The 15th annual CinEast (Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg) has concluded, with the festival holding its Awards Ceremony on Saturday 22 October 2022 at Kinepolis-Kirchberg.
Festival organiser Radek Lipka led the formal part of the evening during which he reallled the eighteen days of screenings and other events, during which no less than 60 volunteers helped make the festival run smoothly. The 15th edition of CinEast presented 55 features and 45 short films from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as several concerts, exhibitions, ciné-debates, themed evenings and gastronomic events.
He referred to the charity project for Ukraine - he explained that CinEast wants to buy an ambulance and confirmed that online donations were still open - and confirmed that around €6,000 had been raised to date; at the Closing Screening on Sunday, he confirmed that the amount had since risen to €7,868.
On audience figures for the 2022 festival, he revealed that 8,600 people had attended screenings and he hoped that it would reach 10,000 by the end of the weekend, therefore reaching the pre-COVID festival total from 2019.
He was joined on stage by Dominika for the Awards Ceremony.
The Young Talent Jury awarded The Uncle (Croatia, Serbia) by David Kapac and Andrija Mardesic. The Young Talents Jury was composed of Céline Schlesser, Andy-Lee Hoareau, Léa Petitjean and Kevin Wagner, students of the BTS Cinema film studies at Lycée des Arts et Métiers (Luxembourg). Céline Schlesser commented: "We decided to give the Young Talents Award to The Uncle for its use of colour, its unexpected and surprising shots and pared-down story oscillating between black humour and thriller. The film, which takes mostly place in a single location, succeeds in captivating the viewer and takes us to its surprising and open ending".
The Press Jury awarded How is Katia? (Ukraine) by Christina Tynkevych, with Special Mention to R.M.N. (Romania, France, Belgium, Sweden) by Cristian Mungiu. The Press Jury was composed of journalists Geoff Thomspon (Chronicle.lu, who announced the award), Valerio Caruso (Cineuropa) and Nora Schloesser (Luxemburger Wort). Geoff Thompson commented about How Is Katia?: "This is certainly not a sentimental choice as the film explores numerous themes, not least of which the main one is civil corruption. The film examines the relationships within the family as well as outwardly involving other actors and keeps the audience tense throughout".
The International Jury awarded 107 Mothers (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine) by Peter Kerekes. The International Jury was presided over by the Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska and included Luxembourgish actor Luc Schiltz, Czech director Erika Hníková, Luxembourgish producer Marion Guth, and Polish director Dawid Nickel (photos, info). Luc Schiltz commented: "We want to point out the bravery of the dramaturgy, the story not being told in a linear way.... the symbiosis between the claustrophobic cinematography, ambience, form and the script. The faith of those 107 women and so many children gives a very emotional result".
The Grand Prix went to Gentle (Hungary, Germany) by Anna Rszter Nemes and Laszlo Csuja. Teona Strugar Mitevska commented about Gentle: "Through a very tender and patient observation the director opens a door to a universe we know very little of, to a character we have rarely seen on the big screen. 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, wanting more".
The Audience Prize (for a feature film) was awarded to Sonata (Poland) by Bartosz Blaschke; Branka won the Short film award; This will not be a Festival Film won the Short Animated film award; and Attention to all Passengers won the Short Documentary award.
Unlike last year, this year's festival saw the awards spread out over different films from different countries.
The awards were followed by the screening of The Happiest Man in the World (North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Teona Strugar Mitevska who participated in a post-screening Q&A. The film explored the theme of forgiveness in the time of war (set in former Yugoslavia) and hit a raw nerve with some of the audience whose recent experiences are still extremely painful.
The awards evening was followed by a reception at which Ukrainian finger food was served.
The festival ended on Sunday 23 October; however, many films are still be available online, via the CinEast Online Cinema platform, until 6 November 2022.
