The line-up for what will be the eleventh edition of the festival plunges viewers and exhibition attendees into the themes of history, national identity, the importance of community and religion, and the contrast of traditional and new lifestyles which make up the complex identities of Eastern Europeans.
“CinEast 2018 also has a special focus on Latvia with a much richer Latvian programme than ever before, including 11 films, 6 guests, 2 photographers participating in the exhibition and also a concert of the indie pop band Polifauna in the framework of our Baltic Party in Rotondes on 13 October,” artistic director Hynek Dedecius told Delano.
Running from 4-21 October, the 2018 edition will be the biggest yet, showing 60 feature films and 50 short films at 115 public screenings.
Besides the festival’s main venues in Luxembourg City, for the first time it will also screen films in the CNA in Dudelange, as well as continuing partnerships with venues like the Ancien Cinema in Vianden, Kulturfabrik in Esch-sur-Alzette and cinemas in Rumelange and Mondorf-les-Bains and even Saarbrücken, Germany.
Photo: Cineast. Indie pop band Polifauna headline at the Baltic Party in Rotondes on 13 October
“We also have a record number of guests giving Q&As or participating in discussions after many of the films (over 30). We have managed to programme most of the high profile awarded films (unless we didn’t like them), which is also quite a success,” Dedecius said, adding that almost all films are screened either in English or with English subtitles.
To look out for are the ciné debates, which follow screenings. This year guests include Andy Schleck and the American in Luxembourg Mike McQuaide, who will talk about the world of professional cycling after the film “Wonderful Losers” on 9 October at Neimënster. There will also be discussions following screenings of “The Citizen”, exploring the challenges of integration, “Beyond Words”, on the life of expats, “On the Other Side of Everything”, on democracy in transition, and “Ice Mother”, on women and ageing in contemporary society.
Little ones will get their fix, with two free screenings of children’s films with no spoken language (6 and 13 October at Neimënster) and in addition to Latvia, there will be evenings dedicated entirely to the countries and cuisine of Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Also, don’t miss the live music nights, cinéconcert of “Battleship Potemkin”, photo exhibition and more.
Photo: Cineast. Still from the 1964 Czechoslovak western parody “Lemonade Joe”
Hynek Dedecius’ top film recommendations at Cineast 2018
“I’d start with the festival’s opening film ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ by Milorad Krstić, which is a wonderful “animated joyride” (as Boyd van Hoeij wrote in his review for The Hollywood Reporter) abounding in brilliant ideas and intelligent jokes throughout, where every little detail counts.
“The Polish film ‘Tower, A Bright Day’ is probably the strangest film on the programme, a story about a family reunion in beautiful mountain surroundings with gradually rising tension of unknown origin, a film that will leave you puzzled for sure.
“Nature fans will fall in love with ‘The Ancient Woods’, a visually stunning contemplative walk through one of the oldest European forests (in Lithuania), observing its animal inhabitants.
“Another documentary, Vitaly Mansky’s ‘Putin’s Witnesses’, takes us back to the turn of the millennium when Vladimir Putin was appointed by Yeltsin to become the next president of Russia. Mansky was working for the state television and was incredibly close to both leaders at this crucial time.
“And the fifth could be ‘Lemonade Joe’, a hilarious 1964 Czechoslovak western parody classic full of drunkards, villains and luscious women, with one idealistic man promoting a quality soft drink called Kolaloka.”