cineast 2015 overview

OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 EDITION

CinEast 2015 – OVERVIEW

1

Introduction

CINEAST 8–25 October 2015 Luxembourg www.cineast.lu

100 screenings over 18 days

55 feature and 40 short films from 18 countries

Over 9 500 participants and 25 special guests

Numerous special events (including 5 concerts and an exhibition)

During its 8th edition, the CinEast (ciné-East) festival

presented Luxembourg audiences with a rich and

varied selection of some of the best recent films

from Central and Eastern Europe.

Over 18 days the festival presented around a

hundred screenings of films of various genres from

18 countries that would otherwise have had little

chance of being shown in local cinemas. The main

objective of the festival is to present the most

remarkable films from this part of Europe.

However, it also strives to provide an opportunity to

explore the cultures of the participating countries

and to provide a space for friendly encounters and

exchanges between the different communities

residing in Luxembourg.

That is why CinEast also presents concerts, DJ

nights, exhibitions, gastronomic events, debates,

activities for young audiences and more.

The thematic cycle of the 8th edition, ‘Urban

Stories’, addressed the city as a living space and a

social phenomenon in its context of constant

transformation. An extensive eponymous

photography exhibition at Neimënster and the ‘Free

Spaces’ project co-organised by Mudam were also

dedicated to this theme.


2

Official opening Neimënster, 8 October

The 8th CinEast festival was officially inaugurated in

Salle Krieps at the Neimënster cultural centre by its

director Ainhoa Achutegui, Colette Mart (alderman

of the City of Luxembourg), Bob Krieps (director at

the Ministry of Culture) and Marc Scheffen (deputy

director of the Cinémathèque de la Ville de

Luxembourg). The official ceremony was followed by

a sold-out screening of the festival’s opening film

Body.

Almost 300 people attended the event, including

numerous representatives of the cultural scene,

business, media and the diplomatic corps.

The opening ceremony was accompanied by the

official opening of the photographic exhibition

‘Urban Stories’, produced in collaboration with

Neimënster, and displayed at the abbey’s Cloister.

A cocktail was held after the screening of the

opening film at the cultural centre’s Agora.


3

Official competition, jury and awards

The official competition of the 2015 edition of

CinEast included seven films: Body by Małgorzata

Szumowska ; Babai by Visar Morina, Son of Saul by

László Nemes, In the Crosswind by Martti Helde,

Self-Portrait of a Dutiful Daughter by Ana Lungu,

Family Film by Olmo Omerzu and The Cleaner by

Peter Bebjak.

The international jury of CinEast 2015 was

presided over by renowned Polish filmmaker Andrzej

Żuławski and also included the director Yann

Tonnar, the actor Vicky Krieps, the director Ina

Ivanceanu and the producer Alexandra Hoesdorff.

The Awards Ceremony was held on 23 October at

the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg with

many personalities from the world of cinema and

culture in attendance.

The Grand Prix of the CinEast 2015 went to the film

Body by Małgorzata Szumowska, while the Special

Jury Prize was awarded to the film Babai by the

Kosovar director Visar Morina and the Audience

Award went to the film Losers by Ivaylo Hristov. The

Critics’ Prize, which was awarded for the first time,

went to Son of Saul by László Nemes.


4

Film highlights

During the 2015 edition of CinEast over 55 features

and 40 short films were screened in

Luxembourgish cinemas (Cinémathèque, Ciné

Utopia, Neimënster, Ancien Cinéma, Ciné Ariston

and others). Many of the films had received major

awards at international and national festivals and

most of them were shown at CinEast as their

Luxembourg or Benelux premiere. The programme

also included numerous documentaries, as well as

some classics and special programmes for young

audiences. In addition, special school screenings

were organised in cooperation with the European

Schools in Mamer and Kirchberg, the Lycée

classique of Diekirch, Lycée Technique des Arts et

Métiers and the International School of Luxembourg.

Among the most noteworthy films in the programme

(apart from the official competition) were:

Aferim (Silver Bear, Berlinale 2015), The Summer of

Sangailé (Best Direction, Sundance 2015), No One’s

Child (Audience Award and FIPRESCI Prize, Venice

IFF 2014), Cosmos (Best Direction, Locarno 2015),

Losers (Grand Prix, Moscow IFF 2015), Koza (Best

Director and FIPRESCI Prize, GoEast IFF 2015),

Brothers (Grand Prix, Critics’ Week, Locarno IFF

2015), Liza The Fox-Fairy (Best Film, Fantastic Film

Festival Brussels 2015), The Lesson (finalist of Prix

LUX 2015, Best Young Director, San Sebastian

2014), Gods (best Polish film of 2014), Home Care

(Best Actress, Karlovy Vary 2015)...


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Short film programmes

Besides feature films, CinEast 2015 also presented

a large variety of short films. The programme

featured four short film marathons (one dedicated to

documentary shorts, one to animated shorts and two

to fiction shorts), each offering about 130 minutes of

carefully selected recent short films from the

participating countries. The marathons were divided

into two parts with snacks and drinks offered to

viewers during the break.

The audience had the opportunity to vote for the

Audience Awards for Best Short Film in each of the

three categories.

Moreover, a special short film evening was organised

at the Ancien Cinéma in Vianden. Altogether, festival-

goers had the opportunity to discover almost 50 fresh

short films from Central and Eastern Europe.


6

Festival guests

CinEast 2015 hosted over 25 well-known directors,

actors and producers, among others:

Želimir Žilnik (director of Logbook Serbistan), Ivaylo

Hristov (director of Losers), Andrzej Chyra (actor in

Carte Blanche), Julija Steponaityté (actor in The

Summer of Sangailé), Martti Helde (director of In the

Crosswind), Andrea Sedláčková (director of Fair

Play), Ina Ivanceanu (director of Free Spaces),

Magdalena Czerwińska (actor in Gods), Peter Baláž

(actor in Koza), Danijel Hočevar (producer of Home),

Gábor Hörcher (director of Drifter)...

In addition, several Luxembourgish guests took part

in debates during the festival. Many film

professionals from CEE countries and Luxembourg

also participated in the 4th co–production

workshop "CinEast Pro" (organised at the

FilmLand in Kehlen) on October 19, a networking

event aimed at enhancing collaboration between

producers from Luxembourg and their colleagues

from the East (with the support of Film Fund

Luxembourg).


7

Photographic exhibition and charity project

For the fifth time in a row, the CinEast festival

featured an extensive photographic exhibition, this

time related to the thematic cycle ‘Urban Stories’,

reflecting on the theme of the city and its inhabitants

both in Eastern and Western Europe a quarter of a

century after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was

organised in collaboration with and with the support

of Neimënster..

Over 120 works by 8 artists from Poland, Slovenia,

Serbia, Switzerland and Luxembourg were exhibited

in the Cloister of Neimënster for the duration of the

festival (8 to 25 October). The exhibition was freely

accessible and was seen by thousands of visitors.

After the festival, the exhibition photographs were put

up for auction to support the festival’s charity

project. All the money collected (over EUR 3,500),

including donations from festival-goers as well as

proceeds from the sale of the photographs, will be

used to purchase air purifiers for a hospice for

seriously ill children run by the ‘Gajusz‘ foundation in

Lodz (Poland).


8

Balkan Night with Klezmafour Melusina, 11 October

The first special event of the festival was a live

performance by the Polish group Klezmafour,

followed by a DJ set by DJ Kosta Kostov.

The audience had a unique opportunity to enjoy a

genuine blend of traditional klezmer music with

Balkan and gypsy elements. The band’s energetic

performance met with an immense response from

the crowd, which would not let the musicians leave

without several encores. The night then continued

until 3 a.m. with an eclectic Balkan music set

delivered by Bulgaria-born DJ Kosta Kostov from

Cologne.

The event was attended by more than 600 people

and was a remarkable success.

Gypsy Soul Rotondes, 16 October

A special fun evening dedicated to discovering

various aspects of gypsy/Roma culture.

Almost 300 attendees were eager to learn more

about Roma lifestyle and traditions through our quiz,

the entertaining documentary Pretty Dyana,

traditional music and dance presentation by a

special guest, as well as a spectacular, live street-art

performance.

Throughout the evening people had the opportunity

to taste traditional dishes from the countries of

Central and Eastern Europe that are home to large

Roma communities. The ultimate highlight –

energetic rhythms played by DJ dr. gonZo, inspired

to a large extent by gypsy and Balkan music– made

this unique celebration of cultural diversity even

more of a success.


9

Włodek Pawlik Trio Neimënster, 17 October

The evening with the world famous Polish jazz

pianist Włodek Pawlik was a real treat for jazz

lovers. Around 250 fans came to see and listen to

the exceptional Grammy Award-winning musician

performing for the very first time in Luxembourg.

Włodek Pawlik was accompanied by Cezary Konrad

(on drums) and Paweł Pańta (on bass), and the trio

mainly performed compositions from Pawlik’s two

latest albums Night In Calisia and America, as well

as several adaptations of Chopin and film music.

The audience was very enthusiastic and rewarded

this memorable show with long ovations.

Concert organised in collaboration avec Neimënster

and the Autumn Leaves festival.

Ciné-concert by Neuvěřitelno Cinémathèque, 20 October

It has been a tradition to include a live film

soundtrack (ciné-concert) in the programme of the

festival – a format much enjoyed by the Luxembourg

audiences.

This year, the 1927 Czechoslovak film An Old

Gangster’s Molls, an exuberant slapstick comedy

mixing invented murders, chases and doppelgänger

scenes, was accompanied by live music by the

Czech trio Neuvěřitelno. Using numerous

instruments as well as found objects, the group,

performing right in front of the screen, enriched the

atmosphere of the film with their rock, jazz, blues

and experimental sounds..

The more than 120 people attending the event

enjoyed the fantastic performance and rewarded the

musicians with enthusiastic applause.


10

Closing Event with Freeborn Brothers and Sean & Zander Sang & Klang, 24 October

The Closing Event, which attracted around 200

people, included two concerts as well as traditional

food. The Californian veteran duo Sean & Zander

opened the evening with their original hybrid of folk,

country, bluegrass and gospel, infused with a good

dose of energy and spirituality, After that it was the

Polish trio Freeborn Brothers who literally boosted

the public with their high-energy mix of various

influences, well-defined by the title of their second

album Gypsy Hobo Trash Grass. And to finish the

night in style both groups played a few songs

together, to please the ecstatic crowd.

Throughout the event the audience also had the

opportunity to try Polish and Ukrainian food and

drinks.

Free Spaces at Mudam Mudam, 25 October

For the second year in a row the CinEast festival co-

organised a special event with the Musée d’Art

Moderne (Mudam). On the last festival day, the

museum’s auditorium hosted the Luxembourg

premiere of the documentary Free Spaces by the

Austrian director Ina Ivanceanu, which captures and

reflects on various ways of artistic expression in

public spaces in four Eastern European cities.

Over 80 people attended the screening and took

part in the interesting discussion with the director

and representatives of the film’s production

company Amour Fou (based in Luxembourg).


11

Gastronomy events

The CinEast festival also presented opportunities

to explore the national cuisines of the countries of

Central and Eastern Europe. A food evening at the

Brasserie Le Neumünster attracted over 80 people

who enjoyed a selection of traditional dishes from

across the region as well as regional beers and

wines. Moreover, specialities inspired by the Roma

traditions were available at the Gypsy Soul event at

Rotondes, and the Klezmafour concert at Melusina

was also an opportunity to taste some Eastern

European dishes at the restaurant and later on at

the concert venue. Typical Polish, Ukrainian and

Balkan food was also available at the Closing Event

held at Sang & Klang.

In addition, culinary encounters were also organised

directly in the cinemas before or after selected

screenings, with Serbian ajvar, Ukrainian pareniki

and other regional snacks and drinks. During the

whole of the 8th edition, festival-goers could also

enjoy Eastern European snacks and sweets at the

festival’s minibar set up at the Cinémathèque.

Media coverage

The 8th edition of the CinEast festival was

covered by a large number of different

media outlets in Luxembourg, the Greater

Region, the countries of Central and

Eastern Europe, as well as international

media specialising in cinema (e.g.

Cineuropa.org).

In addition to wide coverage by the media

partners of the festival, many articles were

published in all the major newspapers in

the country and numerous magazines. The

festival was also extensively covered by

radio stations (100,7, Radio Ara City, etc.),

the most important TV channel in the

country (RTL) and a large number of web

portals.


12

Partners

The 2015 edition of the CinEast festival would not

have been possible without the support of our

partners and we would like to thank them warmly for

their trust, support and encouragement.

We would especially like to thank our two main

institutional partners: the City of Luxembourg and

the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg, whose long-

term commitment to our project has allowed the

festival to keep going and continue to evolve.

We would also like to thank our main screening

partners (Cinemathèque, Neimënster and Utopia

SA), the film institutions (especially Film Fund

Luxembourg and the Polish Film Institute), our main

private sponsors BGL BNP Paribas, Orange and

Luxair, as well as the embassies, the cultural centres

and all other partners that made this 8th edition

possible.

cineast 2015 overview

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