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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!

The brilliant Romanian-Romani actress Alina Serban and the extremely gifted director Huseyin Tabak have teamed up to bring a powerful, inspiring boxing story to the big screen. The plot follows a Roma single mom who uses everything she‘s got to provide for her kids. She is determined to give them a good start in life in their new home in a foreign country, Germany, and she’ll have to box her way up to that promise.

Synopsis

It‘s hard not to like young Ali. She has the heart of a lion, is proud, doesn‘t complain and for her two children she works herself to the bone at her job as a cleaner in Hamburg‘s famous Ritze underground club. But deep in her heart Ali carries a wound: after she became an unmarried mother in Romania, she was disowned by her father. Until then, she had been considered the Gipsy Queen, the queen of all Roma. One day Ali discovers the boxing ring in the Ritze‘s basement and gets to watch a fight which brings back memories of boxing training with her father. Fully equipped and disappointed by life, Ali vents all her fury on the punching bag. Tanne, an ex-boxer and the club’s owner, sees her and recognises her talent. She starts to box again and sees the chance of a better life. A brilliant performance by Alina Serban.

Festivals & Awards

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2019 – World Premiere, Best Actress, Estonian Ecumenical Jury Prize | Austrian Film Award, 2020 – Best Actor | German Screen Actors Awards, 2020 – Best Leading Actress | Guenter Rohrbach Filmpreis, 2020 – Best Actress | Turkiye Almanya Film Festival Nurnberg, 2021 – Best Actress | Central European Film Festival Timișoara, 2021 – Best Director

Country: Germany, Austria Year: 2019 Length: 112 min Director/Screenwriter: Huseyin Tabak Editing: Christoph Loidl Cinematography: Lukas Gnaiger Cast: Alina Serban, Tobias Moretti, Irina Kurbanova, Catrin Striebeck Production: Danny Krausz – Dor Film-West, Dor Film Dutch Premiere

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