5th Annual South East European Film Festival Opens April 29th!

The 2010 South East European Film Festival opens on April 29th and runs through May 3rd and features the latest award-winning feature films, documentaries, and shorts from the artistically thriving but often underrepresented countries of South East Europe, including: Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Bosnia, Macedonia, and many more….

The South East European Film Festival is the first, and only festival of its kind in the U.S. and it pioneered the representation of cinema from SE European countries in America.

The festival not only finds and screens the most cutting edge and artistic films from South East Europe, it exposes audiences in Los Angeles to the amazing and diverse cultures from that part of the world, and also offers a unique, global perspective on issues of heritage, cultural identity, and the struggle with divisions within the region.

The South East European Film Festival is held every year during the last week in April and first weekend in May, Thursday - Monday (April 29- May 2nd) at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles (The German Cultural Center) 5750 Wilshire Blvd. (Wilshire Court Building in the Miracle Mile area between Fairfax and La Brea), with the closing night (May 3rd) at The James Bridges Theatre (1409 Melnitz Hall, UCLA Campus, Westwood). Tickets and passes are on sale now at: http://www.itsmyseat.com/SEEFEST.html !
(General admission: $10, Students and seniors: $5 )

For more information about The South East European Film Festival, visit http://www.seefilmla.org

Highlights at the festival this year include:

Opening Night, April 29th at 8:00pm

ALIVE!
(Albania, feature; 2009 90 min. LA Premiere!)
(Gjallë)

  Dir: Artan Minarolli
  Prod: Vincent Lucassen, Artan Minarolli

  From the director of the elegiac “Moonless Night” (SEE Fest 2008) comes a powerful story about a blood feud that entangles a young student in a web of complicated relationships stemming from an antiquated tribal code. “Alive!” has an excellent ensemble cast and a pitch-perfect atmosphere of uncertainty until the very end.

  Q&A after the screening with director Artan Minarolli.

Friday April, 30th at 9:00pm

THE BLACKS
(Crnci)
(Croatia – feature; 2009, 75 min. US. Premiere! )

  Dir: Zvonimir Juric, Goran Devic
  Prod: Ankica Juric Tilic

  War. A city under siege. A truce has been signed, and the special ops squad known as “The Blacks” is about to be disbanded. Despite the cease-fire, the squad commander plans a maneuver to destroy an enemy dam while retrieving the dead bodies of his soldiers from a mine-strewn forest. Although the surviving members of the squad are tortured by their personal doubts and guilt, they move into action behind their leader…

Saturday, May 1 at 7:00pm

  THE OTHER IRENE
(Romania - feature 2009; 90 min. West Coast Premiere!)
(Cealalta Irina)

  Dir: Andrei Gruzsniczki
  Prod: Vivi Dragan Vasile

  Aurel (Andi Vasluianu) and Irina (Simona Popescu) are a young couple from the countryside who move to Bucharest in hopes of a better life. But after Irina commits suicide on a business trip to Cairo, Aurel is confronted with the image of a woman he apparently never knew and the bureaucracy of two difficult countries. The denial of his wife’s death propels him on a ceaseless search for the truth, and becomes his biggest obstacle to finding it.

  Q&A with Romanian actor Andi Vasluianu, whose participation is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York.

Sunday, May 2 at 1:00pm

A FAREWELL TO HEMINGWAY
(Bulgaria – feature; 2008, 90 min U.S. Premiere! )
(Edinstvenata lyubovna istoriya, koyato Hemingway ne opisa)

  Dir: Svetoslav Ovtcharov
  Prod: Asen Vladimirov

  A Chekhovian theme runs through this fictitious account of Ernest Hemingway’s daylong passage through Bulgaria in 1922. The story centers around the stationmaster’s daughter, an independent-minded young woman stuck in a provincial town with an overbearing father and two hapless suitors. But when a young American suddenly shows up at her doorstep, she awakens to the possibility of an exit from her dormant life. Lead actress Gergana Pletnyova steals the show with a screen presence and style reminiscent of the young Isabelle Huppert.

Sunday, May 2 at 7:00pm
 

VOICES UNVEILED – TURKISH WOMEN WHO DARE
(Turkey, doc) 2009; 72 min. US Premiere!

  Dir: Binnur Karaevli
  Prod: Binnur Karaevli, Jill Rytie Lutz

  Voices Unveiled explores the difficulties and triumphs of women pursuing careers and life paths of their own choosing in a traditional Muslim nation. Three courageous women - an artist, an activist, and a dancer, challenge the familiar stereotypes of Muslim women. Outspoken, educated and often provocative, they are not afraid to weigh in with opinions about religion, politics and gender roles. The film journeys with these women as they push the envelope to pursue authentic lives that encompass traditional culture while embracing individuality.

  Q&A after the screening with director Binnur Karaevli.

See entire festival program now at: http://www.seefilmla.org/program.html !