24/10/2022 - In Luxembourg, Hungarian directorial duo László Csuja and Anna Eszter Nemes have emerged triumphant with their intimate story of love and emancipation

l-r: jury members Marion Guth and Teona Strugar Mitevska, Gentle director Anna Eszter Nemes, jury members Luc Schiltz and Dawid Nickel, and festival director Radek Lipka during the awards ceremony

The CinÉast Film Festival is based in Luxembourg and showcases a selection of the newest film productions from Central and Eastern Europe. Its 15^th edition (6-23 October) came to an end at the weekend after 17 jam-packed days of screenings, concerts, panels and photography exhibitions. The common thread was the topic of “communities” – a topic that also inspired the festival's CinEast4Ukraine charity project, which ended with a special screening of Luxembourg, Luxembourg [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Lukich
film profile] by Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich. The comedy was also the opening film of this year's festival.

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Also, on the last day of the gathering, the awards ceremony took place in the presence of the international jury, which was chaired by Teona Strugar Mitevska (God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile]) from North Macedonia. Her newest film, The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile], which tells the story of a 40-year-old single woman in Sarajevo and is the Macedonian entry for the Oscars, was shown after the ceremony. The other jury members were Luxembourgish actor Luc Schiltz (Hytte [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean-Louis Schuller
film profile], The Restless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile]), Czech director Erika Hníková (Every Single Minute [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erika Hníková
film profile]), Luxembourgish producer Marion Guth and Polish director Dawid Nickel (Love Tasting [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), whose film was part of last year's CinÉast and won the Young Talents Award.

The jury decided on the two main prizewinners of the festival after a total of seven films took part in the competition. This year’s Grand Prix went to Gentle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja and Anna Nemes
film profile] by Hungarian directorial duo László Csuja and Anna Eszter Nemes. The drama tells a love story between two outsiders, both bodybuilders, who try desperately to stick together, even though their wishes and perspectives on life no longer match. In its statement, the jury said: “This is a film that challenges our notion of beauty and proposes another kind of beauty, and without judgement, you fall in love. Minimalistic and precise, its careful and efficient editing style keeps you on your toes, needing and wanting more.”

The Special Jury Prize went to the docu-fiction 107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] by Peter Kerekes, which he wrote together with Ivan Ostrochovský. The story, set in a real-life women’s prison in Odesa, tells of a young Ukrainian woman who gives birth to her son in jail and tries everything she can in order to keep custody of him. Last year, Kerekes' intimate drama won the Award for Best Screenplay in Venice’s Orizzonti and the Main Prize for Best Film at Cottbus. The jury in Luxembourg commented on its decision: “We want to point out the bravery of the dramaturgy, the story not being told in a linear way… There is a symbiosis between the claustrophobic cinematography, the ambience, the form and the script.”

From among the same selection of seven films, the press jury chose the Ukrainian effort How Is Katia? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Tynkevych
film profile] by Christina Tynkevych as the winner of the Critics’ Prize. The jury was composed of three members – namely, Valerio Caruso (Cineuropa), Geoff Thompson (Chronicle.lu) and Nora Schloesser (Luxemburger Wort). Anna is the protagonist of this drama about a young, single mother played by Anastasia Karpenko, who won an award for her performance at this year's Locarno International Film Festival. The jury explained its choice as follows: “This is certainly not a sentimental choice, as the film explores numerous themes, not least of which is civil corruption. The movie examines the relationships within the family as well as outwardly involving other actors and keeps the audience tense throughout.”

Once again this year, the gathering invited a special jury of young people along, who also voted for their favourite film of the festival. Their prize, the Young Talents Award for a filmmaker from the new generation, went to The Uncle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrija Mardešić and David …
film profile] by David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić. Finally, the Audience Award for Best Feature was handed to the coming-of-age drama Sonata [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Polish director Bartosz Blaschke.

Even though the physical event has come to an end, many of the films in the festival’s selection will still be available online, accessible only in Luxembourg, on the CinEast Online Cinema platform until 6 November.

Here is the complete list of award winners at the 15^th edition of CinÉast:

Grand Prix
Gentle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja and Anna Nemes
film profile] – László Csuja and Anna Eszter Nemes (Hungary/Germany)

Special Jury Prize
107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] – Peter Kerekes (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Ukraine)

Critics' Prize
How Is Katia? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Tynkevych
film profile] – Christina Tynkevych (Ukraine)

Young Talents Award
The Uncle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrija Mardešić and David …
film profile] - David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić (Croatia/Serbia)

Audience Award – Best Feature
Sonata [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Bartosz Blaschke (Poland)

Audience Award – Best Short Film – Fiction
Branka - Ákos K Kovács (Hungary)

Audience Award – Best Short Film – Documentary
Attention All Passengers - Marek Moučka (Slovakia)

Audience Award – Best Short Film – Animation
This Will Not Be a Festival Film - Julia Orlik (Poland)