“Monument to Michael Jackson” Wins Eastern European Award in Santa Barbara
SEEfest Staff Writer | February 8, 2015, 6:39 PM
“Monument to Michael Jackson” wins Eastern European Award in Santa Barbara: Best Film in Eastern Bloc Competition – Features
(Santa Barbara, February 7, 2015) – Sleeper hit at this year’s Santa Barbara fest, Serbian director Darko Lungulov’s Monument to Michael Jackson was awarded today the top prize in the Eastern European (Eastern Bloc) competition. Festival’s executive director Roger Durling announced the winners earlier today at the Fess Parker hotel.
“It is a great honor to win the award at such an amazing film event,” said Lungulov who attended the festivities. “International filmmakers have a great opportunity in Santa Barbara to present their work to highly educated and sensitive audience. I was so fortunate to have the U.S. premiere of my film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.”
The jury of the 30th annual film fest in Santa Barbara included director and cinematographer Will Eubank, director Peter Chelsom, producer Chaz Ebert, actors Anthony and Arnette Zerbe, composer/lyricist Adam Guettel, actor James Read, SBIFF founder Phyllis de Picciotto, director/actor Perry Lang and producer Mimi deGruy.
Monument to Michael Jackson tells the story of a man who, in a desperate attempt to save his crumbling marriage and to bring life back into his community, plans to replace an old communist monument with a statue of the King of Pop.
Writer/director Darko Lungulov‘s previous film, Here & There won Tribeca’s Best N.Y. Narrative Award in ’09. It starred David Thornton, whose wife Cindy Lauper composed an original song, and also had a cameo in the movie.
Trailer Monument To Michael Jackson
Imdb page Monument To Michael Jackson
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The Final Round: Five Nominations for Best Foreign Language Film 2015
SEEfest Staff Writer | January 22, 2015, 1:34 PM
With three out of five films coming from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the nominations underscore the growing relevance of our region’s filmmakers. The five nominees are: IDA (Poland), LEVIATHAN (Russia), TANGERINES (Estonia), and TIMBUKTU (Mauritania) and WILD TALES (Argentina).
IDA
LEVIATHAN
TANGERINES
TIMBUKTU
WILD TALES
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South East Europe and the Best Foreign Language Film 2015
Vera Mijojlic | January 15, 2015, 7:07 PM
Films from countries clustered in and around the region of South East Europe (SEE) represent 20 percent of all submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film! And if you add films from countries not from the same geographical region but which are thematically about it, such as the acclaimed Swedish entry last year (“Eat, sleep, die”), the SEE contingent is proportionally even bigger.
Austria, The Dark Valley, Andreas Prochaska (director of this year’s SEEfest sold-out gala premiere of SARAJEVO)
Bosnia Herzegovina, With Mom, Faruk Loncarevic
Bulgaria, Bulgarian Rhapsody, Ivan Nitchev
Croatia, Cowboys, Tomislav Mrsic
Estonia, Tangerines, Zaza Urushadze (story based in Georgia)
Georgia, Corn Island, Giorgi Ovashvili
Greece, Little England, Pantelis Voulgaris
Hungary, White God, KornÈl Mundruczo
Kosovo, Three windows and a hanging, Isa Qosja
Macedonia, To the Hilt, Stole Popov
Moldova, “The Unsaved,” Igor Cobileanski – Best Debut Film Award at SEEfest14!
Montenegro, The Boys from Marx and Engels Street, Nikola Vukcevic
Romania, The Japanese Dog, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
Serbia, See You in Montevideo, Dragan Bjelogrlic
Slovenia, Seduce me, Marko Santic (SEEfest Grand Prix for Best Film)
Turkey, Winter Sleep, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
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9 Films on the Shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film
SEEfest Staff Writer | December 21, 2014, 5:35 PM
Four films from Eastern Europe make the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film: TANGERINES (Estonia/Georgia), CORN ISLAND (Georgia), IDA (Poland) and LEVIATHAN (Russia). 4 out of 9 is a feast to celebrate. Congrats to all filmmakers, Zaza Urushadze, George Ovashvili, Pawel Pawlikowski and Andrey Zvyagintsev. Argentina, Mauritania, Netherlands, Sweden and Venezuela make the rest of the list. One conspicuous absence form the list: “Winter Sleep” by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey).
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Argentina, “Wild Tales,” Damián Szifrón, director
Estonia, “Tangerines,” Zaza Urushadze, director
Georgia, “Corn Island,” George Ovashvili, director
Mauritania, “Timbuktu,” Abderrahmane Sissako, director
Netherlands, “Accused,” Paula van der Oest, director
Poland, “Ida,” Paweł Pawlikowski, director
Russia, “Leviathan,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Sweden, “Force Majeure,” Ruben Östlund, director
Venezuela, “The Liberator,” Alberto Arvelo, director
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SEEfest Documentary Programmers Celebrate their Newest Film
Vera Mijojlic | December 7, 2014, 7:27 PM
It is with great pleasure that we announce that our friends, fellow SEEfest volunteers, Tina Mascara and Guido Santi are celebrating the theatrical release of their newest documentary, Monk with a Camera, a film about the life and journey of Nicholas Vreeland. It will be opening this coming Friday, December 12th at Laemmle Royal Theater. There will be Q&A with Nicholas Vreeland and the filmmakers at 2:55, 5:20 and 7:45.
MONK WITH A CAMERA chronicles the life and spiritual quest of Nicholas (Nicky) Vreeland, who for the past twenty-eight years, has been a Tibetan Buddhist monk. The son of a United StatesAmbassador, grandson of legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, and a photographer by trade, Nicky left his privileged life behind to follow his true calling. He moved to India, cutting his ties with society, photogr
aphy, and his pleasure-filled world, to live in a monastery with no running water or electricity. There he would spend the next 14 years studying to become a monk. Then in one of life’s beautiful twists, Nicky went back to the worldly pursuit of photography in order to help his fellow monks rebuild their mnastery, one of the most important of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. His journey from being a photographer to becoming a monk and, most recently, to being appointed as the abbot of the monastery he helped to rebuild, are the core of the story.
Guido and Tina were last year’s documentary programmers for the festival. Guido Santi started his career directing narrative short films for Italian television and working with director Ermanno Olmi’s group of young filmmakers, Ipotesi Cinema. After receiving his Master’s degree in Film at USC, he produced and directed TV specials and documentaries.
Tina Mascara started her career making narrative feature films, “Jacklight” and “Asphalt Stars”. In 2006, Tina co-founded Asphalt Stars Productions with Guido Santi and embarked on her first documentary film, the critically acclaimed and awards winning “Chris & Don: A Love Story” released by Zeitgeist Films in 2008.
See Nicholas Vreelands’ website here. http://nicholasvreeland.com
Nicholas Vreeland’s interview with NPR.
Follow the film:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monkwithacamera
Twitter: @monkwithacamera
Don’t miss this exciting film!
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Volunteer Spotlight: Julia Macnelly
SEEfest Staff Writer | November 16, 2014, 8:05 PM
Get to know Julia Macnelly, SEEfest 2014 Festival Coordinator and World Traveler.
Здрасти от България!
I’m writing to you from Tryavna, a very small and equally quaint town in the center of Bulgaria that is known for artisan crafts like wood carving, silver filigree, and icon painting. We also have cobblestone streets and a clocktower that sings an operatic rendition of a famous local poet’s verse every night at 10 pm, seriously. I’m living here for the year on a Fulbright grant, teaching English to the students in 8-12th grades at Petko Slaveikov uchilishte (school). The town is situated within the Balkan mountain range, so you can basically walk ten minutes in most directions for beautiful razxodki (hikes…did I mention this blog post is also a Bulgarian language lesson?)
I’ve made several trips around Southeastern Europe in the last few years, so in some ways it feels very familiar being here in the region—but mostly my life feels so completely different. I am learning the ways of the Bulgarian school system (lots and lots of bureaucratic busywork. Your signature is literally required at least 3 times per day for various things) and trying to communicate with my very welcoming colleagues in Bulgarian (I have so far heard that I either have a Czech, Polish, Croatian, Russian, Slovenian, or Romanian accent, but never an American one, so maybe I’m on my way?) I’m also starting a chapter of the BEST Foundation (Bulgarian English Speech Tournament, http://bestfoundation.bg/) at my school, which means I will be coaching students in performing prose, poetry, original work, and debates, all in English—obviously they’re brave souls!
I will be here through the end of the school year next June, which means, sadly, that I will have to miss SEEfest’s 10th anniversary. I had such a wonderful experience working with the festival for the first time this past May and can’t wait to rejoin the team when I’m back in the States. I have loved sharing my stories about Southeastern Europe with friends and family, and so I’m truly proud to be a part of this event which brings this slice of the world to an even wider audience. I hope this year is the best yet, and I look forward to keeping up with the festival from overseas.
– Julia
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South East European Films at AFI 2014
Vera Mijojlic | November 2, 2014, 6:36 PM
We are excited to see the SEE films represented at AFI this year!
The American Film Institute Film Festival is opening this week; from November 6th to November 13th. Among the great films lined up, they are featuring five SEE films.
SEEfest is sponsoring Viktoria and The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga. Viktoria is a Bulgarian Film about a young woman growing up in the midst of political upheaval. The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga is a look into a famous Slavic folktale. The film is represented by the USA, Ukraine, Russia and Poland. Follow the links above to see a full synopsis, director’s bio and trailer.
In addition to the films we are sponsoring, there are three other SEE films in the festival. Rabbitland, a Serbian short film, The Blue Wave, a Turkish feature, and A Portrait of Marina Abramovic, a Short American Doc about a Serbian Conceptual Artist.
Join us for this years festival and support SEE cinema!
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Volunteer Spotlight: Shae Popovich
I was born in Niagara Falls, Canada and moved to LA after winning a green card in the lottery. I’ve been an actor for many years but in 2002, with the drumbeat of war in Iraq, I put my acting on the back-burner and got involved in social justice causes. I was the Associate Director of a non-profit peace and justice organization called Office of the Americas from 2007-2010. While there, I was fortunate enough to be sent on two fact-finding delegations in the Gaza Strip and Cairo, as well as work with several organizations including Codepink, and the ACLU. I have a passion for social justice!
Currently, I work part-time as an Assistant and Manager of a small business and I’ve recently returned to my love of performing and recently shot an indie film entitled “Citizens United” and will be guesting on a web series in Vermont entitled “Queen Dad”. I write poetry, I am learning to play guitar, I love to read and play tennis and study conversational French.
I am pleased to be helping out with SEEfest 2015. One of my favorite pastimes is watching foreign films and documentaries and SEEfest has an amazing lineup of films. SEEfest’s promotion of the cultural diversity of Southeast Europe in it’s presentation of films from the region, provides me with a window into the area where my father and his family are from in Serbia as well my mother’s family in Croatia. SEEfest’s incredible leader, Vera Mijolic, is a pleasure to work with. I first volunteered for Vera many years ago when she ran the International Rescue Committee and I am happy to be back with her and the hard-working and oh so fun volunteers!
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“Waiting for August” Romanian Film in U.S. Theaters
SEEfest Staff Writer | October 6, 2014, 1:01 PM
We are excited to announce the Romanian documentary “Waiting for August,” directed by Teodora Ana Mihai, has landed limited theatrical distribution in the States!
The film won Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary and Best International Feature Documentary at HotDocs.
The synopsis reads:
Georgiana Halmac turns 15 this winter. She lives with her six brothers and sisters in a social housing condo on the outskirts of Bacau, Romania. Their mother Liliana was forced to leave her family behind to go to 
Turin, Italy, to earn money. She won’t be back before summer. During their mother’s absence, Georgiana has been catapulted into the role of head of the family, responsible for her siblings. Her adolescence is cut brutally short.
Caught between puberty and responsibility, Georgiana moves ahead, improvising as she goes. Phone conversations with her mom are her only guidelines. Intimate scenes from the daily life of the seven siblings show us – in an uncensored, fly-on-the-wall style – how real events are experienced and interpreted with great imagination by the children.
The film will be distributed by Rise and Shine and will be playing at Laemmle theaters until October 9th.
To see show times and purchase tickets click, here.
To learn more about the film visit the following websites:
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Support South East European Films in their Bids for the Best Foreign Language Film
Vera Mijojlic | September 30, 2014, 4:02 PM
Films from countries clustered in and around the region of South East Europe (SEE) represent 20 percent of all submissions for the Best Foreign Language Fi
lm! And if you add films from countries not from the same geographical region but which are thematically about it, such as the acclaimed Swedish entry last year (“Eat, sleep, die”), the SEE contingent is proportionally even bigger.
SEEfest congratulates ALL filmmakers whose films are traveling to Hollywood this Fall. We invite all our fans and many SEE expats who live and work in Hollywood to support the films and help spread the word. As a block of non-affiliated industry supporters (“NAIL”), all of us can influence and champion, promote and help our colleagues regardless of the country. Twenty percent will get us attention, and that is the name of the game this Fall: getting the attention of voters. Let’s lock ‘em some votes, and nail that Hollywood spotlight! We have 20 times more power as a block of influencers to do that.
Here’s the complete list of films:
Austria, The Dark Valley, Andreas Prochaska (director of this year’s SEEfest sold-out gala premiere of SARAJEVO)
Bosnia Herzegovina, With Mom, Faruk Loncarevic
Bulgaria, Bulgarian Rhapsody, Ivan Nitchev
Croatia, Cowboys, Tomislav Mrsic
Estonia, Tangerines, Zaza Urushadze – (story based in Georgia)
Georgia, Corn Island, Giorgi Ovashvili
Greece, Little England, Pantelis Voulgaris
Hungary, White God, KornÈl Mundruczo
Kosovo, Three windows and a hanging, Isa Qosja
Macedonia, To the Hilt, Stole Popov
Montenegro, The Boys from Marx and Engels Street, Nikola Vukcevic
Romania, The Japanese Dog, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
Serbia, See You in Montevideo, Dragan Bjelogrlic
Slovenia, Seduce me, Marko Santic (shared this year SEEfest Grand Prix for Best Film)
Turkey, Winter Sleep, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Help champion the voice of independents!
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