New Europe Film Festival

Bringing films from the New Europe to the UK!

New Europe Film Festival 2011

 

Edinburgh - 1st-12th April 2011

 

2009 Programme – Filmhouse & Barbican

New Europe Film Festival has been bringing the films from the new EU member states to the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema since 2007. This year, the Filmhouse is still our main venue with 15 films screened over 11 days.

 

88 Lothian Road,

Edinburgh EH3 9BZ,

Box Office 0131 228 2688

www.filmhousecinema.com

 

 

In 2009, for the first time, the festival showed part of the programme in the Barbican Centre in London. www.barbican.co.uk/film.

René Vilbre, Estonia 2008, 1h 35min, Estonian with English subtitles, Cast: Rasmus Kaljujärv, Tambet Tuisk, Märt Avandi

 

Rass lives with his girlfriend in Tallinn and goes to a posh high school. He dreams about becoming a doctor in the future but right now he tries to make money through less legal activities: stealing petrol and dealing drugs. When he gets in with the wrong crowd and messes up with a  Mafia boss his small-time gangster's life gets out of control. He has to choose who to trust and play his cards right to get the money and the girl at the end. Violent, fast and engaging story with quick editing that will leave you breathless.

I WAS HERE (MINA OLIN SIIN)

Juraj Nvota, Slovakia 2008, 1h 50min, Slovakian with English subtitles, Cast: Lubo Kostelný, Jan Budar, Dorota Nvotová

 

Martin is a jazz musician stuck in a basement flat with his wife, kid, and his in-laws, who hate him. They are against his musical passion so he has to work an oiler in a water facility, where he can play in seclusion. His life changes completely when he meets a nymphomaniac Anca and an entrepreneurial musician Hruskovic with whom he starts a band. But his life as a lover and star at weddings and socialist party events can not last long. Wrong choices start closing in on him in this comedy that brilliantly recreates the Zeitgeist of Slovak socialism.

MUSIC (MUZIKA)

REVIEWS 2009:

Stephan Komandarev, Bulgaria 2008, 1h 45min, Bulgarian, German, Italian with English subtitles, Cast: Stephan Komandarev, Carlo Ljubek, Hristo Mutafchiev

A story of three generations of a Bulgarian family. Alex, a son of Bulgarian immigrants in Germany leads a boring life as a translator of hoover instructions. When his parents die in a car crash and he suffers from amnesia his grandfather, Dojaru decides to visit him and help him to bring his memories back. They embark on a journey through Europe and revisit important places in his family's life and perfect their backgammon skills.

THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS AROUND THE CORNER (SVETAT E GOLYAM I SPASENIE DEBNE OTVSYKADE)

PETER & THE WOLF

Susie Tempelton, 29min, non-dialogue

Puppet animation awarded with Oscar in Short film (animation) in 2008.

BUG TRAINER

Rasa Miskinyte, Lithuania 2007, 53min, English, Russian with English subtitles, Cast: Gediminas Girdvainis, The Quay Brothers

Documentary. Ladislas Starewitch (1882 – 1965), European Disney, a pioneer of puppet animation is one of the most forgotten film geniuses. He was named as a true Wizard and an Alchemist of animation, whose wizardry was born in Lithuania; he got his fame in Russia and flourished in his full power in France. This film will be an effort to “decode” Starewitch by using the means of his own artistic thinking, and tiding together the biographical facts, memoirs, factual information, films made by Starewtich himself driven by the love story of puppets.

PETER AND THE WOLF & BUG TRAINER

Ferenc Török, Hungary 2007, 1h 32min, Hungarian with English subtitles, Cast: Viktor Bodó, Kata Petõ, Gábor Máté

 

Peter is a hot-shot broker in a big corporation in Budapest. Adored by women and his boss he plays a dangerous game investing an important client's money in a dubious business. Meanwhile, his love life is falling apart as well when his lover gets pregnant. Complicated and fascinating plot is told in a breathless style that could be compared to SYRIANA. A-must-see for globalisation and credit-crunch lovers.

Török’s previous film, MOSCOW SQUARE was shown at New Europe FF 2007.

OVERNIGHT

Jan Hrebejk,  Czech Republic 2007, 1h 38min, Czech with English subtitles, Cast: Jiri Machacek, Tana Vilhelmova, Ana Geislerova, Ivan Trojan

 

Three childhood friends tackle issues of fidelity and fertility in their respective families in contemporary Prague. A gallery owner, a gynaecologist and a politician reveal secrets and changes within their marriages, and the story exposes the ways in which they affect the lives of others. The unfolding relationships are intermingled with slapstick comedy and scene-stealing cameos by Czech stars from the New Wave in Jan Hrebejk’s star-studded intra-family comedy.

TEDDY BEAR (MEDVIDEK)

Vladimír Michálek, Czech Republic 2008, 1h 50min, Czech with English subtitles, Cast: Josef Somr, David Novotný, Mariana Kroftova

A former scientist whose memory is burdened by two wars and other historical and private absurdities converses with his son over beer. They make merry over medical problems and the mysteries of women, with their discussion ultimately providing a cathartic airing of the guilt and anger each carries over long-remembered issues. Michalek creates a bittersweet comedy from a seemingly banal situation. The story is carried through the generations with flashbacks, from the family’s private past to major historical events of the 20th century. An intelligent, fresh and compelling film, one to see if nothing else for the wonderful walk through springtime Prague.

OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN (O RODITICH A DETECH)

Csaba Bollók, Hungary 2007, 1h 32min, Hungarian with English subtitles, Cast: Mária Varga, Marian Rusache, Rózsika Varga

Iska lives in a decaying mining town in Romania and spends her days looking for food and scavenging for scrap metal. When she and her sickly younger sister, Rózsika, get taken into a youth shelter they receive better care than they do at home. She meets a young boy, and together they spend a blissful day doing what kids ought to do – loafing around and dreaming about the future. The two plan to visit the seaside, but the future looks bleak for them.

ISKA’S JOURNEY (Iszka utazása)

Dorota Kedzierzawska, Poland 2007, 1h 44min, Polish with English subtitles, Cast. Danuta Szaflarska, Krzysztof Globisz,

Time to Die boasts possibly the greatest lead performance by a 91-year-old woman in the history of cinema, for whom it was written. Gloriously feisty and totally unwilling to be the infirm woman everyone expects her to be, Szaflarska’s performance brings us her fire in the form of expressive rebellion, which is simply magnetic. A gorgeous black and white poem, a triumphant display of spirit, and an extremely touching and profound impressionistic meditation on old age, little wonder this cinematic treat is causing such a stir!

TIME TO DIE (PORA UMIERAĆ)

Award-winning Romanian shorts. New generation of directors approaching issues that have nothing to do with the big History and focus on everyday life.

 

Films:

The Boxing Lesson (2007) by Alexandru Mavrodineanu,

Megatron (2008) by Marian Crisan,

A Good Day For a Swim (2007) by Bogdan Mustata,

Life's hard (2008) by Gabriel Sarbu,

Waves (2007) by Adrian Sitaru,

The Yellow Smiley Face (2008) by Constantin Popescu.

ROMANIAN SHORTS

Karin Babinska, Czech Republic 2007, 1h 39 min, Czech with English subtitles Cast: Petra Nesvacilova, Sandra Novakova, Marie Dolezalova

 

Iska, Karolina and Vendula are 18 and they’ve just left school. Denying their forthcoming maturity and the end to the blithe existence of their school-days, they decide on a summer trip to Holland. When this is sabotaged by Iska’s younger brother, Vojta, they take him along and he becomes a witness to nude bathing, sexual experimentation and various identity crises, as well as a catalyst in the breakdown of their relationship. It’s a personal and fresh coming-of-age story.

DOLLS (PUSINKY)

Kasia Adamik, Poland 2008, 2h 6min, Polish with English subtitles, Cast: Marcin Dorocinski, Jacek Poniedzialek, Zbigniew Zamachowski

 

Jacek Mróz, a former player of the National Polish football team, is currently homeless and lives at Warsaw’s Central Station. Against the odds he decides to establish a homeless football team with his fellow misfits. Slowly he finds that this could be the turning point of his life when a TV journalist takes interest in his work.

OFFSIDERS (BOISKO BEZDOMNYCH)

Juliusz Machulski, Poland 2008, 1h 58min, Polish with English subtitles, Cast: Ilona Ostrowska, Robert Wieckiewicz

 

 

Machulski’s latest comedy. Zosia is happily married for the second time and together with her new husband Kuba, an ideal man, brings up her daughter from her first marriage. Although her ex-husband is long gone Zosia would like to go back in time, meet Kuba earlier and avoid making the old mistakes. Machulski’s reconstruction of the reality of socialist Poland is spot on.

HOW MUCH DOES THE TROJAN HORSE WEIGHT? (ILE WAŻY KOŃ TROJAŃSKI?)

Małgorzata Szumowska, Poland 2008, 1h 40min, Polish with English subtitles, Cast: Julia Jentsch, Peter Gantzler, Maciej Stuhr,

 

Julia comes from an intelligentsia family. She is a successful artist and she is married to a famous composer. But when her family is faced with her mother’s cancer they are likely to fall apart. Julia will have to put her feelings to a test. Szumowska and her international cast shows that a family facing sickness and death can experience situations that are human, absurd and... funny.

33 SCENES FROM LIFE (33 SCENY Z ŻYCIA)

dir. Cristian Nemescu, Romania 2007, 155 min.

 

 

Romantic comedy with a bitter aftertaste from C. Nemescu, who died tragically in a car crash before finishing the film. When a NATO transport is detained at a rural Romanian train station the locals indulge in a pro-western craze.

 

 

CALIFORNIA DREAMING

dir. Andrzej Jakimowski cast. Damian Ul, Ewelina Walendziak, Rafał Guniczak, 2007, 96 min

 

During the long summer holidays, six-year-old Stefek and his 17-year-old sister Elka play ‘tricks’ or games that can influence the course of events. One day, at the railway station, they see a man who Stefek suspects may be his long gone father. The game begins.

TRICKS (SZTUCZKI)

Little Moscow (Mala Moskwa)

Fri 16 Apr, 20:45

Dir. Waldemar Krzystek • Poland 2008 • 1h54m

In the late 1960s, the military moves Russian pilot Yuri and his beautiful wife Vera to the town of Legnica, headquarters for the Soviet Army in Poland. Soon she falls for a young Polish lieutenant Michal, and the two must choose between loyalty and love. Winner of many awards and a box-office hit in Poland.

 

 

The Blacks (Crnci)

Sat 17 Apr, 16.15

Dir. Goran Devic & Zvonimir Juric • Croatia 2009 • 1h18m

 

A pitch-dark glimpse at the horrors of the Balkan War. A relentless story of soldiers driven to psychological extremes by the pressures of the job. As the war ends the elite squad of Blacks have to perform the last mission and face their shameful past.

 

 

Snow White and Russian Red (Wojna polsko-ruska)

Sat 17 Apr, 20.45

Dir. Xawery Zulawski • Poland 2009 • 1h50m

 

A high energy examination of a man coping with relationships and mortality, Snow White and Russian

Red follows Silny, a low level criminal who slides through Warsaw’s underbelly, finding himself in various Kafkaesque situations. Adapted from Dorota Maslowska’s best-selling novel.

 

 

The Other Irene (Cealalta Irina)

Sun 18 Apr, 20.45

Dir. Andrei Gruzsniczki • Romania 2009 • 1h30m

 

Great thriller based on a true story. When the wife of a security guard Aurel goes on a working trip to Cairo and doesn’t return, Aurel sets out on his own journey: a search for his wife amidst dubious bureaucrats, criminal embassies and hateful in-laws.

 

Slovenian Girl (Slovenka)

Mon 19 Apr, 18.15

Dir. Damjan Kozole • Slovenia/Germany/Serbia/Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina 2009 • 1h30m

 

In Ljubljana in 2008, when Slovenia was chair of the European Union, 23-year old student, Alexandra, leads a double life: she is a student by day and a call girl by night. When one of her clients dies, the police become involved and Alexandra is in danger of having to give up her secret.

 

Signe Baumane’s Short Films

Tue 20 Apr, 18.15

Dir. Signe Baumane • 1h19m

Signe Baumane is a Latvian animator based in New York and a co-worker of Bill Plympton. Her award-winning films are full of absurd and Freudian fascinations.

The Witch and the Cow (1991, 2’40”), The Gold and the Tigers (1995, 20’), Love Story (1998, 3’30”),

Natasha (2001, 9’), Five F*cking Fables (2002, 7’), Woman (2002, 10’), Dentist (2005, 10’) , Five Infomercials for Dentists (2005, 3’30”), Birth (2009, 12’)

 

Zero

Wed 21 Apr, 18.00

Dir. Pawel Borowski • Poland 2009 • 1h50m

 

Twenty-four people with twenty-four stories cross each other in twenty-four hours. In this way the film flows from one situation to the next, with the same people returning several times in stories about jealousy, unfaithfulness, revenge, despair and fate.

 

 

Vortex (Duburys)

Thu 22 Apr only

Dir. Gytis Luksas • Lithuania 2009 • 2h22m

 

The story of the generation who lived through the entire Soviet period is told through the main character: his childhood spent in a village, true friendship, work in Soviet Klaipeda, thrilling eroticism, and a final, fatal love.

 

 

I Am Not Your Friend (Nem vagyok a barátod)

Sat 24 Apr, 20.45

Dir. György Pálfi • Hungary 2009 • 1h40m

 

Shot in just twenty days and completely improvised by Hungarian director György Pálfi , his writers, his director of photography, and his cast of non-professional actors, this unusual drama delves into the dark side of human relations in modern Budapest.

 

 

Constantin and Elena

Sun 25 Apr, 18.00

Dir. Andrei Dascalescu • Romania/Spain 2008 • 1h42m, Documentary

 

In a Romanian village, an elderly couple has been happily married for almost 55 years. Constantin and Elena know that life must end, but are happy with everything that they’ve had. This love story tells itself in images, and the filmmaker, who is the couple’s grandson, keeps himself invisible.

 

 

My Flesh My Blood (Moja krew)

Mon 26 Apr, 20.40

Dir. Marcin Wrona • Poland 2009 • 1h30m

 

Igor, a boxer who has quit the ring because of serious brain damage meets Yien Ha, a Vietnamese immigrant who needs a work permit to stay in Poland. He wants to have a child so that he can leave something of himself behind. They make a deal…

 

Bank Robbery (Pangarööv)

Wed 28 Apr, 18.00

Dir. Andrus Tuisk • Estonia 2009 • 1h33m

 

When Madis leaves jail after ten years he wants to get married and stay out of trouble. But when he takes his shy teenage nephew Hannes on a trip, the surprises awaiting them on the path they take will change both their lives forever.

2010 Programme