Festival to showcase 94 films from 25 countries 13-15 March PARIS,FRANCE (18 February, 2009) – The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU), Europe’s premiere event for independent filmmakersand their audiences, announces its Official Selection for the fourth edition ofthe festival. ÉCU will showcase 94 films from 25 countries ranging in genrefrom feature films, short films,documentaries, animation and experimental films and for the first time a category for filmsdealing with environmental issues.    Competing at ÉCU 2009 will be ‘Voyage d’Affaires’ starring Guillaume Canet, ‘The Chef’s Letter’with Ray Fearon and “My Horizon”with Nick Nolte and Sean Brosnan. Inaddition, this year’s festival will launch the new ‘Perfect Pitch’ programme,The European Independent Film Channel and will include workshops and ‘Meet theDirectors’ sessions. “Iknow how hard it is for independent filmmakers to get the recognition theydeserve,”says Scott Hillier, ÉCU 2009’s President and Academy Award honoured independentfilmmaker. “Our mission is to discoverand showcase the most exciting young talent in the film industry today.”  
The jury will judge films from 11 competitive categories and award ‘Europe’s Best IndependentFilm’ at the ÉCU 2009 Awards Ceremony on Sunday 15th March 2009. Personalitiesfrom cinema, television and the arts as well as filmmakers and film industryprofessionals will mix with a cinema-lovingpublic craving the energy, free-spiritedness and innovation that embodiesindependent film. Hillier adds, “ÉCU brings the fresh, distinctive visionof these hugely talented new filmmakers to audiences craving innovation andreal creative flair. The platform we provide can be an essential link between adirector and a distribution deal.” The film festival takesplace on the 13th, 14th and 15th March 2009 atthe Bibliothèque Nationale de France,site François-Mitterrand in Paris,France.  Admission is free. The European Independent Film Channel The European IndependentFilm Channel will be launched at ÉCU 2009. Its mantra is to give filmmakersmaximum year-round exposure and to provide the public with the very bestindependent films from around the World.New Programme to Launch at ÉCU 2009The PerfectPitch is a series of workshops aimed at independent filmmakers looking tofine-tune their pitch presentations to producers, distributors and financiers. Atthe end of the workshops, twenty programme participants will be invited topitch their projects to a panel of industry professionals, including StephaneParthenay of Pyramide International, Alexis Hofmann of BAC Films and HengamehPanahi of Celluloid Dreams. Workshopsand ‘Meet The Directors’ SessionsThere will be a series ofworkshops presented by industry experts on scriptwriting, editing, acting anddistribution. ‘Meet the Directors’ sessions will be held throughout theweekend. Sinceits inception four years ago the festival has proved to be a discovery point for many ofEurope’s talented filmmakers, who are driven by the passion to make greatcinema, but don’t benefit from huge production budgets.  For more information and afull list of the 2009 Official Selection, go to www.ecufilmfestival.com