimanok motif. This, to him,  was his “informal visa” to visit other countries. In relation to the current situation, he says that when it comes to economic and cultural unions, there will always be a continual exchange of cultures across the oceans. Further, although his jeep was traditionally Filipino, inside was a Mercedes motor. So it was a”crazy mixture” of a Philippine outer shell with a rather more European inner engine. This symbolizes the three generations of Filipino-German mixtures (referring to his family), and most of all, this represents the spirit of what the Autumn Festival is intended to be.

The Baguio European Autumn Festival: Appreciating Culture Through Food

The reception cocktails at the Autumn Festival featured European delicacies. Guests and visitors enjoyed Sauerkraut, Kartofflen Salat (potato salad), German Sausages (Veal Bratwurst, Hungarian sausage, Cervelat) and Gruyere Cheese,  Eggplant Parmigniami, Bruschetta, Pizza, and Snert met Brood en Spek (Dutch pea soup with bread and bacon sandwich). Different kinds of homemade pastries as well as pasta variations were served. Beverages from different European countries like Belgium and the Netherlands were also available to enjoy.

The banquet was lovingly sponsored by the European community, the Honorable guests, the Board of Trustees, and the Friends of the Museum. The celebration of food definitely made it easy to share a conversation with visitors and guests among both the Filipino and European communities.

Cine Europa Screens ‘Terror-Ihr Urteil’ (The Verdict)

After the cocktails, Mr. Wilfredo Manalang, Executive Director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, officially welcomed everyone to Cinema Europa. The year 2017 marks the 20th year of Cinema Europa which symbolizes the harmonious relationship of the Philipines and Europe in sharing the craft and passion in film. This year, in partnership with the delegation from the European Union, there are proudly 24 European classical and contemporary films screened in Baguio that allows audiences to explore the world’s rich cultural heritage and values. In the next few years, Mr. Manalang says that it is possible to make these partnerships bigger by extending Filipino films to Europe and expose Philippine Cinema to a wider audience as well.

The film that was screened on October 14 was “Terror-Ihr Urteil” (The Verdict). It is a German film directed by Lars Kraume and its story revolves around an incident when terrorists hijack a plane that is aimed at a football arena. In the plane are 164 passengers, and a military officer is put in a dilemma as to whether to shoot the plane down or not. According to Burkhard Hirsch : Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the film zeroes in on “a process of dealing with human dignity and preserving fundamental rights,” which is the substance of the Federal Republic.