Two SEE films at Locarno in Los Angeles – April 21-23
We are proud that out of 10 films specially selected for the inaugural presentation in Los Angeles of the 69th Locarno Film Festival two are by SEE filmmakers: All the Cities of the North (Serbia / Bosnia Herzegovina / Montenegro) by Dane Komljen, who will attend the screening on April 23 at 6PM; and Scarred Hearts by Radu Jude (Romania), also screening on April 23, at 8:30PM.
A collaboration between Acropolis Cinema, the Locarno Festival, and the Swiss Consulate General of Los Angeles, the inaugural edition of Locarno in Los Angeles will run from April 21-23 at the Downtown Independent cinema.
For full line up of films and tickets please visit Locarno in Los Angeles web site.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: SEEfest 2017 opens on April 27 at the Writers Guild Theater – get your festival pass now! We have eight days of screenings, panels, events, parties, and special guests.
Blue Heron Foundation’s 15th Anniversary Concert – April 22, 2-4 PM
This year the L.A.-based Blue Heron Foundation celebrates its 15th Anniversary with an afternoon of beauty and upliftment with the music of mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu.
Extraordinary years of programming in support of Romanian and Moldovan orphaned and abandoned children deserve an extraordinary celebration.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 2017
TIME: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
LOCATION: West Hollywood, California (Exact address will be communicated upon ticket purchase)
TICKETS
Stefania Magidson, President of the Blue Heron Foundation, is a distinguished member of SEEfest’s Advisory Board & Chair of the Romanian Program Committee.
To read more about the Blue Heron Foundation and its critical work please go here.
Southeast European Animation Day – March 25 at East L.A. College
SEEfest has partnered with East Los Angeles College and Cinema Without Borders to present on Saturday, March 25 the Southeast European Animation Day.
Join us for a day of delightfully entertaining animated shorts and chat with well-known animation experts.
FREE event. RSVP: [email protected] or call 310 422 4629.
WHEN: Saturday, March 25th, from 11:30am – 3:00PM
WHERE: East Los Angeles College, Music Recital Hall theater (Building S2)
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754.
PARKING: Free parking in Structure #3 (off of Avenida Cesar Chavez) or Structure #4 (corner of Floral and Collegiate Avenues)
For details about the program check this article on Cinema Without Borders portal
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Get your festival pass for SEEfest 2017, opening April 27 at the Writers Guild Theater! We have eight days of screenings, panels, events, parties, and special guests. Book your 8-Day Full Access Festival PASS here.
SEEfest 2017 Festival Passes Available Now!
SEEfest 8-Day Full Access Festival passes are now on Sale!
Get your 8-Day Full Access Festival pass here.
42 days…We’re counting down to the opening gala for SEEfest on April 27.
We are pleased to announce you can get the Festival Full-Access pass for 8 days of screenings, panels, The Business of Film Conference, events and networking without worrying about getting a seat.
The Festival schedule is just about nailed down and will be announced soon.
Because of space limitations in most of our theatres, only 50 46 Festival passes are available. Tickets for individual screenings will be available in the coming weeks.
Get your Festival pass today, before they sell out. Limited to 2 passes per member.
See you on April 27 at the opening gala!
NOTE: SEEfest Cine-Fan Members get a 20% discount on Festival Passes and tickets. Click here to join and get your promo coupon code.
Drumroll Please – Cover Art Unveiled for 2017 SEEfest
SEEfest has chosen exuberance as the theme for the 12th edition of the festival. Long time art director Elyas Beria has created the poster and cover art inspired by the high energy dances and music of the region. The poster features the contours of a dancer leaping into the air with the shape of the body laid over a transparent backdrop of Los Angeles beaches.
Southeast Europe is the cradle of many dance variants and energetic folk dancing often expresses an undying desire to overcome one’s circumstances. This year SEEfest pays homage to this spirit of exuberance with films about beautiful music, delicious food, self-deprecating humor and undying defiance.
Festival passes go on sale on March 14. Become a member to get discounts and enjoy member privileges!
An Invitation to Join SEEfest’s New Membership Program
‘Movies are a great way to travel,’ was a sentiment expressed by one of our earliest champions who has circumnavigated the globe many times over, and became interested in the Balkans and Caucasus thanks to SEEfest.
This journey we take with you every year over the first weekend in May has changed the perception of many American moviegoers about the region and the richness of its cinema. In over a dozen years South East European Film Festival has presented more than 500 internationally acclaimed films, including Oscar-winners and nominees. If fact, Kristof Deak’s Hungarian live action short Sing, which had its American premiere at SEEfest last year, won the Oscar this year!
We take pride in the cultural heritage of the 18-country region, its rich cinema and artistic diversity. In addition to the annual festival serving as the main platform of promotion, SEEfest organizes special screenings throughout the year, retrospectives of classic films, educational workshops, conferences and collaborative cultural programs including literary salons and book fairs, and serves as the cultural hub and resource for scholars and filmmakers.
Our activities are designed to create opportunities for cultural exchange between Southern California and South East Europe, and together with you, we have come a long way over the course of a dozen years. (more…)
Festivals: Hana Jušić and Salomé Jashi Win Top Awards In Belgrade and Zagreb
SEEfest Editorial | March 6 , 2017 — BELGRADE: Croatian Quit Staring at My Plate by Hana Jušić was awarded the Belgrade Victor for Best Film at the 45th Belgrade International Film Festival – FEST, while Serbia’s Requiem for Mrs. J by Bojan Vuletić was awarded Best Film in the National Competition program.
ZAGREB: Georgian/German coproduction The Dazzling Light of Sunset by Salomé Jashi won the Big Stamp for Best Film in the International Competition of the 13th edition of ZagrebDox.
Serbian-American VR Wunderkind at Tribeca
Only a year ago at Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier did Milica Zec present a short narrative piece called “Giant.” By this Spring she, together with her partner, Winslow Turner Porter III, has become a fixture on the festival circuit with stops at Cannes and now Tribeca. At Tribeca Milica will present “Tree,” which premiered earlier this year.
“See and feel what it is like to become a tree in this haptically enhanced VR experience. With your arms as the branches and your body as the trunk, you experience the growth from a seedling to its fullest form, taking on its role in the majestic rain forest and witnessing its fate firsthand.”
If you live in New York City, don’t miss the opportunity to experience Milica’s work and meet her in person. She’s quite charming!
More about the Virtual Arcade at Tribeca
More about Milica Zec and TREE
Consider joining our Cine-Fan membership program – enjoy members-only events and discounted passes and tickets during the annual Festival and throughout the year. JOIN today and become SEEfest Cine-Fan!
The Science of Counting the Ballots for Best Picture
Unlike other Oscar categories, where the winners are those with most votes, Best Picture is chosen from this year’s 9 (sometimes more) nominees through a complex process of counting the ballots using the preferential system. Accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, are in charge of the count. You can find out about the ‘8 steps’ and the ‘magic number’ in this detailed account of the process from The Wrap’s Steve Pond. He explains what it takes to get to the biggest prize of the year, Best Picture Oscar. Incidentally it is given to the producer(s), not the director – though director is oftentimes one of the producers as well. Wonder about the Oscar betting odds? La la Land leads, followed by Moonlight and Hidden Figures. Have fun!
More about Oscar Ballots:
The Wrap’s article by Steve Pond
What is your favorite of the 9 Best Picture Nominees?Let us know on our Facebook page!
Support international cinema in Los Angeles and new film talent from South East Europe. Donate here!
FNE Country Report: Georgia
Nestled in the Caucasus with a coast along the eastern shores of the Black Sea, Georgia is a country of 4.5 million people and a great cinema tradition. In recent years Georgian films enjoyed a renaissance with films like Tangerines, by Zaza Urushadze, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and In Bloom, by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, which won 29 awards and 7 nominations. An article in Film New Europe (FNE) provides interesting details about the film production, cash rebates, and the return of classic Georgian films which were archived in Russia.
More about Georgia
Can you guess from which film is the featured photograph? Tell us what is your favorite Georgian film, or favorite Georgian filmmaker – Let us know on our Facebook page!
Support international cinema in Los Angeles and new film talent from South East Europe. Donate here!