3 Films To Watch This Summer: A SEE Fest Blast From the Past

During the long heat wave that's sure to occupy the remainder of summer, what else is there to do than hull up inside a fortress of air conditioning and watch movies? From SEE Fest's past festival programs here are three films that should give you something of quality to watch and bring you down memory lane. So kick back, relax, and absorb the cultural richness that these films have to offer.

BEHIND THE GLASS- 2009 -  Directed by Zrinko Ogresta

Beautifully composed psychological drama about a love triangle between three Croatians reveals layers of moral dilemmas as protagonists confront fate, destiny, coincidence and individual responsibility as one marriage is falling apart. Much like Kieslowski, director Ogresta probes the social undercurrents beneath the bubble of an upscale urban living with great skill and sharp insight.Shown during the 2009 SEE Fest Program 

THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD - 2006 - Directed by Catalin Mitulescu

Winner of Best Actress award for Dorotheea Petre's performance at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard category in 2006, “The Way I Spent the End of the World” is a heart-warming coming-of-age story of two siblings making the most of it in the last months of Ceausescu’s regime in Romania. Brilliantly acted by the pitch-perfect Dorotheea Petre (“Ryna”), and young boy Timotei Duma, the film follows them through the pains of first love and challenged loyalties.Shown during the 2007 SEE Fest Program 


MOONLESS NIGHT - 2004 - Directed and Written by: Artan Minarolli

Director Artan Minarolli

Rudina, a 16-year old girl, and her grandfather travel on a train through Albania hoping to emigrate abroad. On the train, Rudina falls in love with 25-year old Gjergi. Their flirtation leads them to become separated from Rudina’s grandfather and they suffer many hardships trying to reunite with him. Once they do, they discover a devastating secret that connects them to an earlier instance of migration, involving a young man who falls in love with a village girl while attempting to escape from Albania under Hoxha’s dictatorship. In both stories, migration is a seemingly unattainable goal, with the love between young people constituting the primary source of hope for social renewal.Shown during the 2008 SEE Fest Program

Mirza Hasanefendić's Photography Captures the Sarajevo Film Festival

Fresh from Sarajevo, we’d like to introduce photographer and graphic designer Mirza Hasanefendić. His photography beautifully captures the essence of 18^th Sarajevo Film Festival , transporting the viewer to a world of movement and color that revolves around the hustle and bustle of the festival itself.  Hasanefendić has been so gracious to compile a small collection of his photos in a way that tells a story of how the inhabitants of Sarajevo and film enthusiasts alike congregated to enjoy this year's festival.   You can view his full collection on our Flickr page. 

A shop window advertising the festival as well as Angelina Jolie’s appearance for her film about the Bosnian war : In the Land of Blood and Honey

Tourists and film enthusiasts flocked to the city to enjoy the 13 programs featured by the festival every year.  

 The festival attracts 100,000 people from Sarajevo and abroad.

 The festival offers 200 + films, and filmmakers and actors like gather in Sarajevo to present their works. 

 Local businesses thrived en route to the festival. 

 An after party that allowed festival goers to mingle. 

Mirza Hasanefendić: From Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Graduated at the Fine Arts Academy, department for graphic design, where he also attended a 6 semester photography class. He's been working as a graphic designer and photographer in Sarajevo for the past 14 years in many local and international advertising agencies (McCann Erickson, Publicis, Via Media...), as well as the NATO HQ in Sarajevo within SFOR mission's PsyOps division as graphic artist and photographer. Client list includes Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Qatar Embassy, Canon, Volksbank, Bosnian Telecom, ERONET - Croatian Telecom, Vapiano, UNDP, UN Women, Mercator Shopping Mall, Sarajevo Tobacco Factory, Bosnian Railways, Lek Ljubljana, Berlin Chemie and many more. Enjoys capturing small everyday moments in front of his lens. Currently working as a freelance designer and advertising photographer.

Karlovy Vary Film Festival Awards Serbian Filmmaker with the Independent Camera Award

The 47^th annual Karlovy Vary Film Festival came to a close on July 7^th, after 350 film directors and actors presented their films in the world famous spa city in the Czech Republic. Over the past next nine days 10,000 audience members watched 180 films, including 60 debuts.

Only 100 km from Prague and renowned for its healing thermal mineral waters, artists, royalty and composers began frequenting Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) in the 14^th century. Not much has changed since then, as Karlovy Vary has hosted one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world since 1946, offering audiences highly regarded films at a crossroads of both Western and Eastern Europe.  

South Eastern European film fared well at the event, with Serbian filmmaker Miroslav Momčilović’s film Death of a Man in Balkans starring Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Radoslav Milenković, Bojan Žirović, Nataša Ninković, Anita Mančić taking the Independent Camera Award. 

Miroslav Momčilović accepts the Independent Camera Award

Filmed in one continuous shot, Death of a Man in Balkans follows the reactions of neighbors after a lonely composer commits suicide in his apartment. After the authorities are stuck in traffic and late to arrive on the scene, the neighbors slowly make their separate ways up to the apartment. Filmed on a tripod that the composer left stranded in the middle of the room, the neighbors, “weave a subtle mosaic of the ‘Balkan mentality’ and of human nature in general.”

Awards for Turkish, Bulgarian, Slovak, Croatian, Montenegrin, Slovenian, Hungarian and Serbian films

The 7th annual South East European Film Festival, SEE Fest 2012 concluded Monday night at UCLA's Bridges Theater in Los Angeles with the screening of the Turkish epic FUTURE LASTS FOREVER, an exploration of the parallel pasts and Anatolian elegies  directed by Ozcan Alper, which also won Bridging the Borders award for best feature film of the festival. Honorable Mention went to another Turkish film, DO NOT FORGET ME ISTANBUL, a collection of seven stories by seven directors under artistic direction of Turkey's auteur Huseyin Karabey. Both awards are traditionally presented by Cinema Without Borders, festival's media sponsor.

                                    
Seventeen industry people served as jury members, awarding diverse films and unique voices for which SEEFest is well known. Young Bulgarian-American filmmaker Kristina Nikolova won Best Debut Feature award for FAITH, LOVE AND WHISKEY, following an expat's journey between two homes; Slovak elegiac journal of music recordings of Roma singers CIGARETTES AND SONGS by Marek Sulik and Jana Kovalcikova won Best Documentary, with Honorable Mention going to Croatian GABRIEL by Vlatka Vorkapic; two shorts, THE VISIT from Slovenia's Miha Mazzini, and COLD SHOWER from Hungary's Orsy Nagypal shared Best Short (fiction) award, while German production MURDER REVISITED by Serbian filmmaker Milan Miletic won award for  Best Documentary Short. 

Cinematography jury's feature award went to DO NOT FORGET ME ISTANBUL, for overall excellence in visual storytelling, and in particular, the segment 'The Jewish Girl' and cinematographer, Baris Ozbicer. Best cinematography in documentary category was awarded to Momir Matovic from Montenegro whose images beautifully captured the spirit of the passing and irretrievable moment in his memorable documentary PERSEVERANCE...SPIRIT...BREATH.

Winner of this year's Audience Award was Romanian HELLO! HOW ARE YOU?, directed by Alexandru Maftei, romantic comedy which showed another face of Romania and South Eastern Europe not often seen on the big screen.

Juries and awards of the 7th South East European Film Festival included:

Bridging the Borders Award, with jurors Bijan Tehrani, editor-in-chief, Cinema Without Borders; Kevin Cassidy, international news editor, The Hollywood Reporter; and Fareed C. Majari, director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.

Best Documentary Award, with jurors Margit Kleinman, director, Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades; Arnold Schwartzman, Oscar-winning filmmaker and designer; Valentina Ganeva, film editor;

Best Debut Feature Award,  with jurors Ana Maria Bahiana, author and film critic; Matthew Mishory, filmmaker; and Zeljko Marasovich, film composer;

Best Short Film, Best Short Documentary Awards,  with jurors Prince Gomolvilas, playwright; Jelena Mrdja, actress; Marsha Goodman, EMMY-winning casting director; and Jelena Erceg, visual effects artist.

Best Cinematography Award, feature and documentary film, with jurors Boris Schaarschmidt, cinematographer; Michael Pessah, cinematographer; Nicholas Fahey, cinematographer; and Hans Diernberger, visual artist.

SEE FEST 2012 Comes to an End....

...TONIGHT! 

Coffee Futures

An exciting night of Turkish films is in store for all you SEE FEST-ers! Closing Night starts off with documentary COFFEE FUTURES (Neyse Halim Çiksin Falim), which parallels the custom of coffee fortune telling with the story of Turkey's decades-long attempt to join the European Union. Coffee Futures will be followed up with the West Coast premiere of Turkish drama FUTURE LASTS FOREVER (Gelecek Uzun Surer) about a university student who takes an unexpected journey through Turkish lands, having to face her own traumatic past along the way.

To avoid lines or the possibility that Closing Night may get sold out (like on Opening Night!), we suggest purchasing tickets ahead of time on ItsMySeat.

SEE YOU TONIGHT FOR THE FINAL NIGHT OF THE SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL '12.

Future Lasts Forever

The schedule for Monday, May 7, 2012 is as follows: 

6:30 pm- Closing night gala, guests arriving

7:00 pm- Coffee Futures (Turkey; documentary)

7:30 pm- Future Lasts Forever (Turkey; drama)

*conclude SEEFEST 2012*

 at UCLA James Bridges Theater

405 Hilgard Ave., at Parking Structure 3 

Los Angeles, CA 90095

Photos: South East European Film Festival 2012

SEE FEST 2012 has been a raging success! Off to a great start with a completely SOLD OUT opening night, this year's festival has already had the honor of hosting some of South East Europe's talented directors, producers, stars, and supporters. Goethe-Institut director Fareed Majari welcomes the audience on opening night; filmmaker and SEE FEST panelist Matthew Mishory gets interviewed; Do Not Forget Me Istanbul producer Huseyin Karabey stops by the Goethe; and Sabin Dorohoi, Transylvania Girl director, gladly answers audience questions about his film, even after a long flight from Romania. Take a look at all the photos in our albums!

Today's program includes:

Sunday May 6, 2012

1:00 pm- Empty Boxcars (USA; documentary)

 *Shorts Program*

2:00 pm- A Day on the River Drina (Bosnia-Herzegovina; documentary)

2:20 pm- The Visit (Slovenia; short)

2:30 pm- Posthumous (Bosnia-Herzegovina; short)

**

3:00 pm- Maya (Albania; feature)

5:00 pm- "Special Screening" (Romantic Comedy)

7:00 pm- Broken Mussels (Turkey-Sweden-Bosnia-Herzegovina; Drama)

SEE FEST 2012 Panelist Claudio Faeh Takes On True Story of Sarajevo's Very Own Romeo & Juliet

Admira and Bosko

Admira Ismic was a Bosnian Muslim. Bosko Brkic was an Orthodox Serb. Their unparalleled bond struggled as they themselves looked for a way out of the terror that was to become the Siege of Sarajevo. Tragically shot down while crossing a bridge that would have ultimately led them to their freedom, the couple became a symbol of the power of love in time of tragedy when Admira lovingly embraced Bosko in her arms before both their lives were taken by the madness of war.

Now, award-winning director/producer and SEE FEST 2012 panelist CLAUDIO FAEH brings this story of love during the Balkan War to the big screen. A project in the making, LEAVING SARAJEVO will portray the couple's true story which, according to Faeh, "Goes far beyond the political minutiae of the Balkan conflict." 

The feature drew much inspiration from the PBS frontline documentary 'Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo.' Excerpts from the documentary can be watched below.

SEE FEST 2012 opens tomorrow night!

Join us for a weekend-long celebration of South East European culture and film and who knows, you may just run into director Faeh himself. Take a look at the festival PROGRAM if you haven't already and we'll see you there!

 

Excerpts from 'Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo' (1994)