master pages-8x10.875 - Cleveland International Film Festival

16 2007 COMPETITIONS The 31st Cleveland International Film Festival
We are honored to have these remarkable
jurors join us this year:
Ron Henderson is the co-founder and
artistic director of the Denver Film Society.
The Film Society produces the annual
Denver International Film Festival in
November and operates the Starz
FilmCenter, which showcases art and independent
cinema daily throughout the year.
A former book editor at the Macmillan
Company, Henderson was the director of
the National Student Film Festival in New
York City in the early 1970s and is the
editor of “The Image Maker,” a book of
interviews with directors and essays on
film and culture.
Hanna Lynn Plucinski was born in Poland
and moved to the U.S. in 1989. She is
the founder of EuroFilm Society LLC, a
not-for-profit organization specializing in
premiering Eastern European feature films.
EuroFilm also promotes other cultural,
entertainment, and artistic presentations
within the Polish community. In the fall
of 2007, EuroFilm will be presenting the
first Central and Eastern European film
festival under the name “Transitions.”
Hanna holds a BA degree in Business
Management from St. John’s University
and an MBA degree in Finance and
International Business from New York
University.
Joanna Raczynska is a video artist, filmmaker,
curator, and writer. From 2002 to
2006 she was the Media Arts Director of
Hallwalls in Buffalo, New York, where she
worked closely with artists and organizations
on the production and presentation
CENTRAL AND EASTERN
EUROPEAN FILM COMPETITION
The Cleveland International Film Festival’s special focus on films from Central and Eastern Europe, the homelands
of many Clevelanders, was launched 18 years ago. When we began our series the world was a very different place: the
Berlin Wall was still standing, the U.S.S.R. was still one country, and the Cold War was chilling out. Throughout the
18 years, the films from Central and Eastern Europe have changed dramatically due to filmmakers exerting their
rights to make films without government interference. We now see films from all genres, including colorful comedies,
slice-of-life sketches, and unusual love stories. The results are a look inside the lives of the ordinary as well as the
extraordinary.
Our commitment to bringing the most sought-after films from this area of the world to
Cleveland has remained unchanged and the CIFF is proud to present its fifth Central and
Eastern European Film Competition. This competition not only gives recognition to the
films coming to us from Central and Eastern Europe, but it also awards one filmmaker
a $10,000 cash prize that will be announced at our Closing Night Reception.
of experimental and documentary work.
She is also a CEC ArtsLink cultural
exchange awardee to Poland. (CEC
ArtsLink is an international arts service
organization supporting the exchange of
artists and cultural managers in the
United States with their counterparts in
Central Europe, Russia and Eurasia.)
Currently, Joanna collaborates with members
of Termite TV and the programming
collective Stateless Cinema in the
Washington, DC area, and she holds a
position at the Hirshhorn Museum.
Past winners of this competition are:
2003 I EDI
Poland, Piotr Trzaskalski (co-winner)
2003 I HUKKLE
Hungary, György Pálfi (co-winner)
2004 I THE STROLL
Russia, Alexei Uchitel
2005 I DAYS AND HOURS
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pjer Zˇalica
2006 I A LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN
Czech Republic, Peter Nikolaiev
Ron Henderson
Fresh Air
Included in this year’s Central and Eastern
European Film Competition are:
FILM TITLE PAGE
ALL FOR FREE
(Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) . . . . . 28
THE COLLECTOR (Poland) . . . . . . . . . . 36
FRESH AIR (Hungary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
IT DOES NOT HURT (Russia) . . . . . . . . 44
KONTAKT (Germany, Macedonia) . . . . . . 45
LOVE SICK (Romania) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
THE MELON ROUTE (Croatia) . . . . . . . . 48
PLEASANT MOMENTS
(Czech Republic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
TOMORROW MORNING (Serbia) . . . . . . 68
TWO PLAYERS FROM THE BENCH
(Croatia, Slovenia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Hanna Lynn Plucinski Joanna Raczynska