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- New Talents Open Call
Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call - ENFF 2023 On Demand!
Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand! - What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema. - ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation. - Masterclasses
Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material. - Work in Progress
In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts. - Festival Timetable Available!
- Check out the catalogue for our 2023 edition!
- Music at ENFF
Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience. - Film Marathon
Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!
| Director | Yana Titova |
| Producer | Aleksandar Aleksiev, Nickolay Stoichkov – NO BLINK; Reason 8 Films |
| Writer | Yana Titova |
| Camera | Martin Balkansky |
| Editor | Bohos Topakbashian |
| Cast | Valentina Karoleva, Dimitar Nikolov, Aleksandar Aleksiev |
| Original Title | DOZA SCHASTIE |
| Year | 2019 |
| Length | 100 min |
| Country | Bulgaria / UK |
| Subtitles | English |
| Section | WOMEN’S POWER / CINEMA AS CULTURAL MEMORY |
A deeply moving romantic and family drama, based on true events from the life of well-known Bulgarian journalist Vesela Toteva. Based on her own memoir ‘Fall and Salvation: Confessions of a former heroin addict’, it’s a tale of addiction, destitution, fear and redemption, as a rebellious young woman searches for happiness during the turbulent transitional 1990s in Bulgaria.
Synopsis
It’s the careless 90s in Bulgaria, a time of major political changes and economic malaise. Society is full of challenges for young people, balancing between socialist and capitalist life paths. The biopic follows beautiful Vesela, a 20-year-old young mother of a 3-year-old girl, as she gets out of an unhappy marriage. Taking a job in a nightclub, it doesn’t take long before she is in a new relationship, this time with a man twice her age. But the real troubles kick in when Vesela starts using heroin and quickly becomes an addict, putting her entire life in danger. Played brilliantly by beautiful Valentina Karoleva, who is in fact the actual daughter of Vesela Toteva, the film is a touching coming of age story. Directed by the respected actress Yana Titova, this moving true story became the big box-office success of 2019 in Bulgaria.