The 24th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (24-30 April) kicks off today at the Caligari movie theatre in Wiesbaden, Germany, with Levan Akin’s gentle transgender drama Crossing [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Levan Akin
scheda film], which also opened the Panorama section of the latest Berlinale. Prizes totalling €21,500 await the winning films, including the coveted Golden Lily for Best Film, the Award for Best Director and the CEEOL Award for Best Documentary Film.

A distinguished jury will apply its professional expertise in order to single out the best among the contenders. It consists of Trieste Film Festival artistic director Nicoletta Romeo; Romanian actress Ilinca Manolache, who stood out with her performance in Radu Jude’s latest effort, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Radu Jude
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Delving into the pressing conflicts of our time – from armed confrontations to family struggles – the films in the competition propose a glimpse into the varied landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe. Notable entries include Luka Beradze's darkly humorous political satire Smiling Georgia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Luka Beradze
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intervista: Tinatin Kajrishvili
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intervista: Mladen Djordjević
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intervista: Shoghakat Vardanyan
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Besides placing a special focus on Central Asia, Dmitrii Davydov's Siberian drama Plague and Askhat Kuchinchirekov's tale about the end of childhood Bauryna Salu [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kumjana Novakova
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intervista: Ivan Tymchenko
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
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A large delegation from Kosovo and Albania, including filmmakers Antoneta Kastrati and Gentian Koçi, will present their Albanian-language works that have shaped the region's cultural identity and will take part in the Kosovo-Albania Special Focus, curated by filmmaker Blerta Zeqiri. As for the annual Symposium, this year it is titled “The Other Queers – Cinematic Images from the Periphery of Europe” and is dedicated to the various cultural backgrounds from the “imaginary East”.