Zana Online – Kosovo’s Entry for 2020 Oscars Best International Feature
From SEEfest 2020 lineup: ZANA is now available online
We are proud to present online the first of the 12 features in this year’s competition: ZANA, a remarkable debut by filmmaker Antoneta Kastrati, about a Kosovar woman’s struggles to reconcile the expectations of motherhood with a legacy of wartime brutality. Actress Adriana Matoshi superbly portrays the anguish and heartbreak of her post-war life, haunted by her long-suppressed past and pressured by family to seek treatment from mystical healers for her infertility.
The online viewing is made possible by our distribution partner, Synergetic, which has already acquired the U.S. rights for the film. Watch this great movie, beautifully lensed by cinematographer Sevdije Kastrati, director’s sister, whose previous work includes ‘The Marriage,’ screened at SEEfest 2018. ZANA was also Kosovo’s Oscar submission.
Watch ZANA in the virtual screening room.
A whole new film calendar in 2021
Most if not all major entertainment industry dates in the U.S. are under review. Starting with the Oscars announcement about extended eligibility period and likely new date for the ceremony in April instead of February, many festivals, awards shows, trade events and conferences will also adjust their 2021 calendars.
New podcast for documentary filmmakers: WHAT’S UP WITH DOCS?
Check out this new podcast about all things of interest for documentary filmmakers. Hosted by long-time SEEfest Accelerator mentor and advisor, Toni Bell, and produced by her IDA colleague Ranell Shubert, the podcast launched with a conversation featuring Tracy Rector, Seattle, WA – based Choctaw/Seminole filmmaker, and co-founder of Longhouse Media, an indigenous media arts organization, home of the nationally acclaimed program Native Lens. Congrats!
SUPPORT SEEFEST
If you like our programming orientation and the cultural mission of SEEfest, consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you!
FRIENDS OF SEEFEST
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and by an Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
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Slovenian Film Retrospective and Remembering Christo
From the SEEfest archives
In 2011 SEEfest partnered with UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Slovenian Film Center to present the first-ever L.A. retrospective of Slovenian post-WWII cinema. Titled Slovenia Begs to Differ, the program featured VALLEY OF PEACE (Dolina Miru), 1957 Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actor Award for John Kitzmiller in the role of the stranded American paratrooper; and VESNA, 1953 socialist rom-com which was so popular that Slovenia’s highest film honor was also named ‘Vesna;’ The pretty actress Metka Gabrijelčič (pictured above) appeared in two more films before leaving acting for a career in civil engineering!
On the playbill were also THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA (Splav Meduze, 1980), a whimsical throwback to the dada movement in the Balkan backwaters of the 1920s, when Serbian homegrown Zenitism blew some welcoming breath of fresh air onto the art scene; DANCE IN THE RAIN (Ples v dežju, 1961), an enigmatic drama of love between a brooding young painter and an older actress, played by the lovely Duša Počkaj; and PAPER PLANES (Na papirnatih avionih, 1967), featuring an ad man romancing a young ballerina in the Slovenian Alps.
Ten films were shown at the Billy Wilder Theater housed at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The films were screened from 35mm archival prints, courtesy of the Slovenian Film Center.
We remember Bulgarian-born artist Christo
Christo was famous for his monumental projects, wrapping landmarks around the world and creating temporary installations such as floating piers, field of umbrellas, or gigantic curtains and pyramid-like structures made of oil barrels. His partner in life and in art, Jeanne Claude, died in 2009. Take a journey through his works and browse the project portfolio.
FRIENDS OF SEEFEST
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and by an Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
Follow SEEfest on Instagram and Facebook where we post SEE news as it happens!
Celebrating New Writing Voices
SEEfest Accelerator participants are making waves
Two writers who participated in this year’s workshops, part of the festival’s Accelerator platform for the development of new projects, are getting recognition for their work. L.A.-based Amanda Andrei, whose Filipino-Romanian heritage inspires much of her work, is completing her masters in Dramatic Writing at USC with the thesis play “Lena Passes By,” and will have staged readings in Los Angeles and Denver, Colorado.
Toronto-based Ivana Strajin’s feature script “The Immigrants” was announced as one of the semifinalists in WeScreenplay competition Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab. We wish them success in having their work produced, on stage and on-screen!
Films from SEEfest archives
Two years ago Mila Turajlić’s documentary THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING enjoyed tremendous success at international festivals garnering nominations and awards from, among others, IDFA, ZagrebDox, SEEfest and San Francisco festivals, as well as Creative Recognition Award from International Documentary Association.
It was New York Times critics pick and noted as one of the best films of the year by the New Yorker’s Richard Brody. The film is a searing portrait of an activist in times of great turmoil, questioning the responsibility of each generation to fight for their future. THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING screened at SEEfest 2018.
Available for streaming on Amazon.
** available for streaming in Europe – not available in the U.S. ** SUMMER BROTHERS is a heartfelt gem from the Netherlands, filmed on location in Turkey with an all-Turkish cast and directed by Mustafa Duygulu. It is a story about a Turkish-Dutch teenager on the last day of his summer vacation in Turkey with his ‘summer brothers.’ He clumsily tries to overcome his insecurities and fit in with the young crowd frolicking on the beach. SUMMER BROTHERS screened at SEEfest 2019.
https://www.vpro.nl/speel~
Here are links to the previous SEEfest At Your Home posts: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.
Support SEEfest
If you like our programming orientation and the cultural mission of SEEfest, consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you!
Friends of SEEfest
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and by an Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
Follow SEEfest on Instagram and Facebook where we post SEE news as it happens!
Enjoy SEEfest at Your Home – Part 6
Missed the Salon? Watch the Video!
The video of our 2020 Cultural & Literary Salon, Boundaries of Belonging, is now available online. If you like wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating conversation, we invite you to join in by posting your comments, suggestions, and critique!
Congratulations to all Accelerator filmmakers, with our thanks to panelists and actors
The 2020 SEEfest Accelerator for new projects in development concluded on May 3rd, after two weeks and seven sessions. Huge thanks to industry advisors and talented actors for their contributions.
We are proud of our Accelerator alumni from the past four years who have successfully completed one feature film and one narrative documentary, one short animation with a feature animation in development, and three docs currently in post-production. We hope 2020 participants will follow a similar path!
Films from SEEfest Archives
We pay tribute to a great friend of SEEfest, the late Albanian writer/director Artan Minarolli whose film ALIVE! screened at SEEfest 2010 and was subsequently Albania’s Oscar submission. A carefree Albanian student gets drawn into an ancient gjakmarrja, or blood feud when he returns to his native village for his father’s funeral. This fascinating drama considers how deeply the traditions of one’s forebears can affect one’s life. Lead actor, Nik Xhelilaj , was one of the actors named European Shooting Stars at the Berlin Film Festival in 2011.
Here are links to the previous SEEfest At Your Home posts: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.
You can now deduct 100% of your contribution in 2020!
If you like our programming orientation and the cultural mission of SEEfest, consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you!
Friends of SEEfest
Laemmle, Lumiere Cinema, The Frida Cinema, and New Filmmakers L.A. each offer a wide variety of films for you to stream online.
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Art and Culture; and presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
Boundaries of Belonging: Culture, Identity, and Narrative in South East Europe – Video
The 2020 edition of SEEfest officially began on April 22, 2020, with the Cultural and Literary Salon, our now traditional pre-festival event. A wide-ranging discussion covered many aspects of this year’s festival theme, Boundaries of Belonging.
We paid tribute to Fellini’s centennial and his magical cinematic universe, announced the upcoming BRIDGES book about the cultural bridges of South East Europe, touched on the French 1920’s famous court case that still challenges our conceptions of identity, and discussed minority cultures and language as homeland.
The presentation also gave SEEfest viewers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the 3D design work on Black Panther, a film that featured an altogether imagined universe.
Our panelists questioned the limits of art in expressions of difference—cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and political—to consider how historical processes shape our understanding of self in an increasingly hybrid world.
The Panelists
Julia Koerner, Designer
Julia Koerner is an award-winning Austrian designer working at the convergence of architecture, product, and fashion design. She is internationally recognized for design innovation in 3D-Printing, Julia’s work stands out at the top of these disciplines.
Thomas Harrison, UCLA Professor
Thomas Harrison is a professor in the UCLA Department of Italian. He is the author of the seminal book 1910. His research focusses especially on Italy and Austria, and the region of Trieste and northern Adriatic from 1860 to the present.
David Shafer, CSULB Professor
David Shafer is a specialist in modern French history, with an emphasis on cultural history and a secondary interest in the history of former Yugoslavia. His most recent book is a biography of Antonin Artaud.
Nina Bjekovic, UCLA Ph.D. Candidate: Moderator
Nina Bjekovic specializes in 19th and 20th-century Italian culture and literature, with an upcoming doctoral dissertation, The Triestine Other: Negotiating Alterity in Claudio Magris, Boris Pahor, Giuliana Morandini, and Giorgio Pressburger.
This program is presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts; and in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles.
SEEfest 2020 screens over 50 new films from South East Europe – features, documentaries, short and animation. SEEfest promotes cultural diversity, serves as the cultural hub for ex-pat independent artists and filmmakers, and creates opportunities for a lively cultural exchange.
#SEEfest2020
Enjoy SEEfest at Your Home – Part 5
The pre-festival events that launched the 2020 SEEfest
The 2020 edition of SEEfest officially began last week with the Cultural and Literary Salon, our now traditional pre-festival event. A wide-ranging discussion covered many aspects of this year’s festival theme, Boundaries of Belonging. We paid tribute to Fellini’s centennial and his magical cinematic universe, announced the upcoming BRIDGES book about the cultural bridges of South East Europe, touched on the French 1920’s famous court case that still challenges our conceptions of identity, and discussed minority cultures and language as homeland.
The presentation also gave SEEfest viewers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the 3D design work on Black Panther, a film that featured an altogether imagined universe. Note: the video replay of the Salon will be posted online soon.
We are grateful for the support of the City of West Hollywood, the Instituto Italiano di Cultura Los Angeles, the Austrian Consulate General Los Angeles, and UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies.
Concurrently SEEfest launched the 2020 series of workshops for this year’s participants of the festival’s industry platform, Accelerator for new projects in development. The second round of workshops took place towards the end of April, with 15 participants from Eastern Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
Thank you to European Languages and Movies in America (EMLA), Hollywood Foreign Press Association, International Documentary Association, Film & Ink, Synergetic, California Arts Council, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, and the City of West Hollywood for their ongoing support of SEEfest programs.
Films from SEEfest Archives
Back in 2012, the festival traveled to Austin, Texas for a special presentation of the cinema of South East Europe – thanks to the legendary director of programming and one of the founding board members of the Austin Film Society, Chale Nafus. It was an honor to be included in his long-running signature series, Essential Cinema. Some of the films SEEfest presented can be viewed on Prime Video. Here are links to the previous SEEfest At Your Home posts: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3, and Part 4.
Friends of SEEfest
Laemmle, Lumiere Cinema, The Frida Cinema, and New Filmmakers L.A. each offer a wide variety of films for you to stream online.
You can now deduct 100% of your contribution in 2020!
Consider making a donation to SEEfest and taking advantage of the provisions in the COVID-19 stimulus package regarding charitable giving, specifically aimed at non-profits: Charitable Giving Tax Deduction The stimulus legislation lifts the existing cap on annual contributions for itemizers from 60 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) to 100 percent of AGI for contributions made in 2020.
Additionally, an “above-the-line” or universal charitable giving incentive for contributions made in 2020 of up to $300. This provision will now allow all non-itemizer taxpayers (close to 90% of all taxpayers) to deduct charitable contributions from their tax return, an incentive previously unavailable to them.
Click the donate button or send a check made out to the South East European Film Festival, and mail to 7119 W. Sunset Blvd., Unit 306, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Thank you!
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Art and Culture; and presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
Enjoy SEEfest at Your Home – Part 4
The SEEfest retrospective continues! Following is part four in the series of posts SEEfest at Your Home, featuring films that were included in previous Festivals.
You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. And, please let us know which films you’re revisiting or watching for the first time. We’d love to know which are your faves.
Glory
The second feature by the Bulgarian directing duo, Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov, focuses on a quiet, undemonstrative railway worker who happens to find a large amount of money scattered around the railway tracks. His decision to report the find to the police triggers disturbingly hilarious chain of events. Winner of 19 awards at international festivals including Best Film in Kolkata, Hamptons, Boulder, Gijon, special mentions and nominations for top prizes in Locarno and Ghent, and other awards. GLORY screened at SEEfest 2017.
GLORY is available free of charge on Tubi.
Watch Wonderful New SEE Movies & Support our Indie Cinema Friends!
For the price of a ticket you can:
1. discover excellent new films from South East Europe;
2. support shuttered cinemas that are the lifeline of indie filmmakers, and
3. increase your coolness factor.
Laemmle, Lumiere Cinema and The Frida Cinema each offer a wide variety of films for you to stream online.
Filmmaker News
Vojin Vasović’s Project @ Bordeaux Market Winner of Best Pitch at 2016 SEEfest Project Accelerator, Vojin Vasović was selected to present his new feature animation project at the Cartoon Forum in Bordeaux last month. It is based on his animated short “Twice Upon a Time,” screened at SEEfest 2018.
THANK YOU and STAY SAFE!
We appreciate all of you who continue to be engaged with SEEfest and have given us great feedback on our weekly virtual program offerings. The feedback we have received and support from organizations and individuals are more important than ever. Thank you, be safe and enjoy the company of movies from all over our beautiful world.
You can now deduct 100% of your contribution in 2020!
Consider making a donation to SEEfest and taking advantage of the provisions in the COVID-19 stimulus package regarding charitable giving, specifically aimed at non-profits: Charitable Giving Tax Deduction The stimulus legislation lifts the existing cap on annual contributions for itemizers from 60 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) to 100 percent of AGI for contributions made in 2020.
Additionally, an “above-the-line” or universal charitable giving incentive for contributions made in 2020 of up to $300. This provision will now allow all non-itemizer taxpayers (close to 90% of all taxpayers) to deduct charitable contributions from their tax return, an incentive previously unavailable to them.
Click the donate button or send a check made out to the South East European Film Festival, and mail to 7119 W. Sunset Blvd., Unit 306, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Thank you!
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Art and Culture; and presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
How to Enjoy SEEfest At Home
While the 15th South East European Film Festival is temporarily postponed, we invite you to stay in touch and enjoy some of the films from our past editions online. They are available on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and some on YouTube (and some for free)! We’ll share updates, tips, and recommendations on Instagram at @seefest and here, on our website.
Stay safe, and we hope you enjoy our movie choices! Be sure to let us know in the comments, which films are your favorites! Check out SEEfest At Home Part 2
SARAJEVO
This lavishly produced thriller was first screened at the opening of our festival in 2014. The story is told from the point of view of the examining magistrate who was tasked with investigating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 2014. It perfectly summarized the festival’s theme, “Europe in time of turmoil”, highlighting the turbulent past that looms large over the present.
Directed by Andreas Prochaska. Main cast: Florian Teichtmeister, Jürgen Maurer, Melika Foroutan, Edin Hasanović.
SARAJEVO is available on Netflix.
THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD
Shown at SEEfest back in 2007, the film is a bitter-sweet throwback to Romania on the eve of the 1989 revolution, with ordinary people committing small and oftentimes comic acts of defiance while naively dreaming of swimming across the Danube to freedom – or fantasizing about escaping in a submarine.
Directed by Catalin Mitulescu. Main cast: Dorotheea Petre, Timotei Duma, Ionut Becheru, Jean Constantin.
THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD is available on Amazon Prime.
THE CONSTITUTION
The opening film of the 2017 edition of our festival. While recovering from a homophobia-driven assault, a Croatian professor confronts his own xenophobia after agreeing to help his Serbian neighbor memorize the Croatian constitution for a citizenship exam. An example of a great director-writer pairing (Rajko Grlić and Ante Tomić), this film features three amazing actors from Serbia and Croatia in a very funny and poignant ‘love story about hate.’
Directed by Rajko Grlić. Main cast: Nebojša Glogovac, Ksenija Marinković, Dejan Aćimović.
THE CONSTITUTION is available on Amazon Prime.
NO MAN’S LAND
Danis Tanović’s Academy Award®-winning satire of the war in the Balkans is an astounding balancing act, an acidic black comedy grounded in the brutality and horror of war. Stuck in an abandoned trench between enemy lines, a Serb and a Bosnian play the blame game in a comic tit-for-tat struggle while a wounded Bosnian soldier lies helplessly on a land mine. A French tank unit of the U.N.’s humanitarian force (known locally as “the Smurfs”), a scheming British TV reporter, a German mine defuser, and the U.N. high command (led by a bombastically ineffectual Simon Callow) all become tangled in the chaotic rescue as the tenuous cease-fire is only a spark away from detonation. Tanovic directs with a ferocious, angry eloquence and makes his points with vivid metaphors and savage humor as harrowing as it is hilarious. Searing and smart, this satire carries an emotional recoil.– written by Sean Axmaker.
Directed by Danis Tanović. Main cast: Branko Đurić, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Šovagović. SEEfest held a special 10th-anniversary screening of the film in 2012.
NO MAN’S LAND is available on Amazon Prime.
THE EYE OF ISTANBUL
The legendary Armenian-Turkish photographer Ara Güler dedicated his life to recording the spirit of one of the most vivid cities on earth: Istanbul. Güler’s colorful life and witty commentary will keep you entertained while you discover the unforgettable vistas and rarely seen corners of the great city. The film, directed by Binnur Karaevli and Fatih Kaymak, screened at SEEfest in 2016.
THE EYE OF ISTANBUL is available on iTunes/Apple, and Amazon Prime.
Become a guest curator for our online edition!
While we all need to do our part and follow the public health guidelines to keep us and others safe, shelter-in-place can be challenging. When you take a break from working remotely or get tired of binge-watching your favorite shows, join the SEEfest community of artists and create a short video, podcast, jingle or cartoon and share with us on Instagram and tag us @seefest or submit to us via the website.
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Art and Culture; and presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
SEEfest Announcement Related to Covid-19
In view of the current crisis and public health concerns regarding covid-19 infections, SEEfest Board of Directors has made a decision to postpone the 15th edition of the festival. We are following the recommendations from public health agencies and are rescheduling our festivities for a later date this Spring.
We thank you all for your patience and understanding and will continue to keep you informed.
The Literary Salon, previously scheduled for April 15, will be rescheduled as well.
You can stay up to date with SEEfest news by subscribing to our newsletter. We’ll be sending updates as things evolve and when we have new dates for SEEfest.
Stay safe and healthy.
With best wishes from
Your SEEfest Team
15th SEEfest Cultural and Literary Salon to Explore “Boundaries of Belonging”In South East Europe
The 15th annual South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) running April 29-May 6 in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, announced today the theme for the 2020 Cultural and Literary Salon: “Boundaries of Belonging: Culture, Identity, and Narrative in South East Europe.”
The Salon will explore contemporary artistic approaches to identity, nostalgia, and narrative representation. Using the conflict-ridden history of South East Europe as a springboard for a wide-ranging discussion, a diverse panel of specialists will offer perspectives on past and current issues of belonging.
Panelists will question the limits of art in expressions of difference—cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and political—to consider how historical processes shape our understanding of self in an increasingly hybrid world.
The Cultural and Literary Salon will take place on April 15, 2020, at 7 PM at the West Hollywood Council Chambers at the West Hollywood Library, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. RSVP Required. Tickets are free and can be reserved here.
This program is presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood. For more info on WeHo Arts programming please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts.
Festival passes will go on sale in March. Individual tickets will go on sale on March 16.
About the South East European Film Festival (SEEfest)
SEEfest presents cinematic and cultural diversity of South East Europe to American audiences and creates cultural connections through films, artistic and social events. SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Art and Culture; and ELMA, Foundation for European Languages and Movies in America.