Lux

Luxembourg, 11-28 October 2012

CinEast 2012 – Programme Overview

I. GENERAL PRESENTATION

The « CinEast » festival (Central and Eastern European Film Festival ) has existed since 2008. Its aim is to present to the Luxembourg public a selection of the best cinema from the Central and Eastern European countries of the former communist bloc.

Since its creation, the Festival has been constantly growing and diversifying - the gradual increase in the number of visitors (5,200 in 2011) proves that the Festival has found its audience and has also been able to attract new crowds. Counting the school projections and participants at the festival special events, the festival attracted in total over 7,500 people in 2011.

The CinEast festival is a film festival in its own right, but is also an event seeking complementarities between cinema and other art forms (music, photography, etc.). As such, it offers the Luxembourg public a rare opportunity to experience the cultures of the participating countries.

Another dimension, and one to which the organisers pay special attention, is the festival as a forum for exchanges and conviviality. That is why numerous events on the festival programme have been designed to encourage participants to come together and exchange ideas (after-film chats, debates, gastronomic events, DJ nights etc.).

II. 2012 NEWS

A number of new features await festival-goers this year:

Six new countries have joined those already represented, bringing the total number of participating countries to 12. , , , , and have been joined by the three Baltic States (, and ) as well as , and .

Apart from the well established festival venues (Abbaye de Neumünster, Cinémathèque, Ciné Utopia, Ciné Ariston, Ciné Kinosch, Ancien Cinéma), screenings will be also held for the first time at Utopolis, Ciné Kursaal and Cinémaacher. School projections will take place at the European School of Luxembourg (Kirchberg and Mamer) and Lycée technique Diekirch.

Many special events will accompany the screenings, including a large photography exhibition at the Abbaye de Neumünster, concerts/musical events at Melusina, Alen Tramsschapp Cultural Centre (Luxembourg- Limpertsberg) and Dqliq.

Eight films included in the official competition will be evaluated by an international jury.

The number of special festival guests (directors, actors, producers etc.) has grown considerably and more than twenty will be attending the events this year. First time ever a literary evening also features on the festival’s programme (with the Czech writer and screenwriter Jaroslav Rudiš).

For the very first time the festival will feature a workshop for film professionals. The aim of the CinEast Pro workshop organised in partnership with Film Fund Luxembourg, associations of professionals and film institutes is to develop our festival into a platform for meetings and exchanges between film professionals from Luxembourg and from Central and Eastern European countries.

III. PROGRAMME - FILMS

As in previous years, the programme focuses on new productions, many of them films which have received awards at major festivals, but film lovers will also find a selection of classics and some lesser-known movies, often related to one of the thematic cycles.

As regards the featured genres, the vast majority of films on the programme are feature films; however, an important place is also accorded to documentaries, animated films and short films.

E Official competition and the jury

Around ten films will be included in the official competition. An international jury will award the Grand Prix CinEast 2012 as well as, most likely, the Special Prize of the Jury. An Audience Award will also be awarded.

E “Welcome to...” evenings

The participation of the six new countries (Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia) will be celebrated by special welcome evenings.

These six special evenings will include the screening of the first film from the relevant country, with special guests and will be followed by an informal part with typical drinks and snacks. The programme includes a varied selection of films from these countries, most of which have received major awards.

Two special nights will celebrate the arrival of the new countries: “Baltic Night” (13 October) and “Balkan Night” will offer films and music and will be held at Melusina.

E Cinécycles

Many of the recent films and older movies shown will fall into one of the two thematic cycles:

“Back to the Roots”: films from this cycle address the theme of roots at both the individual or collective dimension: origins, where do we belong, return to one’s roots - these are some of the issues reflected upon in the selected films.

“FunnyEast”: a selection of the best comedies from the Central and Eastern European countries, mostly recent but also a few classics.

E Cinéfocus

The festival will focus in more detail on the work of certain directors, actors and producers.

In 2012, the audience will have the opportunity to see several examples of the work of the Hungarian director György Pálfi, Polish actor Robert Więckiewicz, Czech director Michal Hogenauer, as well as production companies Studio Uljana Kim (Lithuania) and Staragara (Slovenia). Most of the artists and producers will be present at the screenings.

E Cinéshorts: short films marathons

Four evenings of short films are scheduled at the Abbaye de Neumünster. Two of these will be devoted to short feature films, one to animated films and one to documentaries.

These selections, lasting about four hours each, will represent a good overview of the best recent productions from the 12 participating countries. .

In order to provide some relief during these long sessions, there will be breaks during which snacks and drinks will be served.

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E Special evenings

The programme is rounded off by several special themed evenings:

 Literary evening with the Czech writer Jaroslav Rudiš, responsible for the script of the film Alois Nebel. The event will feature a reading of a short story linked to the film, screening of the actual film and a debate on the historical context (organised in cooperation with Institut Pierre Werner)  “CinéFoot”, a football-themed evening  “Young & Free” evening  Projections dedicated to film from the LuxPrize selection of the European Parliament  “Anniversaries” (100 years of Estonian cinema, 50 years of one of the first films of Czechoslovak New Wave The Sun in a Net)

E Cinéyouth: programme dedicated to teenagers, the young and the very young

The 2011 programme includes more special sessions for children (from the age of 2) and young people, as well as a series of screenings organised in collaboration with the European School and Lycée classique Diekirch. In cooperation with Cinémathèque and in the framework of “CinEast meets Cinéma Paradiso” young spectators can also discover two parts of a cult Czech children series.

IV. SPECIAL EVENTS

E Cinémusic (concerts)

As in previous years, the organisers have programmed several concerts that are closely linked to the main theme of the festival and the films to be screened:

 Twinkle Brothers & Trebunie Tutki (unique mix Jamaican roots reggae and Polish traditional music) – a big concert (closing event) at the cultural centre Alen Tramsschapp  Baltic night with the band Golden Parazyth (electro, Lithuania) and Latvian DJs at Melusina  Balkan night with short films and DJ party by the famous DJ Gaetano Fabri at Melusina  SzaZa plays Polanski (live soundtrack accompanying the almost complete short films of Roman Polanski, Poland) at the Cinémathèque  Magical DJ/VJ night with film, performances and DJ/VJ party at Dqliq (TBC)

E Cinéart (exhibitions)

Large photography exhibition at the Abbaye de Neumünster, on the same theme as the main theme of the Festival: “Back to the Roots”. Over a hundred photographs by around ten Polish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian artists, exhibited all around the Abbaye, invite viewers to reflect on the theme of origins and belonging.

E Cinédebates

Some of the festival screenings will be accompanied by debates:

 Discussion on the topic of development aid at Ciné Utopia  Discussion on the ex-Yugoslavian countries and the EU (in cooperation with University of Luxembourg)  Discussion about the relations between the Czech Rep. and Germany (in cooperation with IPW)  Discussion about radical football supporterism in ex-Yugoslavia

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E Cinégastronomy

As in previous years, the festival will offer many opportunities to discover the gastronomy of the represented countries:

 Two culinary evenings at the Brasserie de Neumünster (16 and 23 October) – buffet with wide variety of typical dishes from the participating countries  ”Welcome to...” evenings: 6 events with typical snacks and drinks at the Cinémathèque, CCRN and Ciné Utopia  Snacks & drinks accompanying the short films sessions at the Abbaye de Neumünster

E Charity project

For the fourth consecutive year, the festival will support a specific charity project. As in previous years, it will be a project based in one or more countries represented at the festival.

V. FILMS (selection)

The 2012 edition of CinEast offers more than 50 feature films and 40 short films. Here are a few examples:

 Beyond the Hills – Best script, Best actor at Cannes 2012  Rose – best Polish film of 2011  Flower Buds – best Czech film of 2011  Just the Wind - Silver Bear / Special Prize of the Jury at the Berlinale 2012  Archeo – best Slovenian film of 2011 (attended by the director)  Kotlovina – best Croatian film of 2011 (with a guest)  Back to Your Arms – Lithuanian candidate for Oscars 2011 (attended by the director, actor and producer)  The Door – new film by István Szabó starring Helen Mirren  Crulic – The Path to Beyond – Grand Prix at Festival d’Annecy 2012 (attended by the director)  Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg – best Latvian film of 2011  The Parade – Audience Award at the Berlinale 2012  Final Cut – film-collage made out of 450 classic movies, closing film of Cannes 2012 (attended by the director)  Everybody in Our Family – Best film at the Sarajevo FF 2012

and many more...

More information: website / press articles 2011

The CinEast 2012 festival is organised by the non-profit organisation polska.lu in cooperation with the Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster (CCRN), the Cinémathèque, Utopia Group S.A., Images Animées, Ancien Cinéma, the European School and Lycée Classique de Diekirch. Main partners: City of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Ministry of Culture, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Polish Film Institute (PISF), Polish Embassy in Luxembourg. Partners: Slovak Film Institute (SFU), Czech Film Center, Film Fund Luxembourg, University of Luxembourg, Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, Czech Centre Brussels, Ville d’Esch, Bulgarian embassy in Belgium, Translation Centre for the Bodies of the EU and other partners.

Contact: [email protected]

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