07/10/2010

Pécs International Film Festival, Hungary’s oldest film event, has had many different formats since its creation. Its current edition has been in full swing since Monday and will run until October 10.

For the second year in a row, the event is focusing on debut and second features from Central Europe and the Balkans. The competition comprising ten narrative titles will be judged by a jury headed by Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel.

Four second features are vying for honours, in a line-up headed by Hungarian director Agnes Kocsis’s Adrienn Pal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnes Kocsis, director of P…
film profile] (see video interview), which won the FIPRESCI Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in May.

The programme also includes Heaven, Hell… Earth by Slovakia’s Laura Siváková; Jasmin Duraković’s Bosnian/Hungarian co-production Sevdah for Karim; and Marek Najbrt’s Protektor (see news), which triumphed at the 2009 Czech Lion Awards (Best Film, Best Editing, Best Actor and Best Actress).

Among the six debut features competing alongside, highlights include Dimitar Mitovski’s Bulgarian/Hungarian/Macedonian/Swedish/UK co-production Mission London [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see news) and Serbian director Vladimir Paskaljević’s Devil Town, which picked up prizes this year at Trieste, Palm Springs, Athens and Tirana.

The competition line-up is completed by German director Maria Reich’s Summertime Blues [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Zero by Poland’s Paweł Borkowski, Handan Öztürk’s Turkish film Me and Roz and Aleksandar Janković’s Serbian title Flashback.

Out of competition, the Pécs fest also offers a broad panorama of Eastern European productions, including Forest Creatures by Croatia’s Ivan-Goran Vitez, Team Building by Hungary’s Reka Szabo, Vespa by fellow Hungarian director Diana Groo, The Vigil Isn’t Held Here Anymore by Romania’s Lucian Ţion, 45m2 by Greece’s Stratos Tzitzis and First of All, Felicia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Melissa de Raaf and Razvan …
film profile] by directorial duo Melissa de Raaf and Razvan Radulescu.

(Translated from French)