The 15th edition of CinEast (Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg, 6-23 October 2022) was inaugurated last night at the Opening Ceremony held at the Neimënster cultural centre in Luxembourg, in the presence of numerous guests and over 250 spectators. The Opening speeches were pronounced by the Minister of Culture Ms. Sam Tanson, the Mayor of the City of Luxembourg Ms Lydie Polfer, the Ambassador to Czechia in Luxembourg Mr Vladimír Bärtl, the Chargé d'affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Brussels Ms Natalia Anoshyna, the director of Neimënster Ms Ainhoa Achutegui and the festival director Mr Radek Lipka. The festival was also greeted by Mr Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, through a video message. (photos from the ceremony)

During the ceremony, the trailer of the festival  was presented before the screening of the Opening film Luxembourg,Luxembourg (trailer, photos, poster)by Antonio Lukich, which was partly shot in Luxembourg and greeted with applause from the audience. The photographic exhibition Communities () (info/photos/catalogue) was also inaugurated yesterday and will be freely accessible to the public in the Cloître of Neimënster until 23rd of October.

The festival will present over 120 physical screenings of 55 features and 45 short films. The 7 films in competition are: 107 Mothers by Peter Kerekes, Gentle by Anna Eszter Némes and László Csuja, How Is Katia by Christina Tynkevych, Moja Vesna by Sara Kern, Occupation by Michal Nohejl, Other People by Aleksandra Terpińska and R.M.N. by Cristian Mungiu (photos, info).

The Macedonian director Teonora Strugar Mitevska will preside over the International Jury of the 15^th CinEast. The other members of the jury that will award the Grand Prix and the Special Jury Prize are Luxembourgish actor Luc Schiltz, Czech director Erika Hníková, Luxembourgish producer Marion Guth, and Polish director Dawid Nickel (photos, info). The Press Jury, is composed of journalists Valerio Caruso (Cineuropa), Geof Thomspon (Chronicle.lu) and Nora Schloesser (Luxemburger Wort) (photos, info) and the recently introduced Young Talents Jury is composed of students of the BTS Cinema film studies at Lycée des Arts et Métiers (Luxembourg).

The main thematic cycle of the 15th edition “Communities” provides a reflection on the various forms of communities and the ways they have to reinvent themselves in the face of crisis. The festival features a Special Ukrainian programme with a charity project, as well as a Focus on Czechia with 11 films, seven guests and the Czech band MYDY performing as headliners at the Opening concert held on 7/10 at Melusina (info, photos). This year, CinEast will welcome around 30 guests,

The highlights of the first festival days include:

8/10: Czech Evening: organised as part of Focus on Czechia- screening of the historical sports film The Last Race followed by a Q&A session with director Tomáš Hodan and producers Ondřej Beránek and Martina Knoblochová (Cinémathèque, 8pm)

8/10: Special screening of the Luxembourgish co-production children film Beanie (Ciné Utopia, 16h30)

9/10: "Women's Event": Debate "The Legacy of Witch Hunts in Europe” after the screening of Nightsiren in the presence of the scriptwriter Barbora Námerová (Neimënster, 7pm)

11/10: Short Fiction Films Marathon - South, the first of four short film marathons with a selection of eight films from Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia (Neimënster, 18:30)

For more details go to our website www.cineast.lu or consult our presentation.