Pedro Almodôvar, Penélope Cruz, António Banderas, Mónica Bellucci, Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Deneuve, David Lynch and Francis Ford Coppola are just a few of the European and Hollywood film stars who will be present at the first Estoril European Film Festival. Casino Estoril will be the stage for this magnificent event, from November 8 to 17, revealing the very best of international filmmaking, directed by the Portuguese producer Paulo Branco.

In the festival’s official competition, 12 to 14 feature length films from 2006 and 2007 (not yet premiered on the world circuit) compete for the best feature length award, second best award and special jury prize, presided by the Spanish painter Miguel Barceló, to be awarded to an actor or director. In addition to the competition section, the festival will pay tribute to the North American film director David Lynch, for his contribution to the film industry, illustrated with a ret­rospective of his work. Another of the festival’s great highlight includes a journey into the past featuring the work of the Spanish film director Pedro Almodôvar. The best films from the from the Berlin, Cannes, Venice, S.Sebastian and Roma film festivals will also be on show. In addition, the European Film Festival will feature photography and painting exhibits as well as mime and dance shows. Finally street theatre with legendary personalities from the world of cinema will provide entertainment around Estoril.