EASTERN NEIGHBOURS in the neighbourhood

Some time ago I heard a rumor, spreading by word of mouth that The Hague will receive a special visit from the East. As is always the case, good news are spreading fast, like the smile on a happy face so it didn’t take long to gather the awaited visitor is no less than Eastern Neighbors Film Festival (ENFF). The festival is back for the 6th time to bring to the Netherlands the best of the most recent Eastern European cinema.

The festival program lists 38 movie titles, thought-challenging, ceaselessly provocative features, documentaries, shorts and animations. A tailored movie selection is looking at Europe 25 years after the fall of Berlin wall, it welcomes Croatia in the EU, celebrates 100 years of Turkish cinema, examines the current situation in Ukraine, supports upcoming filmmakers and presents a special forbidden chef d’oeuvre in a continuous effort to facilitate better understanding of the history of Eastern European film.

Most of the movies will be followed by a debate, workshop or special events that could involve anything – from cooking to wine tasting to secrets of peace negotiations.

Take ten days off to watch the movies, participate in debates, taste Balkan delicacies and meet Eastern neighbours from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Check Republic, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the Netherlands. You will not regret it!

Filmhuis Den Haag, 5-12 November, Spui 191

Het Nutshuis, 13-15 November, Riviervismarkt 5

Sign up for a free movie screening of Everyday Rebellion by Arash and Arman T. Riahi and a lecture paying tribute to the creativity of the nonviolent resistance on 5 November at De Haagse Hogeschool. Or get your tickets for 10 Euros per movie in Filmhuis Den Haag. Or jump to Magpie Digs for Gold and share this in a public post to get your two tickets for New Talents, New Discoveries – a bundle of shorts on Saturday 8 November at 13:45. Winner will be announced on Friday at noon.