Kaunas International Film Festival in cooperation with the Hungarian Film Institute and Hungarian Cultural Institute in Tallinn will present a retrospective of the famous and unique Hungarian filmmaker and screenwriter Béla Tarr. The organisers are glad to announce that Béla Tarr has confirmed his participation in person at the Kaunas Film Festival.

Seven films will be screened during the Festival, including the exclusive seven-hour black comedy Satantango (1994), which brought the director worldwide fame. The film has been screened in Lithuania only once and is often described as one of the most important works of cinema of the 1990s which expanded the boundaries of the language of film and inspired multiple filmmakers. The film follows the scheme of tango - six steps forward and six backwards - takes the viewer to a desolate post-communist Hungarian village, where time has stopped under a never-ending rain, while solitary residents struggle to break free from slumber. They wait and they hope for Someone to come, wake them up and resume life. And Someone does come... Satantango won the "Caligari" award in the 1994 Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, "Age d'Or" award in Brussels International Film Festival in Belgium, and a special prize in the Hungarian Film Week in Budapest, Hungary.

"Kaunas Film Festival has from the beginning tried to make retrospectives that show the main traces of film history", said Tomas Tengmark, programmer of Kaunas International Film Festival. "Béla Tarr is one of the most prominent European filmmakers. Since the first film Family Nest to the latest The Man from London, with films like Werckmeister Harmonies and Satantango, he has created his own film language."

"No doubt Béla Tarr is a unique filmmaker. Even if his films rarely appear on the screens not only in Lithuania, many filmmakers unanimously title Béla Tarr a visionary and cite his works as a source of inspiration. We are looking forward to meeting this legendary director in person", said Ilona Jurkonytė, director of Kaunas International Film Festival. "His relation both with the cinematic reality and the living reality is capturing, compelling and challenging. This is how I felt when I first saw Béla Tarr's films - I accepted the challenge and was left maybe slightly disturbed, but in the end rewarded at the same time. When presenting the programme of Kaunas Film Festival we obey a strict rule - we believe in the viewer and his readiness to watch films measured with spiritual standards."

The retrospective will cover Béla Tarr's early works including dramas Family Nest (Családi tűzfészek, 1979), Prefab People (Panelkapcsolat, 1982), Almanac of Fall (Öszi almanach, 1984), and Damnation (Kárhozat, 1987) that show marginalised characters and bring up social issues of the 1980s.

It will also include later films of Béla Tarr focusing on metaphysical issues, puzzles of human nature, solitude, spiritual derangement and disability. The Festival's screens will welcome the Werckmeister Harmonies (Werckmeister harmóniák, 2000) and The Man from London (A Londoni férfi, 2007) with Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton. The latter film tells about a switchman who unexpectedly witnesses a crime. The mystical criminal drama was nominated for the "Palm d'Or" award in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The author's films can be distinguished for non-linear stories, semi-documentary style, dark, long and hypnotic takes, black and white film, and the recurring motif of rain.

Béla Tarr's latest film is expected to premiere this year. The unique visual language of the filmmaker, who describes European culture as a combination of Russian sentimentality, Hungarian sadness and Portuguese melancholy, has inspired a number of famous authors, including Susan Sontag, Gus Van Sant and Jim Jarmusch.

The 4th Kaunas International Film Festival will take place on October 1-17 in film theatres "Forum Cinemas", "Pasaka" and "Skalvija" in Kaunas and Vilnius. The Festival's programme will be announced shortly. For more information about the festival please visit: www.kinofestivalis.lt

--
Gintarė Kavaliūnaitė
Public relations | Ryšiai su visuomene
Kaunas International Film Festival | Tarptautinis Kauno kino festivalis
+370 610 05056 | www.kinofestivalis.lt| This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |

The EFA Selection 2010

It is with great pleasure that the European Film Academy and EFA
Productions gGmbH announce the titles of the 46 films on this year's
European Film Awards 2010! With 32 countries represented, the list once
again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.
In the 20 countries with the most EFA Members, these members have voted
one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list,
a Selection Committee consisting of EFA Board Members and invited experts
Gunnar Bergdahl (Sweden), Pierre-Henri Deleau (France), Stefan Kitanov
(Bulgaria), Derek Malcolm (UK), and Nikolaj Nikitin (Germany) has included
further films.
In the coming weeks, the 2,300 members of the European Film Academy will
vote for the nominations in the different award categories. The
nominations will then be announced on 6 November at the Sevilla European
Film Festival in Spain.
The 23rd European Film Awards with the presentation of the winners will
take place in Tallinn/Estonia on 4 December.
The European Film Awards 2010 are presented by the European Film Academy
e.V. and EFA Productions gGmbH with the support of European Capital of
Culture Tallinn 2011, Estonian Ministry of Culture, the City of Tallinn,
Estonian Cultural Endowment, Enterprise Estonia, Estonian Public
Broadcasting, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and BDG.

Tallinn and Berlin, 9 September 2010

European Film Awards 2010
The Selection -

3 SEZÓNY V PEKLE
3 SEASONS IN HELL
Czech Republic, 110 min.
written and directed by Tomáš Mašin
produced by Monika Kristl

ANOTHER YEAR
UK, 129 min.
written and directed by Mike Leigh
produced by Georgina Lowe

BAL
HONEY
Turkey/Germany, 103 min.
directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu
written by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Orçun Köksal
produced by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Johannes Rexin

CARLOS
Germany, France, 318 min.
directed by Olivier Assayas
written by Olivier Assayas & Dan Franck based on an original idea by
Daniel Leconte
produced by Daniel Leconte, Jens Meurer & Judy Tossell

CELDA 211
CELL 211
Spain / France, 114 min.
directed by by Daniel Monzón
written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría & Daniel Monzón
produced by Emma Lustres, Borja Pena, Juan Gordon & Álvaro Augustín

LE CONCERT
THE CONCERT
France, 122 min.
directed by Radu Mihaileanu
written by Radu Mihaileanu
produced by Alain Attal

DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX
OF GODS AND MEN
France, 120 min.
directed by Xavier Beauvois
written by Etienne Comar & Xavier Beauvois

EU CAND VREAU SA FLUIER, FLUIER
IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE
Romania, 94 min.
directed by Florin Serban
written by Catalin Mitulescu & Florin Serban
produced by Catalin Mitulescu

FILM SOCIALISME
FILM SOCIALISM
Switzerland, 102 min.
written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard
produced by Ruth Waldburger

DIE FREMDE
WHEN WE LEAVE
Germany, 119 min.
written and directed by Feo Aladag
produced by Feo Aladag & Züli Aladag

THE GHOST WRITER
France/Germany/UK, 128 min.
directed by Roman Polanski
written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski
produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski

GIULIAS VERSCHWINDEN
JULIA'S DISAPPEARANCE
Switzerland, 87 min.
directed by Christoph Schaub
written by Martin Suter
produced by Marcel Hoehn

HONEYMOONS
Serbia/Albania, 95 min.
directed by Goran Paskaljevic
written by Goran Paskaljevic & Genc Permeti
produced by Goran Paskaljevic & Genc Permeti

I0, DON GIOVANNI
I, DON GIOVANNI
Austria/Italy/Spain, 120 min.
directed by Carlos Saura
written by Carlos Saura, Raffaelo Uboldi & Alessandro Vallini
produced by Andrea Occhipinti, Andres Vicente Gomez & Igor Uboldi

Как я провел
этим летом (KAK YA
PROVEL ETIM LETOM)
HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER
Russia, 124 min.
written and directed by Alexei Popogrebsky
produced by Roman Borisevich & Alexandr Kushaev

KAWASAKIHO RŮŽE
KAWASAKI'S ROSE
Czech Republic, 95 min.
directed by Jan Hřebejk
written by Petr Jarchovský
produced by Rudolf Biermann & Tomas Hoffman

KENJAC
DONKEY
Croatia, 94 min.
written and directed by Antonio Nuić
produced by Boris T. Matić

LEBANON
Israel, 94 min.
written and directed by Samuel Maoz
produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat
Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard

LOURDES
Austria / France / Germany, 99 min.
written and directed by Jessica Hausner
produced by Martin Gschlacht, Philippe Bober & Susanne Marian

MAMMA GÓGÓ
Iceland, 88 min.
written and directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
produced by Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir & Fridrik Thor Fridriksson

MINE VAGANTI
LOOSE CANNONS
Italy, 116 min.
directed by Ferzan Ozpetek
written by Ivan Cotroneo & Ferzan Ozpetek
produced by Domenico Procacci

MY QUEEN KARO
Belgium/the Netherlands, 101 min.
directed by Dorothée van den Berghe
written by Dorothée van den Berghe in collaboration with Peter van Kraaij
produced by Frank Van Passel, Bert Hamelinck & Frans Van Gestel

NA PUTU
ON THE PATH
Bosnia & Herzegovina/Austria/Germany/Croatia, 100 min.
written and directed by Jasmila Žbanić
produced by Damir Ibrahimović, Bruno Wagner, Barbara Albert, Karl
Baumgartner, Raimond Goebel, Leon Lučev

LA NOSTRA VITA
OUR LIFE
Italy, 98 min.
directed by Daniele Luchetti
written by Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli & Daniele Luchetti
produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini & Marco Chimenz

NOTHING PERSONAL
the Netherlands, Ireland, 85 min.
written and directed by Urszula Antoniak
produced by Reinier Selen & Edwin van Meurs

NOWHERE BOY
UK, 98 min.
directed by Sam Taylor-Wood
written by Matt Greenhalgh
produced by Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae, Kevin Loader

ONDINE
Ireland, 111 min.
written and directed by Neil Jordan
produced by James Flynn & Neil Jordan

PAHA PERHE
BAD FAMILY
Finland, 95 min.
written and directed by Aleksi Salmenperä
produced by Aki Kaurismäki

PÁL ADRIENN
ADRIENN PÁL
Hungary, 136 min.
directed by Ágnes Kocsis
written by Ágnes Kocsis & Andrea Roberti
produced by Ferenc Pusztai

LA PRIMA COSA BELLA
THE FIRST BEAUTIFUL THING
Italy, 116 min.
directed by Paolo Virzi
written by Francesco Piccolo, Francesco Bruni & Paolo Virzi
produced by Fabrizio Donvito, Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib

PÜHA TÕNU KIUSAMINE
THE TEMPTATION OF ST.TONY
Estonia, 114 min.
written and directed by Veiko Õunpuu
produced by Katrin Kissa

DER RÄUBER
THE ROBBER
Austria/Germany, 96 min.
directed by Benjamin Heisenberg
written by Benjamin Heisenberg & Martin Prinz
produced by Michael Kitzberger, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Markus Glaser,
Wolfgang Widerhofer & Peter Heilrath

REWERS
THE REVERSE
Poland, 101 min.
directed by Borys Lankosz
written by Andrzej Bart
produced by Jerzy Kapuściński & Wojciech Kabarowski

Cчастье моё
(SCHASTYE MOYE)
MY JOY
Germany/Ukraine/the Netherlands, 127 min.
written and directed by Sergei Loznitsa
produced by Heino Deckert & Oleg Kokhan

SEBBE
Sweden, 80 min.

written and directed by Babak Najafi
produced by Mimmi Spång & Rebecka Lafrenz

EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
Spain/Argentina, 129 min.
directed by Juan José Campanella
written by Eduardo Sacheri & Juan José Campanella
produced by Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuievsky & Juan José Campanella

SLOVENKA
SLOVENIAN GIRL
Slovenia, 90 min.
directed by Damjan Kozole
written by Ognjen Sviličić, Matevž Luzar & Damjan Kozole
produced by Danijel Hočevar

SOUL KITCHEN
Germany, 99 min.
directed by Fatih Akin
written by Fatih Akin & Adam Bousdoukos
produced by Fatih Akin & Klaus Maeck

SUBMARINO
Denmark, 110 min.
directed by Thomas Vinterberg
written by Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg
produced by Morten Kaufmann

TAMARA DREWE
UK, 111 min.
directed by Stephen Frears
written by Moira Buffini
produced by Alison Owen, Tracey Seaward & Paul Trijbits

TESSERA MAVRA KOUSTOUMIA
FOUR BLACK SUITS
Greece, 90 min.
written and directed by Renos Haralambidis
produced by Aggelo Veneti, Iraklis Mavroidis, Takis Nikolakopoulos & Aris
Dayios

TOURNEE
ON TOUR
France, 111 min.
directed by Mathieu Amalric
written by Mathieu Amalric, Philippe Di Folco & Marcelo Novais-Teles
produced by Yael Fogiel

L’UOMO CHE VERRÀ
THE MAN WHO WILL COME
Italy, 117 min.
directed by Giorgio Diritti
written by Giorgio Diritti, Giovanni Galavotti & Tania Pedroni
produced by Simone Bachini & Giorgio Diritti

UPPERDOG
Norway, 95 min.
written and directed by Sara Johnsen
produced by Christian Fredrik Martin & Asle Vatn

DE VLIEGENIERSTER VAN KAZBEK
THE AVIATRIX OF KAZBEK
the Netherlands/Georgia, 104 min.
directed by Ineke Smits
written by Arthur Japin
produced by Els Vandevorst

ZAD KADAR
VOICE OVER
Bulgaria, 107 min.
directed by Svetoslav Ovcharov
written by Hristo Totev & Svetoslav Ovcharov
produced by Galina Toneva & Kiril Kirilov

A rich and varied crop of 46 films are in the running for the 23rd European Film Awards nominations, 11 of them from Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey

The 6th edition of the Baltic Event Co-Production Market will take place from 1-3 December during the Black Nights Film Festival and right before the European Film Academy Awards ceremony in Tallinn, making this one of the best years to present your project from the Baltic Countries, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia. The deadline for entries is 15 September.

Pitch.Doc, a documentary pitching session which will take place 8-10 December during the 11th Tbilisi film festival (www.tbilisifilmfestival.ge), is open for project submissions. The event is a two-day training session for documentary projects in the development phase.

The axis of the festival program is the four competitions: Opus Bonum for world documentaries of innovative themes and high aesthetic quality; Between the Seas presents high quality films from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe; Czech Joy surveys the newest Czech filmmaking; and the Fascinations section focuses on the marginal or even hybrid form of the documentary film - experimental documentary. Further program sections introduce the current events at the Czech as well as the international documentary scene. Translucent Beings are the retrospective profiles of remarkable filmmakers.

One of the most awaited Polish films of 2010 has won the best artistic contribution at the 34th Montreal World Film Festival (www.ffm-montreal.org), where it had its international premiere. The most recent work of Jan Jakub Kolski, one of the most popular Polish directors and screenwriter of Jasminum and Pornography, is a magical story about 11-year-old Marek who recreates a plan of a floating city in his basement in order to shut out the outbreak of war in 1939.

Jarek Rybus has begun shooting a multimedia experiment fusing film and the Web is in his new documentary about the Polish blog community. "The film is an attempt to look at the Polish bloggers," said Rybus, "and answer the question: Are they another branch of the authorities in Poland nowadays?"

Isreali company Armoza Formats has sold Romania's Prima TV on the second season of its game show formula Upgrade, which will also be a daily fixture on TV screens in Norway when a 48-episode season airs there this winter on channel TV2, Norway's largest commercial broadcaster.

WARSAW: Polish director Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer is Best Film of the Year, according to the members of the International Federation of Film Critics - FIPRESCI who voted for the Grand Prix 2010. The 296 film critics from throughout the world that took part in the poll expressed their preference among the feature-length films premiered during the previous year (after July 1, 2009), according this distinct sign of critical acclaim to The Ghost Writer.