Crossing Distance: Family, Archive, and Legacy in short films from Eastern Europe
Self-Portrait Along the Borderline, by Anna Dziapshipa
Los Angeles Filmforum and SEEfest present
Sunday May 5, 2024, 7:30 pm
At 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 W. Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90057
All Los Angeles premieres!
Tickets: $15 general, $8 students/seniors, free for Filmforum members and SEEfest pass holders
At https://link.dice.fm/l4267a820386?dice_id=l4267a820386
Filmforum hosts a program from the 19th Annual SEEfest to present wonderful short films from Eastern Europe. Looking at how images play a role in connecting people across distances or generations, the films utilize a variety of direct and archival documentary approaches to find emotional riches.
The 19th annual SEEfest is a competition festival presenting to Los Angeles audiences a large selection of feature, documentary and short films from 20+ countries of South and Eastern Europe. www.seefilmla.org
Masks are highly recommended at Filmforum shows - N95 or KN95.
Digital screening
Eneos Çarka's films have screened at numerous festivals, galleries, and cultural events such as IDFA, FIPADOC where he received Tënk Award, HotDocs, Thessaloniki, GoShort, Festival dei Popoli and more. He received the FIPRESCI Award in 2023 and served as a Jury Member in the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary in 2022. His first feature debuted at IDFA Luminous section in 2023 where it received a Best First Feature Nomination. He is currently pursuing artistic research at the University of Southern California.
Hands: Triptych
Hands: Triptych
By Kaja Rakušček
Slovenia, color, sound, 4:36
Los Angeles premiere!
Three micro-portraits of hands show how the way of life is reflected on the hands of a bass player, a tattoo artist and a retiree.
Self-portrait Along the Borderline
Self-portrait Along the Borderline
By Anna Dziapshipa
Georgia, color, sound, 50 min.
Los Angeles Premiere!
An abandoned house opens the door to revisit the past by bringing to life a unique, nearly destroyed image archive from the unrecognized territory on the border of the Black Sea: Abkhazia, a place normally inaccessible for Georgians because of the ethnic conflict that happened between Georgia and Abkhazia back in 1993.
Composed largely of black and white home-movie clips and an introspective voice-over, this film becomes a pensive video journal by the director/protagonist. At an early age and continuing to adulthood, she finds herself caught between dual ethnicities and opposing national identities. – Michael Pardy
Valerija
Valerija
By Sara Jurinčić
Croatia, color, sound, 15 min.
Los Angeles premiere!
The island tradition is that the women choose the image that will represent them on their grave after they're gone. Reality and subconscious mix, as the author questions: “How does it feel to have a family tree consisting only of women? What do our ancestress’ whisper from their silent portraits?”
A meditation on family and inheritances, in the act of tending a grave.
Director and screenwriter: Sara Jurinčić
Editor: Tomislav Stojanović
Director of photography: Ivan Slipčević
The Silence of The Banana Trees
The Silence of The Banana Trees
By Eneos Çarka
Hungary, color, sound, 24:06
Los Angeles premiere!
A father finds shelter in the memories he created together with his daughter to whom he hasn't spoken in years. The film transforms into a go-between in an attempt to unite them through images, sounds, and letters.
"A sad, wonderful, captivating and moving film." – Michael Pardy
"One of the best entries of the festival was The Silence of the Banana Trees (FIPRESCI Prize) by Eneos Çarka, my favorite film: an unspectacular, gentle documentary about a Hungarian father whose talented daughter has at some point renounced him and rejects any personal contact. He lives in a large, deserted house tastefully furnished with objects from a distant past, including two banana trees with gently swaying leaves, perhaps reminiscent of a trip they took together many years ago. The father spends his days here between his daughter’s artwork and countless photos and slides from the time when he was still her most important inspiration and admired creative partner. The filmmaker patiently observes the father, listens, but also wants to mediate and intervenes in the family matter with a letter.
"As an experienced viewer, you now expect and fear the discovery of a dark secret. How the director deals with this, takes us by the hand and leads us to the simple yet surprising ending shows the credibility, the aesthetic quality and the strong emotional impact of this little film." - Achim Forst for FIPRESCI
- FIPRESCI Award - Drama 2023
- Best Short Documentary Award - Sole Luna Doc 2023
- Audience Award - CinEast 2023
- Special Jury Award - BEAST 2023