Portrait of Boris Khlebnikov // Symposium: Hybrid Identities – Baltic Cinema // Prague 1968 // Virtual Reality
goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (taking place from 18 to 24 April 2018 in Wiesbaden, Germany) will set out in its 18th edition on a search for cinematic identity – in the past, present and future. While the goEast Symposium is poised to celebrate 100 years of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the special program Prague 1968 will look back 50 years to the events of the Prague Spring. This year’s goEast Portrait is devoted to Russian filmmaker Boris Khlebnikov, whose work has captured the feel of Putin-era Russia perhaps better than any other contemporary director. goEast will also once again offer young filmmakers numerous opportunities to present their work and develop new projects.
Hosted by Deutsches Filminstitut, goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film boasts a multifaceted program featuring film screenings, workshops, exhibitions and panel discussions. The festival is a favourite among local and trade audiences alike and is attended by guests from around the world. The following are some of this year’s most anticipated highlights:
Portrait: Boris Khlebnikov
goEast and Boris Khlebnikov go back a long way together. In 2004, Khlebnikov won the Golden Lilly for Best Film together with Alexey Popogrebsky for his feature film debut KOKTEBEL. Khlebnikov has long since established himself as a giant of contemporary Russian cinema, not only at goEast – he regularly appears as a guest at other international film festivals around the world as well. Full of quiet humour, Boris Khlebnikov’s films depict life in the backcountry, far removed from the decadence of the capital city. His characters are united by the constant struggle to overcome everyday life, which is often characterised by unemployment, alcoholism and trouble with the law. His protagonists’ humanity remains nonetheless clearly recognizable throughout. While the transitional chaos of the 1990s in Russia is still very palpable in his early works, in his more recent films bureaucracy reveals itself to be a growing obstacle. goEast screens SUMASSHEDSHAYA POMOSHCH (HELP GONE MAD, 2009) and ARITMIYA (ARRHYTHMIA, 2017) among others. Boris Khlebnikov has expressed his intention to attend the festival, accompanied by one of his long-time creative partners, actor Aleksander Yatsenko.
Symposium: Hybrid Identities – Baltic Cinema
goEast takes a look at 100 years of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The mile markers of this year’s goEast Symposium are represented by the declarations of independence of the years 1918 and 1990 – in between lie first German and then Soviet foreign occupation, authoritarian state regimes and struggles for freedom. Under the title “Hybrid Identities: Baltic Cinema” the Symposium invites attendees to take part in numerous lectures and discussions, for instance on the criticism of poetic realism and questions concerning power relationships and the search for national and cultural identity. A carefully curated film program accompanies the Symposium: among other things goEast will screen a unique restored 35mm copy of Uldis Brauns’ 235,000,000 (1967) as well as an exquisite selection of Estonian animated films from the world’s oldest animated film factory, Nukufilm Studios. Guests include Latvian filmmaker Laila Pakalniņa, Lithuania’s Audrius Stonys and Mait Laas from Estonia.
The Symposium is organised in collaboration with the national film institutes of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Prague 1968
50 years of the Prague Spring – high time for a cinematic reappraisal. For this year’s special program, a shift in perspective occupies the foreground: goEast will show works from the Czech New Wave, documentary films and even bring Soviet propaganda material to the big screen. The highlight is sure to be the world premiere of the extraordinary film project OCCUPATION 1968 (2017), realised by five directors from five different former Warsaw Pact nations, which shows occupied Prague from the viewpoint of the occupiers.
goEast is organising Prague 1968 in co-operation with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
A Look to the Future
As every year, in the scope of several festival sections goEast offers talented young filmmakers the opportunity to advance the cinema of tomorrow, make connections among themselves and within the industry and take part in numerous workshops. Just a little preview of things to come this year: for the first time goEast will be featuring works making use of virtual reality technology.
Please find more fotos in our download section: http://www.filmfestival-goeast.de/en/press/downloads.php
The full program for the 18th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film will be announced in early April.
