Traces the history of the European continent from Greek and Roman antiquity to the present of the 1950s. It shows a visual kaleidoscope of human achievements, ideas and inventions. However, the intention of the film is not to show a precise synthesis of European history, but to explain that the great advances are the result of cooperation between the European countries, while the conflicts are the consequences of destructive disagreements. According to the narrator, Europe will become a peaceful continent when Europeans manage to overcome their disagreements in the interest of humanity and transform their national sentiments into a sense of belonging to the European community.
The film won the Venice Festival Prize for the Best European Documentary in 1956.

Genre
Documentary

Credits
Production Country: France
Film Production Company: Occident Production
Commissioning Institution: Council of Europe
Director: Philippe Brunet
Producer: Philippe Brunet
Script: Unknown
Cinematography: Arthur Raimondo
Film Editing: Jacques Mavel / Georges Deguy
Music: Marcel Delannoy / Jacques Chailley
Commentary: Paul-Henri Spaak (French version)
Historical Adviser: Paul M.G. Levy

Technical Information
Original Film Format: Unknown
Duration: 66 / 62 minutes
Colour: Black & White

Council of Europe, European History

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English, French, German

Video

Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) / Bundesfilmarchiv, Berlin

The film was digitised from the copy located at the Centre national de Cinematographie (CNC), Paris. Digital reproduction of the film is available online at: Institut national de l’Audiovisuel (INA), Paris (2019)

Bruch, Anne: «Just think of the possibilities of dissemination». The Film Festival Policy of the European Institutions in the 1950s and 1960s, in : Andreas Kötzing & Caroline Moine (ed.) : Cultural Transfer and Political Conflicts. Film Festivals in the Cold War, Göttingen : V&R unipress 2017, pp. 79-90.