Episode 211: Evolution of East European Cinema

In this episode, the three co-hosts discuss key takeaways from the Munich Security Conference and a historic meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They also touch on the anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s death, Serbia’s Statehood Day, developments in Georgia, and promising news from North Macedonia.

Later, Nina speaks with Konstanty Kuzma and Moritz Pfeifer, the founders and editors of the East European Film Bulletin. They discuss the historical evolution of cinema in Eastern Europe, the current state of the region’s film industry, and where listeners can watch films from Eastern Europe today.

In the bonus content, Konstanty and Moritz shed light on major changes in the film industry following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Listen to the bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-211-122769663

Check out the East European Film Bulletin: https://eefb.org/

Films and Festivals mentioned in the interview:

Significant films from the region:

Man with a Movie Camera – Dziga Vertov

Daisies – Věra Chytilová

Directors to revisit:
Harutyun Khachatryan, Kira Muratova, Wojciech Wiszniewski

Films to watch for in 2025:

Waves – Jiří Mádl (CZ, SK)

Flow – Gints Zilbalodis (LV, BE, FR)

Kontinental '25 – Radu Jude (RO, HU, DE)

Człowiek do Wszystkiego – Anna and Wilhelm Sasnal (PL)

Jupiter – Andrey Zvyagintsev (RU, FR, ES)

Silent Friend – Ildikó Enyedi (HU, FR, DE, HK)

Spetsialna Operatsiia – Oleksiy Radinsky (UA, LT)

Film festivals in the region:

Golden Apricot International Film Festival – Yerevan, Armenia

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Sarajevo Film Festival – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – Estonia

25fps Zagreb – Croatia (focusing on experimental films and arts)

Specialized film festivals focusing on Eastern European cinema:

GoEast Film Festival –Wiesbaden, Germany

BEAST International Film Festival – Porto, Portugal

Eastern Neighbours Film Festival – The Hague, Netherlands

À l’Est Film Festival – Rouen, France

CinEast Film Festival – Luxembourg

South East European Film Festival – Los Angeles, USA