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"To me, taking part in La Résidence means receiving the opportunity to concentrate on my project in safety. I do plan to finalize the script and to have it ready for the production period. In the circumstances of wartime, when Ukrainian filmmakers lack funding, fellow professionals, sustainability and security, it is a
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The New Media Film Festival
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The New Media Film Festival® represents a convergence of technology and tradition, offering a hybrid platform that caters to both in-person and online audiences. This innovative event showcases a diverse range of categories, from the classic to the cutting-edge, reflecting the festival's commitment to embracing the evolving landscape of media. With a focus on boundary-pushing content, the festival provides a unique space for creators to present their work in various formats, including traditional screenings and experiential presentations. This approach not only honors the storytelling craft but also celebrates the role of technology in shaping new methods of media consumption and interaction. The festival's inclusive ethos is evident in its wide array of categories, ensuring that there is a place for every form of creative expression.
Our mandate is to be fair to all creators, in all ages, all cultures and all media.
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At the Awards Ceremony for the 18th CinEast Festival (Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg, 10-26 October 2024) held on 25 October at Kinepolis Kirchberg, the International Jury awarded the Grand Prix to the film Wind, Talk to Me by Stefan Đorđević and the Special Jury Prize to the film God Will Not Help by Hana Jušić. The Critics' Prize, awarded by the Press Jury, went to Little Trouble Girls by Urška Djukić. The Young Talents Award went to Georgi M. Unkovski’s DJ Ahmet. Finally, the Audience Award went to Fiume o Morte! by Igor Bezinović. Photos from the Ceremony are available here and film stills here.
The 18th edition of CinEast was a great success! So far, the number of festival-goers has already exceeded 10,600 across the festival’s main venues. We are still awaiting the figures from several cinemas and partner high schools, and the online cinema is still ongoing. It is therefore very likely that the final number will surpass the record set in 2019 (11,200 participants) despite this year’s festival being three days shorter. We also collected over 5 000 EUR in donations for our CinEast 4 Ukraine project, bringing the total amount raised in 2025 to more than 10 000 EUR.
CinEast’s International Jury was made up of Bosnian, Academy-Award-winning director Danis Tanović (President of the Jury), Georgian director Akaki Popkhadze, Luxembourgish actress Sascha Ley, Polish director Maria Zbaşka and Luxembourgish producer Adrien Chef (photos, info). The Press Jury was composed of journalists Olivia Popp, Hendrink Warnke and Valentin Maniglia. Finally, the Young Talent Jury was composed of Nithael Athanasiou, Natalia Dembowska, Viktor Lespagnol and Louise-Henriane Lestienne, all students of the BTS Cinéma et audiovisuel programme at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers.
Danis Tanović said that the jury's decision to award the Grand Prix to Stefan Đorđević’s Wind, Talk to Me was an obvious choice: “It is everything cinema should be. It is sincere, it is poetic, it is dramatic. It deals with one of the most terrifying moments of anyone’s existence, which is the loss of a dear person. It is a profound portrait of death and life, and it stayed with me for a long time after watching it. Show it to a beloved, to your kids, to your parents – the urge you have after this film is to call your mom and say “I love you”. I can’t think of anything better to make a film about. Beaut
“SIRÂT” takes Gold Hugo at 61st CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK, BOUCHRA, SHORT SUMMER Earn Gold in Their Categories; ONE GOLDEN SUMMER Receives Chicago Award
The Chicago International Film Festival today announced the winning films at North America’s longest-running competitive film festival’s 61st edition, held from October 15 - 26, 2024. This year, 43 feature films competed for Gold and Silver Hugo Awards in categories including International Feature Film, New Directors, International Documentary, OutLook, and Short Film Competitions. The Festival also awarded the Chicago Award for an outstanding film in the City & State program.
SIRÂT, directed by Oliver Laxe, takes the Gold Hugo for Best Film at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival. In Spain’s submission to the Academy Awards, a young woman goes missing at a rave and her father and brother brave the arid Moroccan desert landscape searching for her in a world on the brink of collapse. Tunisia’s THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, directed by Festival alum Kaouther Ben Hania, takes the Silver Jury Prize, with Mascha Schilinski’s SOUND OF FALLING recognized with the Silver Hugo for Best Director and Best Sound. Silver Hugos also go to actors Wagner Moura (THE SECRET AGENT) and Eszter Tompa (KONTINENTAL ‘25); screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino (LA GRAZIA); and Director of Photography Gergely Pálos (SILENT FRIEND).
“Film has a singular power to illuminate our struggles, our will to overcome, and our shared humanity. The stories that unfolded on screens at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival embody that power, using the art form to confront the defining challenges of our global moment with determination and courage,” said Mimi Plauché, Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation Artistic Director of the Chicago International Film Festival. “It is especially gratifying to see Festival alumni honored for their achievements, including Oliver Laxe, Radu Jude, and Kaouther Ben Hania.”
In the New Directors Competition, Nastia Korkia’s unforgettable, atmospheric vision of growing up in the inescapable shadow of war SHORT SUMMER receives the Gold Hugo, while Karla Badillo’s OCA, following a young nun haunted by prophetic dreams and lost in a strange landscape, takes the Silver Hugo.
Sepideh Farsi’s PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK takes the Gold Hugo in the International Documentary Competition, recognizing the film’s unique mode of storytelling through video calls with Gazan photojournalist and poet Fatma Hassona. An exploration of fragile ecosystems through the story of a farmer, THE TALE OF SILYAN, directed by Tamara Kotevska, receives the Silver Hugo in the category.
This year’s OutLook Competition, celebrating superbly crafted films reflecting the myriad perspectives and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, awards the Gold Q-Hugo to BOUCHRA, Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s genre-defying docu-fiction piece; with the Silver Q-Hugo going to Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke<
2025 HEARTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Grand Prize for Narrative Feature ($20,000 Grand Prize)
"Happy Birthday," directed by Sarah Goher (Egypt)
Eight-year-old maid Toha goes to great lengths to ensure that her best friend Nelly, the daughter of her wealthy employer, has a successful birthday party in this poignant debut feature exploring classism in modern-day Cairo. Egypt's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards®.
Jury statement: This debut feature is a beautifully crafted film that grips you from the very first frame and leaves you breathless by the end. The sorrow achieved in the final shot lingered with the jury long after the credits rolled. The jury would like to also give special recognition to Doha Ramadan, whose breakout performance as young Toha was truly remarkable, and we look forward to seeing her future work.
Grand Prize for Documentary Feature ($20,000 Grand Prize)
"Jimmy & The Demons," directed by Cindy Meehl (USA)
"Jimmy & The Demons" follows 79-year-old artist Jimmy Grashow as he pours four years into his magnum opus, a towering sculpture of Jesus and demons that is an epic reflection of faith, mortality and his own lifelong fears. A portrait of creative genius, family and a career deserving of celebration.
Jury statement: As filmmakers ourselves, we were particularly captivated by a story that beautifully illuminates the process of creating art and the profound ways dedication to one’s craft shapes a lifetime. The remarkable skill, relationships and love portrayed in this film felt transcendent and infused with courage, challenges and hope—messages that resonate deeply within our community and inspire all of us to be the best versions of ourselves.
Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award ($5,000 Cash Prize)
"The Eyes of Ghana," directed by Ben Proudfoot (USA)
From Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, "The Eyes of Ghana" is a stunning feature documentary following 93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse—personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah—as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history—but world history itself.
Humor & Humanity Award ($2,000 Cash Prize)
"Tight & Nerdy," directed by Jeff Nucera & Jonathan Ruane (USA)
This award honors a film that best combines comedy and empathy to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of cinema.
"Tight & Nerdy" is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic.
(L–R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the “Plainclothes” premiere at The Ray Theater in Park City. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Jordan Crucchiola Before the U.S. Dramatic Competition premiere of Plainclothes on January 27, writer-director Carmen Emmi was beside himself. Not just because he was about to debut […]
The post Carmen Emmi’s “Plainclothes” Evokes the Rawness and Sensuality of New Queer Cinema first appeared on sundance.org.
The cry of the city: poverty, power, and the monkeys of Lutyens' New Delhi in ‘‘Eeb Allay Ooo’’ directed by Prateek Vats © by film critic Lalit Rao (FIPRESCI)
Director Prateek Vats’ ‘‘Eeb Allay Ooo’’ (2019) is one of the most strikingly original Indian films of recent years — a daring blend of absurdist satire, social realism, and political commentary. It takes an idea so improbable that it seems almost comic: a young man is hired by the government contractor on a contractual basis to repel monkeys from the monumental buildings of New Delhi. Yet, beneath this apparently whimsical premise lies one of the most haunting portraits of urban poverty and bureaucratic cruelty ever captured on Indian screen.
With its minimalistic dialogue, naturalistic performances, and documentary-like visuals, Eeb Allay Ooo exposes a reality many would rather ignore — that of the working poor, whose lives are consumed by jobs that rob them of dignity and purpose.
A concept that promises much but delivers little
The film’s title — ‘‘Eeb Allay Ooo’’— derives from the peculiar sounds used by “monkey repellers” to imitate langur calls. Since the Delhi High Court banned the use of real langurs around 2014, a new class of workers has emerged whose task is to mimic these animals vocally, scaring away marauding monkeys from government offices and ministries. This absurd reality forms the conceptual heart of Vats’ film. At one level, the premise is funny. The idea of someone earning a living by shouting strange noises in front of Parliament or a ministry building borders on farce. But Vats refuses to treat it as mere comedy. Instead, he transforms it into a metaphor for the senseless labor imposed upon India’s urban poor — labor that sustains the city but brings no recognition, no growth, and no escape. The concept of the film is undeniably powerful, but its execution is uneven. Vats’ choice to adopt an observational, near-documentary tone gives the film a raw authenticity, though at times the narrative drags. Even so, the film’s intent and integrity shine through, making it a rare and courageous work.
Anjani represents the face of Invisible India
At the centre of ‘‘Eeb Allay Ooo’’ stands Anjani, played with quiet brilliance by Shardul Bharadwaj. A migrant from Bihar, Anjani finds himself employed as a monkey repeller in the corridors of Lutyens’ New Delhi — that manicured zone of power, privilege, and political authority. His job is neither stable nor respected; he is a daily-wage laborer at the mercy of contractors and clerks. Anjani’s personal life mirrors his professional despair. He lives with his pregnant sister and brother-in-law in a crumbling house near railway tracks in one of Delhi’s poorer neighborhoods. His sister, despite her condition, continues to manage the household, while her husband, a private security guard, struggles to make ends meet. The couple’s strained existence is emblematic of India’s working-class reality: precarious, fatigued, and constantly threatened by the spectre of unempl
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