Closing Night for the 18th Annual South East European Film Festival, took place on Wednesday, May 3rd, at the James Bridges Theater at UCLA. The evening began with the world premiere of a new documentary from Ukraine, “KING LEAR: How We Looked for Love During the War,” by Dmytro Hreshko. Taking a step back from the frontlines, the film focuses on internally displaced people in a small town who are transformed into Shakespeare’s characters, which in turn gives new meaning and purpose to their shattered lives. This year’s SEEfest Resident Producer, Polina Herman, who is also the producer of the film, attended the screening for a Q&A with Vera Mijojlic, Festival Director.
Prior to the screening, this year’s awards were announced (see the full list below). Irina Maleeva (star of Peacock’s Paul T Goldman, Six Feet Under, and The Gilmore Girls), SeeFest’s Honorary Chairwoman, accepted the MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award for THE GOOD DRIVER on behalf of director Tonislav Hristov, a Bulgarian filmmaker who works in Finland and Bulgaria. The film is a Finnish-Swedish-Bulgarian production.
BEST FEATURE
MEN OF DEEDS by Paul Negoescu
Honorable Mention: SONNE by Kurdwin Ayub
BEST DOCUMENTARY
SCENES WITH MY FATHER, by Biserka Šuran
Honorable Mentions: JUVENILE by Jovan Todorović
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN FEATURE FILM
Cinematographer Giorgos Karvelas, SILENCE 6-9
Honorable Mention: Cinematographer Orlin Ruevski, THE GOOD DRIVER
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN DOCUMENTARY FILM
Cinematographer Hirotoshi Takeoka, ADAMIANI
Honorable Mention: Cinematographers Stefan Đorđević and Jovan Todorović, JUVENILE
SHORT ANIMATION
GRANNY’S SEXUAL LIFE by Urška Djukić and Émilie Pigeard
Honorable Mentions:
THE LEGEND OF GOLDHORN by Lea Vučko
MONEY AND HAPPINESS by Ana Nedeljković and Nikola Majdak Jr
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
THE SCORE by Aleksandra Bilić
BEST SHORT FICTION
CHIATURA by Toby Andris
Special Jury Mentions:
ON XERXES’ THRONE by Evi Kalogiropoulou
THE EAGLE’S NEST by Milija Šćepanović
Two additional Awards:
MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award
THE GOOD DRIVER by Tonislav Hristov
Honorable Mention: THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD by Teona Strugar-Mitevska
Barco HDR Master LightSteering Color Grade Prize
MEN OF DEEDS by Paul Negoescu – BEST FEATURE FILM
SILENCE 6-9 by Christos Passalis – BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN FEATURE FILM, Giorgos Karvelas
Audience Awards
Feature Film: MEN OF DEEDS, by Paul Negoescu
Documentary Film: LIGHTS OF SARAJEVO, by Srdjan Perkić
Photos:
- Irina Maleeva accepting MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award (THE GOOD DRIVER by Tonislav Hristov)
- Vera Mijovlic Q& A for “KING LEAR: How We Looked for Love During the War
- Mijojlic with LIGHTS OF SARAJEVO crew
RELATED: SEEfest 2023 Opening Night – Standing Room Only
