South East European Filmmakers at Cannes Film Festival

7 Filmmakers From South East Europe Will Premiere Their Films In Cannes This Year

New films from Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria are selected for the 2021 edition of the Cannes Film Festival: Ildikó Enyedi’s first English-language feature, The Story of My Wife, is in the official competition. Based on the 1942 Hungarian novel by Milán Füst, it is a story of a sea captain who makes a bet in a cafe with a friend that he will marry the first woman who walks in. Enyedi’s previous film, Of Body and Soul, was nominated for an Oscar.

In Un Certain Regard section of the festival Bulgarian filmmakers, Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova will present their film Women Do Cry, and Turkish veteran filmmaker Semih Kaplanoğlu’s Commitment Hasan (Baglilik Hasan) is also in the selection. Kazakova’s previous film, Cat in the wall (2019) enjoyed critical acclaim, while Kaplanoğlu is known for his meditative films Egg, Milk and Honey, among others.

Another Hungarian filmmaker, Kornél Mundruczó will have his new film Evolution in Cannes Premieres. His previous films include Pieces of a Woman (2020), currently showing on Netflix, and White God (2012).

Other Eastern European films in Cannes this year are Petrov’s Flu by Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia) in the official competition program; in Un Certain regard section are Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching the Fists and Alexey German Jr.’s Delo, both from Russia; and in Seances Spéciales Sergei Loznitsa’s Babi Yar. Contexte (Ukraine).

Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine Des Réalisateurs)

Three more filmmakers from South East Europe will premiere their films in Cannes this year at the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) which is the parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival.

From Romania, Radu Muntean’s new film Întregalde, his seventh feature, is a suspense story about testing the limits of generosity when three humanitarian workers run into difficulties.

The script was co-written by Alex Baciu and Radu Muntean with Muntean’s regular collaborator Răzvan Rădulescu, one of the most talented writers of this generation whose other credits include The Death of Mr. Lãzãrescu, Shelter, The Paper will be Blue, Tuesday, after Christmas, and Child’s Pose, among many others. All except Mr. Lãzãrescu were screened or co-presented by SEEfest in Los Angeles.

Shot on location in Transylvania, the title of the film refers to the rural community of Întregalde, in the Apuseni Mountains.

SEEfest audiences were first introduced to Muntean’s work in 2007 when we co-presented The Paper will be Blue, an excellent examination of the toll on ordinary people serving as unwitting soldiers in the chaos of the 1989 Romanian revolution.

Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut feature film, Murina, is also on the program of Directors’ Fortnight. SEEfest audiences have seen Kusijanović’s acclaimed short film Into the Blue at our 2018 festival.

Starring Gracija Filipović and Danish-Serbian star Danica Ćurčić (she can be seen on Netflix USA in Equinox and the upcoming The Chestnut Man), Murina explores the tensions between a restless teenager and her oppressive father when an old family friend arrives at their Croatian island home.

The cast also includes Croatian master actor Leon Lučev, one of the most sought-after thespians in the region; and Cliff Curtis, New Zealand’s actor of Maori descent best known for Whale Rider and co-starring in two upcoming Avatar films from director James Cameron.

The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, a France/Kosovo coproduction – debut feature by Luàna Bajrami, French actress from Kosovo turned auteur who’s known for A Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma’s critically acclaimed film. 

Somewhere in Kosovo, in a small remote village, three young women see their dreams and ambitions stifled. In their quest for independence, nothing can stop them: time to let the lionesses roar.

The 74th Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to take place from July 6 to 17, 2021.

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