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ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival is dedicated to the discovery and advancement of the very best independent films from around the world. We are a festival who believes in our independent filmmakers and their artistic talents. ÉCU proudly provides a unique platform that brings together diverse audiences who are hungry for something other than major studio productions and original and innovative filmmakers.
The 16th edition of ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival will take place on 9th-11th April 2021. Now open for submissions!
Submissions for the 16th edition of ÉCU- The European Independent Film Festival, are now open! The festival will take place on the 9th, 10th, and 11th April 2021. Every year we screen thought-provoking, unique, and exciting independent films, and your film could be part of our 2021 programme.
ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival is dedicated to the discovery and advancement of the very best independent filmmakers from around the world. The festival pro...
The 15th edition of ÉCU has arrived! We are proud to introduce you to 81 amazing films from 28 countries, that will be screened online on April 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th, 2020.
We had the honour of announcing the Official Selection with many thought-provoking and brave films, to be screened at ÉCU 2020. Time has flown since then and we are excited to share these films with you! Click here to have a look at our 4 day programme and check out some trailers too, to get the tast...
“Acting is not stupid, but it’s a very strange profession, honestly,” confessed Elisabeth Moss more than three years ago, when the last season of Mad Men was about to air. “My job is to get up, and get dressed in someone else’s clothes, and go and pretend that I’m someone else. Who does that?” It’s a funny observation, but if anything is certain, it’s that Moss is better at it than almost anyone. She’s a master of “pre...
Since Nightcrawler, no film has better distilled American malaise better than the Safdie brothers’ ironically-named Good Time (2017). The film stars Robert Pattinson in a breakout role as Connie Nikas, an on-the-lam criminal in New York City trying to bail his mentally disabled brother Nick out of jail following a failed bank heist. As he hustles to come up with the $10,000, his night snowballs into a frenzied crime spree that feels utterly surreal as it plunges him into the...
October means that autumn is officially here, but it’s not time to snuggle with hot cup of tea just yet, because there is so much to do and to see in Paris this month, that you can’t stay at home!
A day without cars in Paris – 1st Octobre
On the first of October from 11:00 – 18:00 All the streets of Paris will be free of cars! Enjoy this beautiful day by walking or biking everywhere! Why you might ask? The day is organized to decrease the air and noise pollu...
ÉCU-ON-THE-ROAD IS HEADING TO ÅRHUS – THE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2017
ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival will be screening a selection of the World’s best independent short films at Super8000 Film Festival on the 27th October 2017 in Århus, Denmark. The Super8000 festival and The European Independent Film Festival’s – Special Selection screening will take place and in the warm and welcoming...
ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival is heading to Prague to share some of the World’s best independent films from upcoming talents with our Czech friends. ÉCU On-The-Road’s debut in Prague will take place on the 12th of October 2017 and is hosted by the prestigious Prague Film School, which is one of the leading film schools in Europe. The screening starts at 19:30 and is free of charge for everyone.
We will be sh...
The European Independent Film Festival, one the World's most distinctive independent film festivals, encouraging innovation and creativity and showcasing great films to audiences who appreciate and love independent cinema, invites you to submit to ÉCU 2018.
ÉCU's mantra is to Discover, Project and Promote the World's Best Independent Films and we are actively seeking innovative, absorbing and original independent films across our fourteen cat...
American heavyweight filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s surrealist, provocative and disquieting cinematic style has garnered him a highly subversive status throughout the length of his career for the agonizingly violent, austerely sombre and penetratingly frank portrayals of his subject matter imbued at the core of human life. A deep entanglement of lost happiness, distant love, tortured pain and a yearning for fame permeates Aronofsky’s second directorial fea...
Guillaume Canet’s sensational, highly diverse acting career has garnered him a reputation rendering him a household name in his native France, as well earning him significant recognition internationally. The celebrated film figure has also thrived in forging the notoriously tricky transition from acting to directing, a delicate evolution that takes as much brazen pluck as it does sensitive astuteness. Indeed, Canet’s gradual shift into directorial wor...
ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival has been dedicated to the discovery and advancement of the very best independent filmmakers from around the world for twelve years now. Often described as Europe’s answer to Sundance, our annual festival showcases films that demonstrate quality, innovation, and creativity in both form and content. These qualities are judged in 14 categories, and compete for 25 awards. Jury members come from around the globe, have a variety of backgr...
SUBMISSIONS FOR ÉCU 2014 ARE NOW OPEN!
**2014 Festival Dates – 4th, 5th, 6th April**
Stories are created every day, imagined or real, and the world is in need of a good story. Character-driven, plot-driven, or just plain driven, ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival continually searches for the most talented storytellers and cinematic visionaries that make their stories a reality.
Through this dedicated quest and passion for independ...
Greta Gerwig, with full name Greta Celeste Gerwig, is a fascinating actress for ÉCU, because she is known as one of the main participants in the so called Mumblecore mouvement, which is characterized as a sub genre of the American independent film. This genre is mainly focusing on low budget production values and amateur actors who engage in a very naturalistic dialogue.
Greta Gerwig was on the 4th of August 1983 in the U.S., more specifically in Sacramento, California. As on...
Can you imagine making a movie in a country that has no movie theaters and in which the film industry is totally inexistent? Haifaa Al Mansour didn’t just imagine it but she actually did it. This week’s spotlight is presenting you Saudi Arabia’s first female director that realized the first full-length feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia.
Being a woman in Saudi means facing an “opaque” universe daily. Starting with the black colours of the cloth...
For all the independent filmmakers out there; Early bird deadline for submitting your films to ÉCU is set on November 18, 2012! AsBenjamin Franklin once said; 'You may delay, but time will not!'
Submit your film now on http://www.ecufilmf
estival.com/?page_id=13048&lang=en
À tous les cinéastes indépendants; la deadline Early Bird pour envoyer vos films à ÉCU c'est le 18 Novembre 2012! Comme l'a dit un jour Benjamin Frankl...
Big thank you to our partners Naperville Independent Film Festival for screening ALL 23 winners from ÉCU 2012 - what a great honor to our filmmakers! /// Un grand Merci à notre partenaire Naperville Independent Film Festival pour avoir projeté les 23 films gagnants d'ÉCU 2012 - quel honneur pour nos réalisateurs!
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Gracie Otto, an ÉCU Alumni from the 2006 festival is working on her new feature documentary Chalky on legendary British producer Michael White, possibly the best known and most loved man in the world of theatre, film and celebrity. Want to
support this project? Then click on the link above. // Gracie Otto, un cinéaste du Festival ÉCU 2006 travaille sur son nouveau documentaire "Chalky" sur le célèbre producteur anglais Michael W...
ÉCU SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE KAUFMAN AND “CROWDFUNDING”
ÉCU is a strong supporter of the unbridled creativity which is afforded to indie filmmakers, but acknowledges the difficulties in financing costs. This week the spotlight is on the acclaimed American screenwriter, director and producer Charlie Kaufman, who defies conventions and creates inspiringly innovative work. In September he raised twice the $200,000 budget required to produce his upcoming animat...
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is North America’s most favoured 11 days for independent film. For 36 years, TIFF has provided an audience driven environment where independent filmmakers can premiere their work, and Canadian film has the opportunity to be presented on an international level.
Film festivals and Canada were on my mind as I waited to have an interview with Manon Briand, a Quebecois director whose new feature film “Liverpool” was showing in TI...
This Romanian Festival, founded in 2005 by the “Artis Foundation” film production, it is the only international film festival that, from the very beginning, looked towards the Black Sea region’s film industry, doing something different. The festival has grown every year and became noticed abroad due to the quality of the submitted movies as well as the events included in the official program.
Since 2007 each edition is held under the High Patronage of the Romanian President. Ro-IFF i...
Here at ÉCU we wish to celebrate the most adroit talents in indie cinema today and seek out the finest actors who display passion, intensity and ingenuity in their work. This week’s spotlight is on Dublin born actor Emmett Scanlan who starred as Charlie Barnum in the dark Irish film Charlie Casanova (2010), a part which won him Best Actor at the ÉCU 2011 awards. Scanlan was carefully chosen for this award out of the all the actors who featured in the 77 films from 26 different countrie...
Founded by Saint Petersburg Filmmaker’s Union festival, The Open St. Petersburg Student Film Festival “Beginning” is held annually with the assistance of the Committee of Culture of Saint Petersburg Government.
The Film Festival “Beginning” represents a very important opportunity for independent and new cinema in Saint Petersburg. Every year the city at the Neva River welcomes young filmmakers, documentarians, directors, script writers, sound producers and all representatives i...
Founded by Saint Petersburg Filmmaker’s Union festival, The Open St. Petersburg Student Film Festival “Beginning” is held annually with the assistance of the Committee of Culture of Saint Petersburg Government.
The Film Festival “Beginning” represents a very important opportunity for independent and new cinema in Saint Petersburg. Every year the city at the Neva River welcomes young filmmakers, documentarians, directors, script writers, sound producers and all representatives...
ÉCU SPOTLIGHT: CATHERINE DENEUVE – THE QUEEN OF FRENCH CINEMA
Catherine Deneuve: The queen of French cinema that winks at the Independent cinema
by Alessia Massa
If you have a love for film, you must have a certain appreciation for French cinema. From the Lumière brothers to today, the French cinema has contributed many masterpieces that have helped to write cinematography history. Independent cinema is able to strike the heart’s chords; it can make you smile, touch you,...
Budding young filmmaker? Creative writer? Marketing genius? Social Media Pro? Here is a great opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience in the fantastic world of cinema while working with a cool international team in the heart of Paris. ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival, one of Europe’s leading festivals for Indie filmmakers, needs YOU to ensure the success of the festival’s 8th edition.
We are looking for open-minded, hard-working, autonomous and really fun people...
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About ÉCU-The European Independent Film Festival
 Hillier Scott
(ECU)
Scott Hillier, Founder and President of ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival
Scott Hillier is a director, cinematographer, and screenwriter, based in Paris, France. In the last 20 years, Hillier has gained international recognition from his strong and incredible cinematography, editing, writing, producing and directing portfolio in both the television and film industries.
Scott began his career in the television industry in Australia. In 1988, he moved to London getting a job with the BBC who then set him to Baghdad. This opportunity led him to 10 years of traveling around world for the BBC, mainly in war zones like Somalia, Bosnia, Tchetcheynia, Kashmir, and Lebanon. After a near fatal encounter with a Russian bomber in Tchechnyia, Hillier gave up his war coverage and began in a new direction.
He moved to New York City in 1998. He directed and photographed eight one-hour documentaries for National Geographic and The Discovery Channel. Based on his war knowledge and experience, Hillier wrote and directed a short film titled, “Behind the Eyes of War!" The film was awarded “Best Short Dramatic Film” at the New York Independent Film and TV Festival in 1999. From that he served as Supervising Producer and Director for the critically acclaimed CBS 42 part reality series, "The Bravest” in 2002 and wrote and directed a stage play called, "Deadman’s Mai l," which ran at Le Théâtre du Moulin de la Galette in Paris during the summer of 2004. He then became the Director of Photography on a documentary titled, “Twin Towers." This was yet another life changing experience for Hillier. The riveting documentary won an Academy Award for "Best Documentary Short Subject" in 2003. In 2004, Hillier changed continents again, spending three months in Ethiopia. He produced “Worlds Apart,” a pilot for ABC America / True Entertainment / Endemol. As you can see, Hillier was and is always in constant movement and enjoys working in a number of diverse creative areas including documentaries, music videos, commercials, feature and short films.
Scott studied film at New York University and The London Film and Television School. He also studied literary non-fiction writing at Columbia University. Hillier's regular clients include the BBC, Microsoft, ABC, PBS and National Geographic. Between filming assignments, he used to teach film, a Masters Degree course in Screenwriting at the Eicar International Film School in Paris, France and journalism at the Formation des Journalistes Français in Paris, France.
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