European Film Festival 2025 in Costa Rica
This year, the European Film Festival will return to Costa Rica for its 24th edition, featuring dozens of films of different styles and genres from across the continent. The European Union and its member countries, in partnership with Cine Magaly, are organizing the event, which has already become a tradition.
The festival will take place from August 14 to 29, 2025, and will feature films from Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovakia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Luxembourg. As special guests, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have joined the lineup, despite not being part of the European Union. All productions will be presented in their original language with Spanish subtitles.
Spain, host country
This year, Spain will host the opening ceremony. The festival will open with the comedy Volveréis, directed by Jonás Trueba and winner of an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
On top of that, the event will include the Euro Cine Lab 2025, a space that promotes documentary and short film production in Central America. As part of this, there will be two screenings to show short films made in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, with support from the European Union.
A diverse lineup of countries and genres is promised, with premieres and award-winning productions to be presented over two weeks. The opening event on Thursday, August 14, will include Volveréis and En los márgenes, both from Spain.
Over the following days, audiences will be able to enjoy films such as the German Este niño necesita aire fresco (This Child Needs Fresh Air), the Italian drama Un mundo aparte (A World Apart), the British production Drácula: una historia de amor (Dracula: A Love Story), and the French-Luxembourg film Nina y el secreto del erizo (Nina and the Secret of the Hedgehog). Also, the festival will have special days for different countries, like Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the UK, where they’ll show iconic films from each country’s cinema.
The lineup also includes notable titles such as Rosalie (France), Piargy (Slovakia), The Roses (United Kingdom), and Dreams (Norway), as well as Central American productions from Euro Cine Lab, which will have a special place in the program.
Euro Cine Lab 2025
The Deputy Ambassador of the European Union in Costa Rica, Galina Karamalakova, said that the festival represents one of the greatest opportunities to celebrate cultural diversity and European film talent, as well as to promote artistic exchange and dialogue between countries. She also highlighted that this year will feature the screening of short films from Euro Cine Lab, a European project that sought to promote Central American film production by inviting film lovers to put their skills into practice through the creation and production of a short film.
Tickets will be available both at the Cine Magaly box office and online at www.cinemagaly.com, at a cost of ¢3,300 for the general public and ¢2,800 for seniors and students with valid ID.
Sensorial Sunsets
