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FESTIVALS Czech Republic / Slovakia

Film Europe echoes the great festivals at Be2Can

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- The Be2Can Festival is running for the second time and has lined up award-winning films from Berlin, Cannes and Venice

Film Europe echoes the great festivals at Be2Can
Victoria by Sebastian Schipper

Film Europe Media Company is running its very own festival, Be2Can, for the second time from 7-14 October. Originally conceived as a retrospective of the three most influential European festivals, Berlin, Cannes and Venice, the gathering – described by its organisers as a “an echo of the great festivals” – aims to enlighten visitors as to the backstage goings-on at the trendsetting festivals, enabling them to “better understand the structure and dramaturgy”, as the company’s CEO, Ivan Hronec, revealed last year when introducing the concept behind the event. 

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Similarly to the first edition, the organisers are using a multi-platform model, screening 21 films in cinemas, 18 on a video-on-demand basis and 92 on Film Europe’s own television channel. The core of the model is a travelling mini-festival that will screen selected films in 44 cinemas in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The gathering has even established a partnership with the Slovakian public broadcaster’s second channel, meaning that it will show several titles from Film Europe’s slate. “A festival event with such a wide range of elements is totally unique,” adds Hronec.

The company kept the buzz about Be2Can alive throughout the year by reporting on its ever-expanding portfolio, mostly after award ceremonies. The line-up of the festival includes Jafar Panahi’s Golden Bear winner Taxi (see the news); Sebastian Schipper’s one-take wonder Victoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Schipper
film profile
]
, which was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution; the Palme d’Or winner Dheepan [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jacques Audiard
film profile
]
by Jacques Audiard; László Nemes’ lauded debut Son of Saul [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: László Nemes
interview: László Rajk
film profile
]
; Michel Franco’s Chronic [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
; and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin. Among the titles being brought from the Lido are Abel Ferrara’s biopic drama Pasolini [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abel Ferrara
film profile
]
, Ulrich Seidl’s provocative documentary In the Basement [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Francesco Munzi’s Black Souls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Munzi
film profile
]
, last year’s Golden Lion winner A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile
]
by Roy Andersson and Xavier BeauvoisThe Price of Fame [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Beauvois
film profile
]
. The latest adaptation of Macbeth [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, directed by Justin Kurzel, will have a special preview screening in Košice and Brno. In addition, Son of Saul will be presented by the film’s co-screenwriter, Clara Royer, in Prague. For the second edition, the organisers have prepared an English-friendly option for eight films judged to be the highlights of the festival. 

While the second edition has not even got under way yet, the company is already preparing for the third iteration with the latest crop of movies fresh from the Lido. This year’s Golden Lion winner, Desde Allá by Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas, has been added to Film Europe’s slate and the Be2Can 3 line-up, as have Aleksandr Sokurov’s Fedeora Award-winning latest outing, Francofonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, and Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. The latter marks the expansion of the scope of the gathering as it ventures into the territory of American independent film.

Be2Can 2 runs from 7-14 October throughout Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

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