Tunis — From December 1 to 18, Tunisia will host the 16th European Film Days (JCE 2009). In addition to the capital , six other cities, Jendouba, Kairouan, Sfax, Mahdia, Gabes and Sousse, will also host the event.

25 short and long feature films from 15 European countries (Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Bulgaria, Poland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Malta and Finland) and three Maghrebi movies, from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, will be screened.

Professionals, specialists, film critics and cinema lovers will discuss several subjects related particularly to the position of Arab cinema in Europe along with "new exigencies of script writing".

The opening will take place with the Spanish film "Secrets of the Heart" and the closing ceremony will feature the Tunisian feature film "The other half of the sky" by the Tunisian film director Kalthoum Bornaz.

Raja Ammari "Dawaha" (buried secrets) and Ridha Behi "the magic box" will also be screened during the festival.

A session of children's movies is also scheduled in 7 Tunisian cities. They are: Storm Bound (Netherlands), "Said's Trip" (Spain) "La Reine Soleil" (France), "Pom, le poulain" (Belgium) and "Adventures of Pinocchio" (Italy).

The JCE 2009 will also hold a round table on "Which Prospects for Script writing?" The event will be organized by the European Commission in Tunisia, in association with the embassies of EU member states and the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and Heritage Preservation.