The 3rd edition of ENFF
Eastern Neighbours Film Festival 2010 was held from 21 – 24 October at Louis Hartlooper Complex in Utrecht, and featured shorts, documentaries, animated and full-length feature films from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine.
Croatia in Focus
ENFF’s artistic director Rada Šešić selected several films by Croatian authors, so this year’s edition was mostly dedicated to the presentation of Croatian cinematography. On Friday, the following short films were shown – ‘’Yellow Moon’’ by Zvonimir Jurić, ‘’Špansko – The Continent’’ by Ivan Sikavica, ‘’Recycling’’ by Branko Ištvančić, ‘’Nothing Personal’’ by Marko Šantić, ‘’Chocolate Cake’’ by Doroteja Vučić, and ‘’Bill Collector’’ by Igor Mirković. The same day, the full-length debut of director Danilo Šerbedžija, ‘’72 Days’’, was screened. Saturday’s program was made up of short films ‘’The Traveler’’ by Željko Sarić, ‘’Autoportrait’’ by Silvestr Kolbas, ‘’No Sleep Won’t Kill You’’ by Marko Meštrović, ‘’My Way’’ by Veljko Popović and Svjetlan Junaković, ‘’Ciao Mama’’ by Goran Odvorčić, ‘’Slap in the Face’’ by Nebojsa Slijepčević, ‘’Miramare’’ by Michaela Müller, and ‘’Gulliver’’ by Zdenko Bašić. Full-length feature films ‘’One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away’’ by Krešo Golik, ‘’A Performance of Hamlet in the Village of Mrduša Donja’’ by Krsto Papić, ‘’Two Sunny Days’’ by Ognjen Sviličić and ‘’Metastasis’’ by Branko Schmidt were also shown.
Milestones, Masters and New Talents From Non-EU Countries
About twenty films were shown in Utrecht over a long weekend that should answer the question posed by the festival: who are our neighbours, what do they do, what do they look like and what do they think about us? Romanian ‘’Everyday God Kisses Us on the Mouth’’ by Siniša Dragin, and documentary ‘’ Where Europe Ends’’ by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, listen to the strange stories of Moldovans who saw their border with Romania change into the border with the EU in 2007. Nearly 800,000 Moldovans have applied for Romanian citizenship, causing Moldovan authorities to fear that the country will become empty.
On the last day of the festival, the two-hour omnibus ‘’Some Other Stories’’ by Ivona Juka, Ana Marie Rossi, Ines Tanović, Marija Điđeva and Hanna Slak was shown, created as a joint work of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia.
Special Programs & Special Guests
At ENFF 2010, a workshop titled ‘’Domestic Violence and the Fight Against it’’ was held, and during the four days, participants shot six short films on topics related to the various forms of violence that we are unfortunately surrounded by every day.
Some of the Festival’s VIP guests were Croatian actor Leon Lucev who talked about acting with Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, Croatian director Branko Schmidt, and among others Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic who played in the closing film ‘’Here and There’’ by Darko Lungulov. It’s the semi-autobiographical film about two wandering souls (an unrested-looking saxophonist from America and a Serbian woman), who find each other in small gestures. The dialogue is sparse. The taxi driver who picks up the saxophonist from the airport is the most outspoken: “Welcome to Serbia, a country in transition — transition to what?” Maybe Eastern Neighbours could answer that.
ENFF On Tour
Eastern Neighbours Film Festival On Tour in Het Nutshuis, The Hague on 11 and 12 November. The program screened some of the most vibrant and interesting productions recently made in Eastern Europe. For Het Nutshuis, ENFF made a special selection of films that stand as impressive proof of how the region, despite the economic depression, is keeping the good spirit alive. A diversity of social or political issues is revealed through documentaries, short films and animation, some raising serious questions while others bringing smiles and laughs. The entire selection is made up of works of young and upcoming filmmakers that we believe are to become strong voices in European cinema. The program consisted of documentaries ‘’Mum Died On Saturday in the Kitchen’’by Maksym Vasyanovych (Ukraine, 2009), ‘’Where Europe Ends’’ by Alina Mungiu Pippidi (Romania, 2009), ‘’Mica and Stories Around Her’’ by Milan Nikodijevic (Serbia, 2010), ‘’Married to the Camera’’ by Doga Kilcioglu (Turkey, 2010); and short blocks ‘’Long is Good, Short is Even Better – Croatian Animation and Shorts’’. All films were introduced by Mak Kapetanovic, director of ENFF.