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The 21st yearly South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) will unfastened April 29 pinch Ioana Mischie’s characteristic debut Catane, a comedy-romance group successful Romania described arsenic “a modern-day fairytale, wherever hapless bureaucrats yet find their groove.”
SEEfest, co-presented by ELMA (foundation for European Languages and Movies successful America), runs from April 29-May 6 successful Los Angeles. Journalist and entrepreneur Vera Mijojlić, a autochthonal of Sarajevo, founded nan show successful 2006 to bring nan champion of South and Eastern European fabrication and nonfiction cinema to nan U.S. Bulgarian American character and entertainer Irina Maleeva, whose credits see films pinch Fellini and Orson Welles and nan upcoming drama Sunny’s Closet, serves arsenic nan festival’s honorary chair.
Among different highlights of nan 2026 SEEfest programme are Croatian communicative characteristic Honey Bunny, from head Igor Jelinovic, “a marvelous characteristic study of toxic family dynamics worthy of Pirandello.” Fantasy, from Slovenian head Katarina Resek, aka Kukla, won nan 2026 Trieste Film Festival’s Award (Grand Prix) for Best Feature Film and Cineuropa Award, and 5 awards astatine nan Slovene Film Festival successful Portorož, Slovenia.
- Panopticon, Georgia’s charismatic Oscar introduction this year, “wades into nan young man’s disappointment intersexual awakening successful nan protector of an absent mother and all-but-absent begetter who near location to go a monk.”
- From Slovakia, head Jakub Kroner’s gangster double characteristic MIKI and Černák “delivers a powerful punch pinch a two-hander– nan first being nan root story, and nan second nan eventual powerfulness drawback of nan real-life Miki Černák whose sadistic reign epitomized nan worst of nan Eastern European post-socialist corruption rooted successful unbounded crime.”
- Our Father, a Serbian crime play directed by Goran Stankovic which world premiered past September astatine TIFF, “takes america to an isolated enclave lorded complete by a renegade leader dormant group connected curing supplier addiction by his own, merciless and unforgiving methods.”
- Slovak play Father, directed by Tereza Nvotová, premiered astatine nan 2025 Venice Film Festival. It stars Milan Ondrík and Dominika Morávková successful a “devastating play astir guilt, grief, and forgiveness.”
Scroll for nan afloat SEEfest lineup.
On nan documentary side, nan show will showcase Militantropos, directed by nan trio of Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi, and Yelizaveta Smit, a Directors Fortnight action astatine Cannes past year. The nonfiction characteristic “explores nan psychological and societal translator of individuals surviving done nan Russian penetration of Ukraine.”
The Beauty Of The Donkey, a Kosovo-Swiss accumulation directed by Dea Gjinovci, “blends cinéma du réel pinch magical realism portraying a organization grappling pinch representation and loss.” Also successful nan doc lineup: A State Film, from Albanian Italian filmmaker Roland Sejko, which premiered astatine nan Giornate degli Autori successful Venice past year. The archival movie unfolds pinch nary narration, “relying wholly connected nan powerfulness of images to show nan communicative of a succession of ‘eternal friendships’ that each ended up terminated successful nan reign of Enver Hoxha, starring to nan eventual isolation of [Albania].”
SEEfest presents awards successful 7 juried categories. It besides features a robust Industry program, including nan SEEfest Project Accelerator, “a 2-week-long opportunity for filmmakers to coming their projects successful development.”
PROGRAM LINE-UP
FEATURE FILMS 2026
Catane – Romania
Director: Ioana Mischie
In nan distant Romanian colony of Catane, a organization of villagers, agelong surviving connected disablement benefits obtained done ambiguous means, faces vulnerability erstwhile a section enquiry descends. What unfolds is not a communicative of deception, but of unexpected ingenuity. As nan villagers set together nether pressure, they trade a disarmingly poetic and humorous consequence to nan absurdities of a surgery system. In reinventing their measurement of life, they uncover not only a intends of survival—but a extremist exemplary of communal resilience successful a fractured world.
Černák – Slovakia, Czech Republic
Director: Jakub Kroner
The Černák’s group battles rival gangs and politicians successful nan bloody conclusion to Miki Černák’s reign arsenic nan leader of each bosses.
Comatogen – Romania
Director: Igor Cobileanski
Alina, a humble caregiver supporting her boy Radu, tries to rekindle a past emotion pinch Pavel, a existent property director. When Radu steals €18,000 from Pavel’s office, relationships and ambitions spiral retired of control. The coma of able customer Mr. Klauss brings his girl Mihaela into Alina’s life, offering financial thief successful speech for a shocking crime. COMATOGEN reveals nan characters’ existent civilized selves, showing really greed, lies, and desire tin thrust group to betrayal—and moreover murder.
Fantasy – Slovenia
Director: Kukla
Mihrije, Sina and Jasna (early 20s) are champion friends who unrecorded successful Slovenia. They are tomboys and garbage to conform to nan blimpish strategy they unrecorded in. Their world turns upside down erstwhile they meet Fantasy, a transgender woman. Together, they embark connected a travel that explores nan complexities of gender, desire, and self-discovery.
Father – Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland
Director: Tereza Nvotová
A devoted father’s tragic correction shakes his matrimony and leaves him isolated. As guilt and nan threat of imprisonment loom, he fights to regain his wife’s spot and rebuild what he’s lost—but tin he ever find redemption?
Honey Bunny – Croatia
Director: Igor Jelinović
Tonina, a caring and self-confident accountant, runs her institution together pinch her hubby and girl and pulls each nan strings for nan family logistics. Along pinch each her obligations, Tonina is taking attraction of her demented and bedridden mother. Her younger sister Tajana and her family person a overmuch much easygoing and little eager attack to life. The 2 sisters conflict erstwhile Tonina secretly buys retired a portion of their land family location from their relative Željka, moreover though nan sisters had agreed to bargain it together. One twelvemonth later, Tonina and Tajana effort to reconcile for their mother’s birthday, but tensions resurface.
Miki – Slovakia, Czech Republic
Director: Jakub Kroner
This is nan communicative of a man who returns from overseas to his autochthonal village, to a state that is changing quickly and wherever caller awesome opportunities are opening up, including successful nan section of organized crime. Miki, primitively a autobus driver, gradually discovers and activates nan abilities wrong himself to build 1 of nan largest and astir feared mafia groups successful nan country.
Panopticon – Georgia
Director: George Sikharulidze
After his begetter abandons him to go an Orthodox monk, Sandro struggles to reconcile his work to God and his awakening sexuality, which manifests successful uncontrollable ways and leads him to unhealthy behavior, arsenic he searches for meaning and belonging successful nan turbulent nine of post-Soviet Georgia.
The Flying Meatball Maker – Turkey
Director: Rezan Yeşilbaş
In nan streets of Diyarbakir, a middle-aged man by nan sanction Kadir, is opinionated astatine his antagonistic time in, time out, trading meatball sandwiches. He has a family to provender and this is really he ended up making a living. However, Kadir has his caput successful nan clouds – literally. He has 1 obsession successful life; he wants to fly. Kadir’s dream of flying clashes pinch communal consciousness of his surroundings who find it utterly absurd and moreover provoking. His quest to alert causes troubles successful his family, condemnation from nan blimpish nine and moreover warnings from nan information unit successful nan metropolis arsenic flying successful Diyarbakir is simply a information interest for nan state. None of these obstacles does extremity Kadir from trying to execute his dream, and against each odds, Kadir succeeds successful becoming nan proprietor of a powered parachute. While Kadir insist connected surviving retired his dream, his woman Azize is obliged to support nan family together and unafraid a bully early for her children. This does complete clip origin expanding tensions betwixt nan 2 of them and Azize wants Kadir to show nan family nan aforesaid engagement he’s devoted to his quest to fly. Azize still shows patience and refrains from doing thing that would spoil her narration pinch Kadir, but she besides subtly undermines and obstructs his efforts to fly. The discontent expressed by nan extended family only adds to nan rising tensions. But Kadir still insists connected taking flight.
Our Father – Serbia, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Director: Goran Stanković
A supplier addict is brought for rehab curen astatine an isolated monastery commune tally very strictly by an charismatic priest. After first guidance to nan treatment, nan newcomer starts accepting responsibilities and gradually becomes nan right-hand man of nan priest. When nan leader takes his stringent methods excessively far, nan beingness of nan commune is called into question. A powerfully meticulous depiction of nan principle of manipulation tactics; successful an situation ruled by toxic masculinity, it’s easy to suffer consciousness of aforesaid and go a different person. The civilized complexities of nan communicative – based connected existent events – are peculiarly good underlined by nan exacting ocular style and beardown performances.
DOCUMENTARIES Militantropos
Directors: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi
Militantropos captures nan quality information done nan fractured realities of nan Russian penetration of Ukraine. The movie pieces together mundane lives transformed by warfare – those who flee, those who suffer everything, and those who enactment to defy and conflict – tracing some nan small heart to past and nan request for closeness.
9-Month Contract – Georgia
Director: Ketevan Vashagashvili
In Tbilisi, Zhanaa, bum mother, resorts to surrogacy to supply a safe life for her teenage daughter, Elene. While trying to support her pregnancies hidden from Elene, Zhana’s financial struggles persist. With nary due regulations successful place, she pushes her assemblage to nan utmost done aggregate childbirths, taking a vulnerable toll connected her organs and risking her life. As Zhana’s wellness declines, Elene matures and yet confronts her mother astir her choices and their consequences. Through nan director’s decade-long relationship pinch nan duo, nan movie explores nan evolving dynamics of nan mother-daughter narration and raises questions astir nan grade of a mother’s sacrifice.
A State Film -Italy
Director: Roland Sejko
A travel done nan images of a authorities that made cinema an instrumentality of power. A communicative of communist Albania constructed exclusively done propaganda movie archives and, for nan first time, unpublished worldly from Enver Hoxha’s backstage movie archive. Since nan extremity of nan Second World War and for complete forty years, nan history of Albania has been inextricably intertwined pinch that of a azygous man. Enver Hoxha led nan state done ephemeral alliances and extremist ruptures, starring it to full isolation.
Electing Ms Santa – Moldova/Romania
Director: Raisa Răzmeriță
Politics successful Moldova is nary longer conscionable a man’s crippled – astatine slightest not successful Elena’s village. By launching a bold bid for section office, 42-year-old Elena becomes nan uncomfortable look of change. Her determination to tally is much than conscionable a governmental campaign; it is nan communicative of a female daring to dismantle patriarchal boundaries while her full federation stands connected nan period of historical transformation, edging person to nan European Union.
My Dear Theo – Poland/Ukraine
Director: Alisa Kovalenko
A profoundly individual documentary by Alisa Kovalenko, who combines her perspectives arsenic a mother, soldier, and filmmaker. The movie spans from early outpouring to summertime 2022, capturing nan routine, waiting, and abrupt unit of life successful nan trenches. Through Alisa’s camera, viewers acquisition nan stark reality of nan Ukrainian frontline, from nan quiet moments of reflection to nan chaos of rocket strikes. Her letters to her boy Theo supply an affectional core, exploring themes of love, legacy, and nan individual costs of war. By focusing connected her relationships pinch comrades and nan soul turmoil of conflict, My Dear Theo offers a unique, friendly position of warfare that transcends accepted documentary storytelling.
My Friend Sely – Croatia
Director: Maja Alibegović
The filmmaker returns to Slovenia to seizure a image of an inspiring female fig successful her life. Revisiting her homeland intends confronting a lifelong consciousness of displacement. An unconventional relationship pinch nan rebellious, daring huntress Sely supports her travel to self-realisation and acceptance. Sely embodies resilience against prejudice arsenic her struggle for equality and respect arsenic an migrant female paved nan measurement for early generations. A dreamlike travel done memories blends nan author’s modern Super 8mm visuals and Sely’s archival footage, highlighting themes specified arsenic female empowerment, intergenerational friendship, and diversity.
The Beauty of nan Donkey – Switzerland, Kosovo
Director: Dea Gjinovci
A lyrical hybrid documentary tracing a daughter’s travel to reconnect pinch her father’s mislaid homeland. After sixty years successful exile, Asllan returns pinch his daughter, Dea, to Makermal, nan Kosovar colony he erstwhile called home. They group retired to revive his idyllic puerility memories, moving pinch villagers to reconstruct a world erased by war. As playful re-enactments springiness measurement to haunting revelations, Dea and Asllan face nan achy disappearance of a beloved matriarch and nan corporate scars of a organization grappling pinch representation and loss. The movie becomes a moving meditation connected nan vulnerable architecture of remembrance, blending cinéma du réel pinch magical realism.
Truth Or Dare – Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Norway
Director: Tonislav Hristov
A documentary astir really clone news is being utilized to power governmental and taste opinions successful bid to destabilize Europe. Genka is simply a Bulgarian investigative journalist pinch 20 years of experience. Her car has been burned down twice, and her life has been threatened. Ivan is an technologist who spreads and manufactures blimpish and anti-EU clone news. As Europe is experiencing unseen polarisation, Genka and Ivan are moving their agendas and must look each other.
SHORT FICTION
Hi Mom, It’s Me Lou Lou – Turkey
Director: Atakan Yilmaz
The Place Under The Sun – Moldova
Director: Vlad Bolgarin
Eraserhead successful a Knitted Shopping Bag – Bulgaria
Director: Lili Koss
La Première Image -Greece/France
Director: Olia Verriopoulou
The Reporter – Poland/Ukraine
Director: Jan Górecki
The Road Home – Romania
Director: Marian Fărcuț
SHORT DOCS
3cm of Complexity – Austria, Greece
Director: Anna Vasof
Around The Clock – Croatia
Director: Marina Musulin
Beware of nan Southern Stars – Greece
Director: Christos Karteris
Hollowgram – Romania/US
Director: Laura Iancu
I judge nan Portrait Saved Me – Kosovo/Netherlands
Director: Alban Muja
Palaces of Memory – Azerbaijan
Director: Matlab Mukhtarov
Self-Preserving Nudity – Ukraine, Ireland
Director: Nelly Shylova
SHORT ANIMATION
Disturbia – Bulgaria
Director: Mira Yankova
Fačuk – Croatia, Slovenia
Director: Maida Srabovic
How – Croatia
Director: Marko Meštrović
Silent Cinema – North Macedonia
Director: Krste Gospodinovski
How smart are crows? -Greece, Netherlands, United States
Director: Irida Zhonga
Sailboat astatine nan End of nan Street – Croatia
Director: Lucía Aimara Borjas
The Shadow – Croatia
Director: Petra Balekić
Vanja & Vanja – Croatia
Director: Danijel Žeželj
