THE AWARDS

REMEMBER TO BLINK (Per arti, Lithuania, 2022, directed by Austėja Urbaitė, produced by Živile Gallego) won the Golden Lily, endowed with prize money in the amount of 10,000 euros, at the 23rd edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden. In this psychological drama, Jacqueline and Leon, a French couple, are faced with challenges after the adoption of a pair of siblings from Lithuania. When they hire a Lithuanian college student to help the kids acclimate to their new surroundings, the domestic atmosphere becomes increasingly tense. The members of the international jury, led by Rada Šešić, explained their selection thusly in a statement: "This film re-examines adoption and motherhood through complex power dynamics between two women and ideas of East and West, reminding us that the colonial practices we have inherited often resurface to affect contemporary life."

The award ceremony at Caligari FilmBühne formed the grand finale for an emotional and eventful festival week at goEast. After seven days full of cinematic art, virtual reality, workshops, numerous discussions, lectures, film talks and exhibitions, featuring screenings of 110 films and with more than 350 guests from the international film industry present in Wiesbaden, the winning films of the Competition, the East-West Talent Lab and the Work-in-Progress Competition were honoured and presented with prizes valued at a total of 27,500 euros.

Director Titas Laucius won the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director (endowed with 7,500 euros) for his film PARADE (Lithuania, 2022), a black comedy revolving around a brass band and a run of bad luck in the life of its director. The jury praised the film thusly: "A remarkably confident debut, with an acute sense of the humour to be found in failed relationships, and the institutional rules that bind people together, and a phenomenal lead female performance by Rasa Samuolyte."

WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY (Ukraine, France, Poland, 2023) by director Alisa Kovalenko was honoured with the CEEOL Award for Best Documentary Film (4,000 euros), presented for the second time by the Central and Eastern European Online Library. The coming-of-age-in-war documentary follows a group of adolescents growing up in Donbass who dream of travelling to the Himalayas. The jury observed: "Bringing to the screen the vivid dreams and ambitions of small-town teenagers caught in a brutal environment of dashed hopes and trapped lives, this cinéma vérité documentary shows a remarkable ability to engage with, understand, and bring close to us their stories and aspirations."

A Special Mention went to THIS IS WHAT I REMEMBER (Kirgizstan, Japan, The Netherlands, France, 2022) by Aktan Arym Kubat. This portrait of a society that centres on a guest worker suffering from memory loss is set in a post-Soviet reality. In the words of the jury: "A seemingly silent yet visually powerful film that roars from within, touching on the power of love in the divine sense to revive waning social values, traditional roots, with a keen sense of the engulfing environmental crisis and beautiful lead performances by both the director and his son."

The FIPRESCI International Critic's Award in the fiction feature category went to REMEMBER TO BLINK (Lithuania, 2022) by director Austėja Urbaitė. The jury explained their selection was "(f)or the careful and intense way of describing a delicate subject as the fulfilment of female desire for motherhood and family. The film dramatically deals with the confrontation between cultures and the problems of international child adoptions."

In the documentary film category, the FIPRESCI jury, consisting of Davide Magnisi, Živa Emeršič and Tina Waldeck, chose to honour MOTHERLAND (Mutterland, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, 2022) from the directorial duo of Alexander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka. The film was notable, in the jury's own words, "(f)or the brave revealing of the violence and corruption in the Belarusian Army through the story of mothers trying to bring the culprits to justice. Regardless of the failure of their attempts, the film brings a strong message of the power of humanity and resistance."

A Special Mention in the RheinMain Short Film Award section, supported by Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain went to ARALKUM (Uzbekistan, 2022) by Daniel Asadi Faezi and Mila Zhluktenko. The jury explained their selection with the following statement: "A poetic journey into the land of dried-up life which reminds us of the horrific consequences of human greed. With powerful, aesthetic images, the filmmakers have succeeded in creating a moving warning about the irreversible destruction of nature."

The main RheinMain Short Film Award went to NO NATION WITHOUT CULTURE (KEINE NATION OHNE KULTUR, Chechnya, 2022) by Vladlena Sandu. According to the jury: “With clear and precise images, the director brings impressive observations from a nearly forgotten city out into the world – rendering the destruction of a culture's soul visible. A timely scream from a society that has been silenced."

In the East-West Talent Lab, made possible with the generous support of Renovabis and the Goethe Institute, the Project Market Pitch took place in front of a three-member jury. "We love the energy of your project and are happy to announce that: The Pitch-the-Doc Award goes to ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO SIDE CHICKS (Kazakhstan) by Intizor Otaniyozaova", the jury shared, adding: "Empowered by Beyonce the director goes on a quest to trace the mosaic of her ancestry and to reclaim herself and her voice. She takes us on the road from the Eastern border of Kazakhstan to the Western border of Uzbekistan and through her eyes we will experience the complexity of the region. The discoveries on her journey will impact her own growth."

THE SIGH OF MEMORY (Kirghizstan) by Gulzat Egemberdieva received the Renovabis Research Grant for Projects with a Human Rights Focus (3,500 euros). According to the jury: "With the Renovabis Research Grant – and 3,500 euros – we would like to support a filmmaker still at the very beginning of her latest film.  We look much forward to Gulzat Egemberdieva tracing the story of the opium trade in Central Asia from the early Soviet times until today.  Gulzat grew up in a region where opium farming had a big impact for decades that was hardly addressed. Told with a unique perspective and with exceptional access, The Sigh of Memory turns to the past to understand how this problem still reverberates in the present."

Every year since the very first edition of the festival, goEast media partner 3sat has awarded one film from the programme with a television broadcast package. In 2023, this honour goes to an entry in the Competition: the Latvian fiction feature JANUARY (Janvāris, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 2022), with the words: "The strength of Viesturs Kairišs' film lies in its understated intricacy. It unfolds from a young man's unsure search for his purpose in his relationships and his artistic ambitions into a powerful, expressive description of the Latvian struggle for independence in 1991. The instances where private behaviour (between opportunism and protest), moral integrity and political action intersect are made visible, as well as their contradictions, subtly illuminating the present moment to a degree, in the tradition of Krzysztof Kieślowski, though without providing easy answers. From a formal point of view, the film plays adeptly with various analogue image formats and archival material, while impressively recalling the significance of Latvian filmmakers like Juris Podnieks and Andris Slapinš and their part as artists in the struggle for independence and democracy." The film is slated to celebrate its television premiere on 3sat on the occasion of the 2024 edition of goEast.

The 23rd edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film took place in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 26 April to 2 May. In addition to a multifaceted Competition section and intensive encounters in the cinema, this year's festival highlights included guest appearances by internationally celebrated filmmakers such as Radu Jud, and the Portrait of Jasmila Žbanić, with the director in attendance. The Symposium, which took place under the title "Decolonizing the (Post)- Soviet Screen", was met with a very high degree of enthusiastic participation by guests from Germany and abroad. With Cinema Archipelago, a supporting programme extending beyond the traditional cinema experience, the festival explored new medial territory for the second time, with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, enabling, among other things, a successful exhibition under the title ILLUSTRATORS_NATIVE and panel discussions treating indigenous activism in the former Soviet republics.

Here is a full overview of all of this year's award winners:

1. Golden Lily for Best Film

REMEMBER TO BLINK (PER ARTI, Lithuania, 2022, directed by Austėja Urbaitė, produced by Živile Gallego)

2. Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director

PARADE (PARADAS, Lithuania, 2022, directed by Titus Lucius)

3.CEEOL Award for Best Documentary Film

WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY (MY NE ZGASNIEMO, Ukraine, France, Poland, 2023, directed by Alisa Kovalenko)

4. Special Mention of the International Jury

THIS IS WHAT I REMEMBER (ESIMDE, Kirgizstan, Japan, The Netherlands, France, 2022, directed by Aktan Arym Kubat)

5. FIPRESCI International Film Critic's Award (fiction feature) 

REMEMBER TO BLINK (PER ARTI, Lithuania, 2022, directed by Austėja Urbaitė)

6. FIPRESCI International Film Critic's Award (documentary film) 

MOTHERLAND (MUTTERLAND, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, 2022, directed by Aleksander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka)

7. Special Mention RheinMain Short Film Award

ARALKUM (Uzbekistan, 2022, directed by Daniel Asadi Faezi and Mila Zhluktenko)

8. RheinMain Short Film Award 

NO NATION WITHOUT CULTURE (Chechnya,2022, directed by Vladlena Sandu)

9. Pitch-the-Doc Award

ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO SIDE CHICKS (Kazakhstan, directed by Intizor Otaniyozaova)

10. Renovabis Research Grant

THE SIGH OF MEMORY (Kirgizstan, directed by Gulzat Egemberdieva)

11. 3sat Broadcast Selection

JANUARY (Janvāris, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 2022, directed by Viesturs Kairišs)

Every year since 2001, goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, hosted by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, transforms the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden into one of the most internationally significant platforms for cinema from Central and Eastern Europe. With its program consisting of film screenings and accompanying events, goEast's reach extends beyond regional audiences – to communities with histories of migration from Eastern Europe and industry guests from the international film sector alike. The film festival showcases current cinematic art from Central and Eastern Europe and provides a platform for discussing urgent social and political issues. In the scope of film-historical programs, goEast renders the cinema heritage of Central and Eastern Europe visible, often in collaboration with archives from Germany and abroad. These diverse series are carefully assembled by qualified guest curators and cinema professionals. In the scope of the goEast Symposium, film scholarship meets the film industry, while the Competition features screenings of contemporary cinema from Central and Eastern Europe, with the filmmakers in attendance. The sidebar program provides space for video art, digital audio-visual formats and VR, while the East-West Talent Lab offers active support for up-and-coming film professionals from Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover, goEast also functions as a place where film guests can expand their networks and enter into dialogue with one another, and as a platform for the discussion of current socio-political topics. 

Cost-Saving Measures

The start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine just under two years ago marked a historical turning point that has also resulted in financial consequences for goEast. In light of continually increasing costs and despite the unchanged, sustained level of support and funding from HessenFilm & Medien GmbH, the State Capital Wiesbaden and Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, goEast finds itself forced to curtail its programming radically in 2024. In addition, goEast must reduce the number of film guests invited to participate in the festival by nearly half.

In the words of Festival Director Heleen Gerritsen: "goEast's focus region remains enormously relevant. Instead of cutting staff or particularly cost-intensive historical programs such as the Symposium, we were left with no choice this year but to eliminate three central programming elements entirely – namely the traditional Homage section, the Bioscope program and our VR/XR program. Insider knowledge of Eastern Europe, highly specialised expertise and technical know-how are indispensable for goEast. In spite of all this, we hope the festival is received enthusiastically by our audience and that we may see extra ticket sales that make it clear that this festival, with its large range of programming, is both relevant and appreciated."

Naturally, in spite of the cuts, the goEast team, along with its guest curators, is highly motivated to assemble this year’s festival program. From 24 to 30 April 2024, goEast is delighted to welcome audiences both new and old to Wiesbaden to discover Central and Eastern European cinema through film screenings, film talks and encounters with filmmakers.

Symposium: "The Other Queers – Cinematic Images from the Periphery of Europe"

In the annual Symposium section, goEast has devoted itself since 2001 to exploring topics, regions and currents in Central and Eastern European cinema from film-historical, sociological and political perspectives. As part of the Cinema Archipelago series, the program in 2024 is made possible again with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain. 

In 2023, under the title "Decolonizing the (Post-)Soviet Screen" the Symposium set a new record for attendance. More than 3,000 industry guests and experts from Germany and abroad turned out for the events and film screenings. For 2024, co-curators Jasmina Šepetavc (University of Ljubljana, LGBT Film Festival Ljubljana, Slovenia) and Yulia Serdyukova (Filma - Feminist Film Festival Kyiv / Yutopia Films, Ukraine) are gathering film scholars, activists, filmmakers, student groups and colleagues from other festivals with a focus on queer cinema at Museum Wiesbaden under the programmatic title "The Other Queers". Discussion panels and lectures by renowned scolars like Nebojša Jovanović, Katja Čičigoj and others provide the theoretical framework of the event.

From a global perspective, the discussion about queer film history is still disproportionately focussed on Western film images. The typical discourse about queerness implies a rather receptive West and a homophobic Eastern Europe and reinforces the notion that the West has undergone a linear development towards more tolerance, acceptance and public visibility for LGBTQ+ individuals and issues, while the East "lags behind" due to its past. This conception of a homophobic past followed by a liberal attitude towards queerness after the events of 1989/90 is often inaccurate. Among other things, the films of the Symposium present Eastern European images of LGBTQ+ existence (in particular that of gay men and lesbians) that often stood in an ambivalent relation to public attitudes regarding homosexuality.

Since its inception, goEast Film Festival's central missions have included the platforming and amplification of marginalised cinematic languages and voices from Central and Eastern Europe beyond dominant mainstream narratives. This also comes to bear in the 2024 Symposium. The film program consists of historical and contemporary works, including the feature-length films FIVE MINUTES OF PARADISE (Yugoslavia, 1959) by Igor Pretnar, DUBRAVKA (Ukrainian SSR, 1967) by Radomir Vasilevsky, KILL ME GENTLY (Yugoslavia, 1979) by Boštjan Hladnik and A SEVERE YOUNG MAN (Soviet Union, 1935) by Abram Room. The program will be complemented by diverse short film programs: including Queers and Subversive Cinema from Ukraine, a program featuring short films from Central Asia and the Caucasus curated by the artists' collective krёlex zentre from Kazakhstan, Queer Feminist Porn Shorts and short films from former Yugoslavia.krёlex zentre will also open the overall program with a performance at Murnau-Filmtheater. In addition, the section includes a music video compilation featuring pioneering works from Eastern Europe's queer, alternative scene produced between 1985 and 1999, assembled by film researcher and music editor Natalie Gravenor.

Call for Submissions Still Open for East-West Talent Lab (Deadline: 27 February)

The East-West Talent Lab has firmly established itself within the international film industry. Former participants Aleksander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka from Belarus have even gone on to receive nominations for the European Film Award for their film MOTHERLAND. Three East-West Talent Lab-alumni have films in this year's Berlinale Forum program: producer Michael Kalb with SHAHID, producer Thomas Kaske with THE NIGHTS STILL SMELL OF GUNPOWDER and producer Ewelina Rosinska with WHAT DID YOU DREAM LAST NIGHT, PARAJANOV? In 2024, goEast is once again supporting emerging filmmakers and up-and-coming producers from Central and Eastern Europe, by connecting them with one another and with peers from Hessen and the rest of Germany.  The emphasis of this year's program, coordinated by Andrea Wink, once again lies on documentary formats. From now until 27 February 2024, filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe can submit their project ideas in development. Producers from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Germany without a current project can also apply to participate in the East-West Talent Lab. In 2024, the Lab will once again feature two awards: the Renovabis Research Grant, endowed with 3,500 euros, for a documentary film project treating human rights and/or minority rights, and the Pitch-the-Doc Award, featuring a training package for the support of project development, valued at 500 euros. Participants can look forward to a full five-day program consisting of a masterclass, workshops, the goEast Human Rights Sunday and opportunities to network with television editors and funding institutions, as well as diverse film screenings.

goEast Opening Film – CROSSING

The 24th edition of goEast will open with a screening of the Georgian-Turkish road movie CROSSING (SWE/DNK/FRA/TUR/GEO 2024), in the presence of director Levan Akin, whose previous film AND THEN WE DANCED delighted international audiences, including German cinemagoers. With his new film CROSSING, Akin transcends borders and brings human beings from very different backgrounds together. Retired Lia, from the Georgian port city of Batumi, sets off with adolescent Achi to look for Lia's missing niece Tekla. They are joined in their search by Evrim, a young female lawyer for trans rights in Istanbul, as a hidden web of solidarity and humanity reveals itself in the back courtyards and streets of the glistening Turkish city.

First Competition Films

Also hailing from Georgia is the allegorical religious satire CITIZEN SAINT/ MOKALAKE TSMINDANI (GEO/FRA/BGR, 2023), directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili, who will be vying for the Golden Lily in this year's Competition section. In the desolate mountain landscape of Georgia there stands a cross with a petrified miner, who is worshiped as a saint by individuals from far and wide. When the stony pitman is scheduled to undergo a little restoration at a local museum, he suddenly vanishes – in his place, a mute stranger appears, and soon proceeds to work miracles.  While the villagers initially react sympathetically to this saint incarnate, fear gradually gains the upper hand – what will happen if the holy man begins to speak and opts to divulge the intimate wishes and private prayers that have been entrusted to him? In brilliant black-and-white images composed by cameraman Krum Rodriguez, the film humorously examines the absurdity inherent in the cult-like veneration paid to saints.

This year's Competition also features the dark-humoured Serbian grotesque WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL / RADNIČKA KLASA IDE U PAKAO (SRB/GRC/BGR/MNE/HRV/ROU, 2023), directed by Mladen Đorđević. The working class strikes back quite literally here. After a 13-year absence and a stint in prison, Miya returns from Belgrade to his small Serbian hometown. There, he joins a group of former workers whose family members lost their lives in a factory fire five years previously. Led by fearless Ceca, the association demands justice and accountability from the corrupt mayor, the factory owner and the local organised crime boss, a trifecta that rules over life in the small town. To achieve their aims, the comrades resort to increasingly drastic tactics, and – inspired by Miya, who claims to be a medium – to satanic rituals and violence as well. Mladen Đorđević will be on hand in Wiesbaden to present his film.

More details regarding the Competition selection will be revealed in early April.

RheinMain Short Film Award – Decolonizing the Post-Soviet Screen

For the fifth year running, goEast is proud to present the RheinMain Short Film Award, endowed with 2,500 euros in prize money and made possible once again with the generous support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain. A three-member regional festival jury will select the winning film. Taking up the theme of the 2023 Symposium, the program, curated by Maxim Tuula, will focus once again on filmmakers from the post-Soviet space.

The drama THE LATE WIND (KAZ, 2023), directed by Shugyla Serzhan, deals with a young pregnant Kazakh woman whose partner disappears when the city is overrun by protests. AlisiTelengut's animation BAIGAL NUUR - LAKE BAIKAL (DEU/CDN, 2023), which tells of the formation and history of the eponymous body of water in Siberia, features the voice of a Buriatian woman speaking a language threatened with extinction. In the documentary CHORNOBYL 22 (UKR, 2023), Oleksiy Radynski mixes covert mobile phone recordings of the Russian conquest of the area around Chernobyl with statements from local residents and employees of the former power plant.

Karakalpakstan is a remote region in Uzbekistan which is striving for independence. Mirtemir lives in Nukus, the capital city. MIRTEMIR IS ALRIGHT, directed by goEast alumni Sasha Kulak and Mikhail Borodin, is a witty portrait of a teenager attempting to make the best of an impossible situation – all while still managing to be nice to his grandma. In QIRIM (CZE, 2023), director Kateryna Khramtsova takes a look at a non-binary person's participation in the activities of the Crimean Tatars and the Euromaidan protests – in the process proving that she is definitely not afraid to experiment. 

The filmmakers will be present in Wiesbaden. Following the festival, the short film program will tour the cinemas of the Rhine-Main region.

Co-operations with ZDF/ARTE: ArteKino Classics at the Sunday Matinee & New Voices from Central Asia

As an institution for film heritage and a member of the international archive association FIAF, the preservation, digitalisation and presentation of film heritage are at the centre of the activities of DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum – the institution behind goEast. In this connection, it makes perfect sense that the 2024 edition of the goEast Matinee is taking place in co-operation with ArteKino Classics. Under the label ArteKino Classics, ARTE is again presenting a selection of classic European films across the entire continent that are canonical for their countries of origin and represent milestones in the evolution of cinematic storytelling.

Zoltán Fábri's MERRY-GO-ROUND / KÖRHINTA, presented here in a newly restored version, is the special Matinee feature on Sunday, 28 April, starting at 11:00 am at Caligari FilmBühne. MERRY-GO-ROUND, one of the most famous films in Hungarian cinema history, celebrated its world premiere in Cannes in 1956, a decisive year in Hungary's past, just months before Soviet tanks rolled through the streets of Budapest. The unusual, unbound camerawork and the performance by the very young female lead Mari Törőcsik made this film, which has since become a classic, one of the most highly touted productions at the 9th Cannes International Film Festival. In the film, Mari Pataki, the daughter of an affluent farmer, falls in love with the young co-operative member Máté Biró. However, her father has other plans for her: following the principle "land marries land", he has chosen the owner of a large farm to be his future son-in-law. At a village festival, the young lovers delight in the intoxicating charms of the eponymous swing carousel – alas for Mari there is still no way out of marrying the rich farmer. At the wedding, Máté causes a scandal when he dances a seemingly endless czardas with the bride. In the end, both love and the Stalinist ideals of the era manage to win out.

The film will be presented by Hungarian-German actress Dorka Gryllus, with an introduction from Györgi Raduly, director of the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive. Following the screening, there will be a reception in the Caligari FilmBühne foyer. 

This year also features a co-operation with the ZDF/ARTE's "Kurzschluss" short film program. In Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Uzbekistan, the film industry reinvents itself time and again. Beyond the realm of the great Soviet studios like Kazakhfilm and the well-worn scenic tropes of mountain and steppe landscapes, new film schools are opening their doors, and artists are organising and connecting in collectives. goEast is showing a small but exquisite program of fiction and documentary films from this vibrant region. A portion of the films will be broadcast in 2025 in the scope of the ZDF/ARTE "Kurzschluss" series, and the program will also be screened in June 2024 at Kurzfilmfestival Hamburg.

Rhine, Wine & Rhymez: Riverboat Outing Featuring Eastern European Poetry

Somewhat outside the realm of cinema and competition fever, a riverboat outing on the Rhine featuring poets and thinkers, under the slogan "Rhine, Wine & Rhymez", is set to offer some welcome variety for the second time, as a pleasant contrast to the film program. Actresses Ilinca Manolache (Romania), Dorka Gryllus (Hungary/Germany) and Mateja Meded (former Yugoslavia/Germany) along with filmmakers  Mladen Đorđević (Serbia) and Aizhan Kassymbek (Kazakhstan) will be reading in their native languages and talking about all things cinema with Wiesbaden-based author Alexander Pfeiffer. The recited poems will be translated live into English.

goEast organised a similar boat outing for the festival audience during the previous year's festival edition. Following the readings, there will be ample opportunity to relax with a glass of wine and enter into conversation with the filmmakers.

The boat casts off on Saturday, 27 April, at 2:30 pm, from the landing at Rheingaustraße 148, 65203 Wiesbaden-Biebrich.

Accreditation and goEast Press Conference

Members of the press can apply now here for accreditation for goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film. Accreditation grants admission to the film screenings in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt and Gießen. In addition, during the festival period accredited industry guests and members of the press receive access to an online media library featuring an extensive selection of festival programming.

goEast 2024: Awards

In just two weeks, it's that time again: on Wednesday, 24 April 2024, the 24th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film gets underway. Prizes with a total value of 21,500 euros are waiting to be matched with winning films. Particularly coveted here is the main prize in the Competition section, the "Golden Lily" for Best Film (endowed with 10,000 euros). In addition, the State Capital of Wiesbaden presents the Award for Best Director (endowed with 7,500 euros in prize money). Finally, the CEEOL Award for Best Documentary Film is endowed with 4,000 euros. A dedicated three-member jury representing FIPRESCI presents two International Film Critic's Awards. And the jury of the East-West Talent Lab also honours exceptional projects from Lab participants.

Dramas, Documentaries, Comedies, Satire and Portraits from the East and Middle of Europe – The Full Range of Diversity in the goEast Competition Section

The centrepiece of the festival is the Competition, which offers a broad audience from Wiesbaden and the surrounding area the opportunity to become closely acquainted with highlights of contemporary Central and Eastern European cinema. In 16 feature-length fiction and documentary films, the audience witnesses the great conflicts of our era, such as armed confrontations, oppression, corruption and anti-Semitism, though many of the films also revolve around efforts to break free from encrusted structures, both in the family and in society at large. The most brilliant productions of the past two years grace Wiesbaden's cinema screens for one full week, while film talks following the screenings give attendees the opportunity to ask their questions.

Following the festival opening, which features a screening (out of competition) of the Georgian co-production CROSSING, SMILING GEORGIA (GEO/DEU, 2023), directed by Georgian filmmaker Luka Beradze, serves as an absurd historical document, taking viewers back in time to 2012, when President Mikheil Saakashvili promised free dentures for the dentally challenged during an election campaign. The rural population took him at his word, crowding dental practices to have their rotten teeth pulled – only to see Saakashvili's party lose the election in the end.

Olga Chernykh's essay-like multi-generational portrait A PICTURE TO REMEMBER / FOTO NA PAMYAT (UKR/FRA/DEU, 2023) opened the 2023 edition of IDFA, one of the most important festivals for documentary film world-wide, and is now celebrating its German premiere at goEast, which Chernykh is scheduled to attend. The Donetsk native employs sound and visual recordings of Ukraine's disturbing present shaped by war, poetically juxtaposed with materials from three generations drawn from her own family archive.

Dmitrii Davydov's Sibirian drama PLAGUE / CHUMA (RU-SA, 2023) is celebrating its international premiere. Rough customs dominate the daily life of a village in the Siberian Republic of Sakha, where conflicts are typically resolved with violence. Ivan, a widower, can't seem to keep himself from getting pushed around by the other villagers, which gradually causes his son Taras to lose all respect for him.

Askhat Kuchinchirekov's coming-of-age drama BAURYNA SALU (KAZ, 2023) tells the moving story of Yersultan, who, in accordance with local tribal tradition, is given to his grandmother after birth so that she may raise him. His life takes a painful turn when she passes away: now Yersultan must return to a family for whom he has next to no feelings. The director, who incorporated and processed his own similar childhood experiences in the film, will be on hand in Wiesbaden.

In the intimate family documentary 1489 (ARM, 2023), directed by Shoghakat Vardanyan, towards the end of his military service the filmmaker's brother Soghomon vanishes while on a mission in Nagorno-Karabakh during the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Desperate for news, the family attempts to regain contact with him. In these moments of helplessness, Vardanyan takes out her camera and films her shared everyday life with her parents. Vardanyan, who won the main prize at IDFA in Amsterdam for her debut outing, will also be attending the festival.

In the pastoral social drama STEPNE (UKR/DEU/POL/SVK, 2023), directed by Maryna Vroda, protagonist Anatoliy returns to the village where he spent his childhood following years of absence, to care for his dying mother. Here in the snow-covered Ukrainian countryside live those individuals who have increasingly been forgotten by post-Soviet society: the old and poor. With its incorporation of performances by non-actors and fantastically composed images, the film is sure to charm festival viewers. Maryna Vroda will also be in Wiesbaden to present her film.

In the coming-of-age-themed long-term documentation KIX (HUN, 2023) from directorial duo Dávid Mikulán and Bálint Révész, who will also be on hand in Wiesbaden, filmmaker Mikulán sets out with skateboard and camera in hand to find subjects to film for his university project. A trail of chalk on the Budapest asphalt ultimately leads him to Sanyi Marku, a kid from a precarious social background who now becomes Mikulán's protagonist. The director films Sanyi's life over the next ten years, in episodic fashion, showing Budapest from an unusual perspective.

In the feminist drama MADINA (KAZ/PAK/IND, 2023) by Kazakh filmmaker Aizhana Kassymbek, Madina, a dancer, lives together on the Caspian Sea with her grandmother, her younger brother and her two-year-old daughter. She tries to earn enough to support the whole family by working as a dance instructor by day and a go-go dancer in a club by night. Burdened by her ex-husband's harassment and an oligarch's unwelcome advances, to top it off one day she discovers a family secret that changes everything. Aizhana Kassymbek is also scheduled to attend the festival in Wiesbaden.

Kumjana Novakova's SILENCE OF REASON / ŠUTNJA RAZUMA (MKD/BIH, 2023) also deals with female trauma. Their identities protected, multiple women from the town of Foča recount systematic rapes perpetrated against them by Serbian soldiers during the Bosnian War. Combined with archival images and footage of the crime sites, the accounts, presented primarily in text form with sparing use of distorted audio, form a cinematic collage that leaves the viewer speechless and appalled. The film will be screened in the presence of special film guests.

The observational documentary film FAIRY GARDEN (HUN/ROU/HRV, 2023), directed by Gergö Somogyvári, tells the tale of Fanni, who's recently been kicked out of the family home and now lives, together with 60-year-old unhoused Laci, inside a self-built hut erected in a forest clearing. The 19-year-old transwoman dreams of love, a feeling of closeness, acceptance, a better life and gender transition – not an easy matter, since it is officially not possible to have one's gender changed in Hungary, where homelessness is also criminalised. The director is scheduled to attend the festival in Wiesbaden.

Andrei Cohn, director of HOLY WEEK / SĂPTĂMÂNA MARE (ROU/FRA/CH/TUR, 2024), will also be making an appearance in Wiesbaden. His theatrical tragedy takes the audience back to 19th-century rural Romania, where Leiba runs an inn with his family. The surroundings are idyllic and business at the inn is bustling. Everything would be just fine if the Jewish innkeeper and his family didn't find themselves subjected to the massive anti-Semitism of the era. Though the villagers and travellers enjoy dining at Leiba's place, they make no effort to conceal their racist loathing.

Ivan Tymchenko's OXYGEN STATION / KYSNEVA STANTSIYA (UKR/SVK/CZE/SWE, 2023) is a magical-realist biopic. In the summer of 1980, Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leading human rights activist for the Crimean Tatars, is banished to the Siberian village of Zyryanka after concluding a 303-day hunger strike. His forced labour in the oxygen station is akin to the endless routine of legendary Sisyphus. The director will be in attendance.

Nicole Philmon, director of the documentary work 09.05.2022 (NLD/MNE, 2023), will also be in Wiesbaden for the festival. Her film takes a look at the festivities for 9 May, otherwise known as Victory Day, which Russia has celebrated annually since the end of the Second World War in 1945, with the ostensible intent of commemorating the suffering of the "Great Patriotic War". What did this national holiday actually look like in 2022, just months after Putin ordered a massive attack on neighbouring Ukraine? The film, produced by Sergei Loznitsa, is celebrating its world premiere in Wiesbaden. 

Full of biting satire and garish colours, the four episodes of Andrei Kashperski's PROCESSES (BLR/POL, 2023) relate recent Belarusian history, from the aftermath of the protests against Lukashenka in 2020 to the Ukraine War today. The director is also expected to attend the festival in Wiesbaden.

Juries

This year's chair of the international goEast Competition Jury is Nicoletta Romeo, from Italy. As artistic director of Trieste Film Festival, she is exceedingly knowledgeable when it comes to Eastern European cinema: her film festival is also focussed on films from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Nicoletta Romeo has worked as a producer, as head of programming for the Venice International Critics Week and as a program advisor for the Thessaloniki Film Festival and 4 Ecrans, Paris. She has been collaborating with Trieste Film Festival since 1996, and in 2016 took over as artistic director. She has curated several retrospectives dedicated to Greek, Romanian, Polish, Georgian and Yugoslav cinema.

Romeo is joined by actress Ilinca Manolache from Bucharest, who shined most recently in the lead role of Radu Jude's new film DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD. Manolache studied acting at the National University of Theatre and Film (Bucharest) and has been performing on renowned theatre stages since receiving her degree. In the realm of cinema, she has worked primarily with Radu Jude, with roles in I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY and BAD LUCK BANGING or LOONEY PORN (Golden Bear – Berlinale). 

This year's jury line-up continues with Czech film producer Jiří Konečný (1973), founder and owner of Endorfilm (Prague), which primarily produces films for the cinema. His films have been selected to appear at numerous international festivals, including Cannes, Venice and the Berlinale, and have received more than 100 awards. Nine of his films have been national candidates for an Oscar. Konečný graduated from the University of Economics in Prague and from FAMU. He is a member of the European Film Academy (EFA), the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) and the Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA), as well as a lecturer at FAMU in Prague. 

Director, curator, activist and performer Hamze Bytyçi, a native of Kosovo, is also joining this year's jury. He studied acting in Freiburg and founded the Berlin based Roma organisation RomaTrial e.V. in 2012 and the international festival for Romani cinema "AKE DIKHEA?" in 2017, where he has since served as artistic director. Bytyçi's most recent films include the short documentary film JOŽKA (2017) as well as a series of nine animated short films about survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide of the Sinti and Roma peoples (2019-2022), which are part of the monument for the murdered Sinti* and Roma* of Europe.

Born in Warsaw, jury member Maciek Hamela received a master's degree from Sorbonne University (Paris IV) in French literature. Hamela worked in renovations and as a tour guide, while studying film directing at École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation (EICAR). Since graduation, he has worked as a journalist, producer and filmmaker. He is a long-time BBC Channel collaborator, as well as the co-creator and producer of the documentary short film BLESS YOU, for which he received a Doc Alliance Award within the Cannes Docs program in 2021. He has produced other award-winning films, such as CONVICTIONS (2016). His most recent directorial outing is the documentary IN THE REARVIEW (2023), which will be screened at goEast in the scope of Human Rights Sunday. He is also a director and producer of various radio works, as well as of Plan B, a documentary podcast series.

The international film critics organisation FIPRESCI is also represented in Wiesbaden with its own three-member jury:

Prof. Dr. Bojidar Manov has accompanied goEast's evolution since the first festival edition in 2001. He was born in 1947 in Sofia, where he works as a film critic and journalist (for Trud News, Kultura monthly, Bulgarian National Radio, Bulgarian National Television and Kino magazine, among others). He has served as dean of the Cinema Faculty at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia and vice president of FIPRESCI. Prof. Manov is a member of the European Film Academy, the author of twelve books and the translator of six novels. In addition, he is an honorary citizen of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

Katrin Hillgruber works as a freelance journalist and film and literature critic for diverse newspapers, radio broadcasters and the online film magazine "artechock" in Munich. Since 2015, she has been active on a volunteer basis as a curator for the Munich-based film festival "Cinepol"/ "filmPOLSKA" and its successor, "Mittel Punkt Europa Filmfest" (www.mittelpunkteuropa.eu).

Catalin Olaru, a native of Romania, has worked as a film critic since 2009. He is the author of several essays and studies in the anthologies "Film Politics" and "Film Politics II", as well as the artistic director of Taifas, the Balkan Film and Culture Festival and the European Film Festival.

The East-West Talent Lab Jury also consists of three members:

Jessica Gorter is a Dutch documentary filmmaker. She studied directing and editing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. In her work, she often deals with the life and history of the former Soviet Union. After a few short films, Gorter made her breakthrough with 900 DAYS (2011), which treats the myth and reality of the siege of Leningrad. The film received praise internationally and was honoured with multiple awards. In 2014, Gorter received the prestigious Documentary Award from the Dutch “Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund” for her work. In her third feature-length film THE RED SOUL (2017), the director investigated why Stalin is still seen as a hero by so many Russians. Her latest documentary, THE DMITRIEV AFFAIR (2023), is a thematic continuation of all the films she has made in Russia since the 1990s, laying bare the consequences for individual lives of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The film will be celebrating its German premiere at goEast.

Dagmar Mielke has worked since 2004 as a commissioning editor for RBB/ARTE. Before that, she worked for several other editorial offices and as an author and director. Recent documentaries Mielke has commissioned include JUDGMENT IN HUNGARY (Eszter Hajdú), AQUARELA (Victor Kossakovsky), HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND (Marusya Syroechkovskaya) and BECOMING NAWALNY (Igor Sadreev / Aleksandr Urzhanov). Many of the films have won national and international awards, among them Oscar nominated RABBITS À LA BERLIN by Bartek Konopka and Piotr Rosolowski, the best Israeli documentary of 2015, Mor Loushy's CENSORED VOICES, and the German Film Award winner of 2019, GUNDERMAN, directed by Andreas Dresen.

Maciej Nowicki is chairman of the board of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, one of the largest human rights organisations in Central and Eastern Europe. A lawyer by training, Nowicki is an expert on human rights, the rule of law and documentary films, and has served as a jury member at several international film festivals. In 2001, he co-founded the international film festival "WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film" in Warsaw, which he directed until 2021. In addition, he conceived "FUTURE DOCS" – an international platform for creative encounters between human rights advocates and documentary filmmakers.

A Large Delegation from Kosovo and Albania 

In 2024, goEast is taking a look at Albanian-language works of film drawn from the archives of Kosovo and Albania that have helped to shape the region's cultural identity, with the participation of diverse special guests – filmmakers Antoneta Kastrati, Erblin Nushi, Gentian Koçi, Blerina Hankollari, Eneos Çarka, Norika Sefa and Besnik Sahatçu (grandfather of the Kosovar-British singer Rita Ora) are all scheduled to attend, alongside representatives from the Kosovo Cinematography Center and the Albanian National Center of Cinematography (ANCC). The program also includes a roundtable discussion on the subjects of potential co-operation opportunities and future perspectives for this inspiring region. The panel "Future Perspectives for Film Production and Film Heritage in Kosovo and Albania", with Blerta Zeqiri, director of Kosovo Cinematography Center, Ilir Gjocaj from Kosovo Film Archive, Albanian filmmaker Gentian Koçi and Arben Lami, interim director of Albanian National Center of Cinematography, moderated by Heleen Gerritsen, will be exploring specific questions reflected in the event's title.

Accreditation and goEast Press Conference

Members of the press can apply now here for accreditation for goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film. Accreditation grants admission to the film screenings in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt and Gießen. In addition, during the festival period accredited industry guests and members of the press receive access to an online media library featuring an extensive selection of festival programming.

The annual festival press conference will take place at Wiesbaden's Caligari FilmBühne on Wednesday, 17 April, beginning at 11:00 am. 

The full program for the 24th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film is revealed.

On Sunday, September 15, the 19th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival came to a close in the evening hours. Seven festival cinemas screened almost 100 feature-length and short films, often to fully sold-out theaters. The festival set new attendance records.

The international competition, titled Meeting Point Europe, showcases the best of European feature films from the past year. The winners are chosen by a jury of 15 film critics from the FIPRESCI federation.

Among the nominees were several prestigious award recipients from world festivals and notable national representatives. This year, the Cinematik jury awarded the Meeting Point Europe prize to the British co-production The Substance (2024), directed by Coralie Fargeat. The film follows aging television star Elisabeth Sparkle (played by Demi Moore), who is given the opportunity to try a miraculous substance that can make her younger, more beautiful, and perfect. However, there is a catch – she must share her time with her new self, Sue (played by Margaret Qualley), alternating weeks between the two. This extraordinary piece of modern cinema was seen by nearly a thousand viewers at the festival.

Festival audiences also selected their own favorite film through voting and ratings. The Audience Award of the 19th Cinematik festival went to the American-British-Georgian film Tatami (2023), co-directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. The film tells the story of Iranian judoka Leila (played by Arienne Mandi) and her coach Maryam (played by Zar Amir Ebrahimi) as they travel to the World Judo Championships, aiming to bring home Iran's first gold medal. Midway through the tournament, they receive an order from the Islamic Republic for Leila to fake an injury and lose, or else she will be branded a traitor to the state. With her freedom and that of her family at stake, Leila faces an impossible choice: obey her regime, as her coach urges, or fight for gold.

The second competition at Cinematik, Cinematik.doc, focuses on domestic filmmakers, with Slovak documentarians competing for awards. The Cinematik.doc Literary Fund Award went to Daniela Meressa Rusnoková for her film Grey Zone (2024). The film is a cinematic essay, a personal story, and a tribute to mothers and families of prematurely born children, high-risk newborns, and vulnerable, disadvantaged individuals. The jury praised the film for its “extraordinarily convincing, sensitive, and personal portrayal of motherhood and the care of premature infants, a topic whose everyday aspects are mostly socially invisible.”

The Mayor of Piešťany Award was given to director Paula Ďurinová for her documentary Lapilli (2024). The film is an intimate journey that delves deep into the solid matter of the earth. Traveling through diverse rocky landscapes, the director comes to terms with the sudden loss of her grandparents. The jury’s statement: “We honor the film for pushing the boundaries of audiovisual storytelling towards poetry and philosophy, and for its inventive portrayal of the grieving process, in which human time is compared with the geological time of the Earth.”

The 20th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival will take place from September 10 to 15, 2025, in Piešťany.

Press Release Contact: Peter Konečný
Mobile: 0905 316 005
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The upcoming seventh edition of the established industry event European Work in Progress Cologne (EWIP) has seen a new record number of submissions. Over 220 projects have been submitted by film makers all over Europe to get one of the highly desired spots at EWIP. Up to 30 participants of EWIP will be chosen by end of September. The plentitude of interested film makers is a clear sign for the ever rising relevance of the event among its peers.

EWIP will take place in Cologne from 14 to 16 October 2024 and is significantly supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, one of the leading film funding institutions in Europe, the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union and the City of Cologne. It is thanks to the support of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW that EWIP could be launched and has been able to establish itself in the European film industry over the past seven years. The firmly established industry event also takes place in co-operation with the Film Festival Cologne, KölnBusiness as well as the Creative Europe Desks Germany and the International Film Distribution Summit – IFDS. Since its beginnings, EWIP has taken place in the run-up to the Film Festival Cologne.

EWIP offers buyers, industry delegates and journalists the opportunity to get an overview of the latest and most exciting film projects at an advanced stage of production. The 30 or so carefully selected European co-productions will present their current state of development, show first scenes and pitch their plans in order to attract the best partners for the further production process and evaluation phases within the EWIP platform. An international jury consisting of seven renowned industry experts will choose the most promising projects as winners of the EWIP Awards.

If you have any requests for material, are interested in an interview or have any questions, please contact the responsible press agency mm filmpresse, Sylvia Müller, tel. 030 – 41 71 57 22, mueller@mm-filmpresse.de and Claudia Hegner, tel. 03741 – 55 03 414, hegner@mm-filmpresse.de.

"Cinema stands for diversity!"

A joint call to safeguard democracy and stand up for diversity and exchange across borders and cultures ended this year's General Assembly of the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas – CICAE on the 15th of May 2024 in Cannes.The participating cinemas and associations from 17 countries likewise called on EU citizens to exercise their right to vote in the European elections on 6-9 June 2024.

Arthouse cinemas around the world are committed to programmes that showcase diversity and artistic freedom, sometimes under difficult circumstances. As crucial cultural hubs for their local communities and through open exchange with audiences, filmmakers and their works, cinemas promote tolerance, freedom of expression and provide a crucial space for core democratic values as a whole. With its projects and actions, the CICAE continues to support cinemas in countries where these values are increasingly under threat or no longer existing at all. This increasing threat makes it all the more crucial that democracy, for example through elections, is practised by everyone.

For CICAE President Dr Christian Bräuer, it is clear that cinemas, as places of democracy, require special protection: "Those who support independent cinemas, with their diverse programmes, festivals and series for audiences of all sizes and ages and their mission to provide a forum for different ideas and cultural expressions, are strengthening any open society. Our appeal is therefore also directed at politicians to recognise the value of cinemas for the community and to ensure their survival."

Expansion of Activities to Strengthen International Collaboration across the Sector

The CICAE itself is expanding its activities to enable international collaboration across the sector following the relocation of the renowned global initiative Arthouse Cinema Training (19-25 August 2024) to Berlin and the change in management to Sebastian Naumann. The international members of the association’s Board of Directors have been working on numerous projects. These include the development of the global day of action of independent cinemas, the European Arthouse Cinema Day on 17 November 2024, and the expansion of the Arthouse Cinema Awards, in which juries of cinema exhibitors at international festivals around the world shine a spotlight on films with special cultural and artistic value. A new addition, following the spirit of international collaboration, is the platform Arthouse Cinema Hub, which enables cinemas around the world to share best practice and highlight their work and initiatives (www.arthousecinemahub.com).

Taking Stock: The State of the Sector

During the well-attended members' meeting, hosted by CICAE president Christian Bräuer, attendees from across the world presented and discussed current developments. Despite significant challenges representatives from most territories expressed optimistim about the future of the sector and reaffirmed the continuous key role of independent and arthouse cinemas for cultural diversity and the wellbeing of the international audiovisual ecosystem. In the afternoon, the members met for several workshops to develop perspectives for the association’s projects and activities.

For Christian Bräuer, international collaboration and exchange remains crucial for the wellbeing of cinemas everywhere and, by extension, for the wellbeing of the audiovisual sector as a whole.

"Running an arthouse cinema is becoming increasingly complex and demanding everywhere!", says Bräuer. "In the ‚Filterworld‘ age where algorithms dictate what we see on our small screens, cinemas offer people a unique cultural forum where audiences can engage with and focus on a wide range of programmes and perspectives. They remain the last mile for any film to reach and form a connection with their audiences. Since the end of the pandemic, audiences are returning in droves, led by the enthusiastic embrace of the cinematic experience by younger people “.

Yet, cinemas are threatened, says Bräuer, by exponential growth of operating costs and an increasingly unfavourable political climate. Bräuer:

„In order to continue their crucial mission, cinemas require political support, tailor-made funding, and regulations that provide an equitable playing field for all actors within the audiovisual ecosystem“.

 

Berlin, Germany - February 24, 2024 -Today were announced the winners of the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. Recognizing exceptional artistry and storytelling in independent cinema, the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award is given at major international festivals by an international jury of arthouse cinema exhibitors and programmers, which aims at bringing high-quality films to the arthouse cinemas. The Jury is composed of arthouse cinema exhibitors and members of the association, who apply through our website to become part of this initiative. In the case of Berlinale, the festival hosts yearly two CICAE juries, one in the Panorama Section, and the second one in the Forum Section.  

CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award - Panorama  

The Panorama Jury proudly awarded the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award to the Norwegian film "Sex" directed by Dag Johan Haugerud. The film captivated the jury with its poignant exploration of relationships, and societal norms. In their statement, the jury highlighted “the film's ability to blend humor and introspection to challenge normative images of men and society in urban Norway”. They praised the film's “strong but gentle sense of humor and its depiction of characters unafraid to express their feelings”. The jury also commended the film's “formal intelligence, which combines cinematic movements with majestic musical interludes, offering audiences a window into the constant changes and questioning of modern society” (full statement below) 

CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award - Forum 

Meanwhile, the Forum Jury honored the German film "Shahid" directed by Narges Kalhor with the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. The jury applauded the film for “its bold and multi-layered approach, tearing down conventions and borders”. They lauded the director's ability to “balance reality and fiction, humor and tragedy, and various art forms and emotions, creating a powerful cinematic experience”. "Shahid" was celebrated for its honest and intimate portrayal of significant issues, coupled with self-irony and grace. (full statement below) 

The jury panels, composed of distinguished arthouse cinema exhibitors and professionals from across Europe, including Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Romania, carefully deliberated to select the winners. 

Panorama Jury members 

• Victor Courgeon - Melies, Montreuil, France. 

• Anna Kruse - Capitol, Marburg, Germany. 

• Ilona Van Heeckeren - Natlab, Eindhoven, Netherlands. 

Forum Jury members:  

• Anca Caramelea - Cinema ARTA, Romania. 

• Andrea Crozzoli - Cinemazero, Italy. 

• Stefan Malešević - De Balie, Netherlands 

The Arthouse Cinema Award helps the films towards distribution, by systematically informing the over 2,400 member cinemas and the numerous contacts in its network.  

As part of the award, the members of the CICAE will receive a special newsletter with a "Film in Focus", which will include information on the awarded films: synopsis, cast and technical information, international sales and distributors contacts, promotional material and when possible a screener of the film. 

The CICAE will also communicate about the Arthouse Cinema Award also in our monthly newsletter, which reaches over 4,000 contacts among which the CICAE members, film professionals, partners and supporters of the association. Likewise, the CICAE will promote the awarded films on all our social media channels, mainly Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. 

The CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award celebrates outstanding filmmaking that challenges, inspires, and resonates with audiences on a profound level. The winners, "Sex" and "Shahid," exemplify the power of cinema to provoke thought, evoke emotion, and foster understanding. 

For more information about the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award, please visit https://cicae.org/activities/awards 

Contact: Dominga Ortuzar 
dominga.ortuzar@cicae.org 

Mark your calendar to join hands with hundreds of arthouse cinemas across the world to celebrate and take a stand for democracy and (film-) cultural diversity: The 9^th edition of the European Arthouse Cinema Day will take place on 17 November 2024.

We look forward to celebrating the richness and diversity of arthouse Cinemas and European films with you. Registrations will open in the summer on our website. You can also stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

An introductory session with information on how to participate as well as how to make the best the event will take place online on Wednesday 3 July at 2:00 p.m. CET. You can join the session at the link below (on Zoom)

For additional information please contact Quentin Bucher, Project Manager:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION OF INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE CINEMAS

The EACD is a call to action and the day where arthouse cinemas across the world join hands to showcase their vital role in preserving cultural diversity and democratic life. Especially in this pivotal election year, with crucial votes held in Europe, the US, India and beyond, the EACD highlights this unique role by sending a clear message: the arthouse movement stands up for tolerance, democracy and open exchanges beyond borders and cultures.

 

1. International ambassadors of the EACD 2024: filmmakers and actors from different countries will support the event by promoting it, and participating in events on the day
2. Free artwork and marketing materials for your cinema
3. Marketing guidelines to support your local actions
4. Opportunities to connect with cinemas worldwide
5. Sources for great films with lists of recommended films for various audiences from our international partner institutions
6. Promotion and activities on our social media channels

 

Young Horizons Industry announce 10 projects which will take part in the Project Pool section and open registration for script, IP building and marketing, and green filming consultations with experts. 

Project Pool 

The aim of the new section called Project Pool is to create an extra space for projects which are looking for partners. Each project in this section will get its own table for 1:1 meetings with potential partners and extra visibility at the forum.

List of selected projects

• “Alert Little Eyes”, animated series, Studio Filmów Rysunkowych, Poland
• “Biscuit, The Enormous Bee”, animated series, Gloaming Productions / Seymour & Otto, United Kingdom
• “Cloudy & Stormy”, animated series, Laniakea Pictures, Poland
• “Do the Dead Eat Strawberry Cake?”, live-action series, Blue Duck Arts, Hungary
• “Fantasylum”, animated film, Mizar Films, co-producer Kinhouse, Poland
• “Gaja’s World – Follow Me”, live-action film, Felina Films, Slovenia 
• “Hello, Oscar!”, animated series, Atom Art, Latvia
• “Kosmix: Secret Mission”, animated film, Krutart, Czechia
• “Toink!”, animated series, Animal Tank, Belgium
• “Zabavia”, animated series, MOREFILM, Poland

 Project Pool titles joined previously selected 21 projects which will be pitched on stage during the forum. 

Full list of projects: https://industry.younghorizons.pl/projects/

Consult your project with experts

Registration for 45-minute consultations is now open. This year, creators can book a meeting with three experts: Marina Narishkin, an international expert in the Business of Entertainment, Serial Entrepreneur, IP Brand Builder, Heiko Martens, a dramaturge script doctor and co-author in all stages of fictional material development, from rough pitch to finished script, and Laila Lala, a green consultant and a founder a Greenigma.

Consultants’ Tables is a place where screenwriters or producers can discuss scripts and marketing or sustainability strategies for their projects. Consultations will be held on 1 and 2 October during the forum. People who cannot come to Warsaw can book online consultation.

More information on how to book a consultation: https://industry.younghorizons.pl/news/consultants-tables-registration-is-open/

Accreditation for Young Horizons Industry are on sale until 23 September. 

Young Horizons Industry is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme, City of Warsaw, and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within a frame of the Polish Creative Industries Development Center programme "Rozwój Sektorów Kreatywnych", and organised in partnerships with Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, ORKA, FIXAFILM, Wroclaw Feature Film Studio, Animond, No Problemo Music, Łódź Film Commission, Silesian Film Fund, Podkarpackie Regional Film Fund, Krakow Film Fund and Malopolska Film Fund of the Small Forms, Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA), Polish Animation Producers Association (SPPA), Crew United, m:brane, CEEA Forum, Animarkt Stop Motion Forum, Animation Production Days, Just Film Industry Days, Coprocity, Children's Media Foundation. 

Media patrons: Cineuropa, Film New Europe, C21Media, Licencing Magazine, Skwigly 

Under the patronage of the Polish Screenwrites' Guild.