CinEast kicks off its fourth edition

by Boyd Van Hoeij

05/10/2011 - The CinEast Film Festival in Luxembourg, which focuses on Central and Eastern European films, will kick off its fourth edition today. The event, which showcases films from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, will this year also present films from guest country Bulgaria. The festival runs Oct 5-23.

This year’s events include an official competition with a jury headed by Polish director Agniezska Holland and many collateral events, including a photography exhibition that ties in with the On the Margin of Society sidebar and some culinary events that will offer audiences a taste of Eastern Europe.

Three new screening venues will also be added to the existing five, ensuring an even wider visibility for local audiences.

The competition includes nine films, culled from the major festivals of the last couple of years. The selection is dominated by three films from Poland (also the country of the jury president): Jan Komasa’s Suicide Room, The Christening [trailer, film focus] by Marcin Wrona and Lech Majewsksi’s The Mill and the Cross [trailer, film focus].

Czech Republic is represented by two films: Václav Kadrnka’s Eighty Letters and Radim Špaček’s Walking Too Fast [trailer, film focus]. Neighbouring Slovakia has The House from Zuzana Liová in the race.

Hungary is represented by Adrienn Pal [trailer, film focus] from Ágnes Kocsis, while Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov will show his Cannes title Avé [trailer, film focus] in Luxembourg. The Romanian prison drama If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle [trailer] from Florin Șerban rounds out the selection. Șerban, Kocsis, Majewski and Bojanov are expected to attend the festival.

Beyond the competition, the festival offers several sidebars, such as an East Goes West section that presents work of Eastern European directors who have been successful in the West, including some retrospective titles of directors Roman Polanski and Miloš Forman.