The 9th edition of CinEast (the Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg) kicked off on Thursday evening at the Abbaye de Neumunster in the presence of numerous special guests.
The opening speeches were delivered by the director of Neimënster, Ainhoa Achutegui, Colette Mart representing the City of Luxembourg, Guy Arendt, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Culture, Marc Scheffen representing the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg and the programme director of the festival, Radek Lipka.
During the ceremony, the festival trailer (link) was unveiled in front of the 280 spectators in the full Salle Krieps, followed by the screening of the opening film Death In Sarajevo by Danis Tanović, which was greeted with applause. The ceremony was preceded by the opening of the photography exhibition "Away From Home" which is freely accessible at the Caves voutées of Neimënster.
The first big festival event is scheduled for this Saturday – the Balkan Party. Due to problems with obtaining a visa, the Ukrainian group Toporkestra had to be replaced by a new headliner: the French Balkan music lovers Flying Orkestar. Their concert will be followed by a performance by Molotov Brothers and a set by DJ Balkaliente (Melusina @ 20:00, €12 / €15).
Among the other festival events: Eastalgia Party with traditional food, quiz, short films and music inspired by the nostalgia for the golden socialist times (Rotondes, 13 Oct @ 19:00, €8/12/15), ciné-concert with the alternative rock band The Washing Machine to the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Cinémathèque, 14 Oct @ 20:30, €10/12), jazz/folk ciné-concert with the Slovak quintet Bashavel to the film Jánošík (Neimënster, 20 Oct @ 19:30, €10/12 euros) and the Closing event with the concerts of Fanfare Couche-Tard, Bosnian duo Selma & Selma and the Luxembourgish DJ dr. gonZo (Sang&Klang, 22 Oct @ 20:00, €12/15). For an overview and details of other festival events – Women event, All These Sleepless Nights Party, jazz concert Karpiński & Sadowski, gastronomic evening and thematic evenings – see www.cineast.lu.
In the festival programme the first weekend: Q&As with Polish actors Jerzy Radziwiłowicz and Andrzej Seweryn (with a dedicated public interview this Sunday) and the Czech actor Tatiana Vilhelmová, screening for children, short animated films marathon, thematic evening “New Home” with the Luxembourgish film Mos Stellarium and a debate on immigration and integration with the film directors and protagonists… and of course a dozen interesting films.
The CinEast festival pass giving access to all screenings is available in the venues and costs €25, single tickets cost €6.
