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GoEast

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GoEast is an International Film Festival which has been held annually in the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden, Germany since its inception in 2001. It's primarily for films with an Eastern European background. It's held by the Deutsches Filminstitut (German Film Institute) for one week every April.

History

The goEast film festival, launched in 2001, was founded by Claudia Dillmann, the Director of the German Film Institute – DIF. Likewise involved in developing the original festival concept was Swetlana Sikora, who has remained the festival’s Artist Director until 2010. “The time has come to open ourselves to the thoughts, images, myths and stories of our Eastern neighbours. To their culture. To their films,” wrote Claudia Dillmann in her foreword to the first festival catalogue.

From the outset, the state capital Wiesbaden and the Hessian state government showed considerable interest in goEast, and underscored this engagement with substantial support. And it was in Wiesbaden, a city maintaining rich historical ties with Eastern Europe, that the festival found a home in the Caligari-FilmBühne, one of Germany’s finest cinemas. Hilmar Hoffmann accepted the patronage of the festival, which very quickly established its profile within the festival landscape.

In late summer 2010 Gaby Babic took over the post of Festival Director. After Claudia Dillmann, Christine Kopf and Nadja Rademacher she is the fourth front woman of goEast. For the first time Gaby Babic unites the positions of Festival and Artistic Director.

goEast now plays host to some 180 guests annually, among them such renowned directors and stars as Krzysztof Zanussi, Jiří Menzel, István Szabó , Hanna Schygulla, Béla Tarr, Jerzy Stuhr, Kira Muratova, Otar Iosseliani, Maria Schrader, Joachim Król, Sergei Loznitsa, Bohdan Sláma, Cristi Puiu and many more.

Sections

Competition

Ten feature films and six documentaries are nominated for the goEast Competition. Eligibility is restricted to productions completed within the past two years in the applicable countries; in addition, since 2008 documentaries made in Germany or Israel may be nominated if they possess clear thematic relevance to Central and Eastern Europe.

Symposium

The annual goeast symposiUm invites (film) scholars, historians and specialists to examine socially relevant topics within the context of historical artistic developments. This section is built around interdisciplinary debate encompassing a range of aesthetic and theoretical perspectives, and is accompanied by a separately curated series of films. All lectures, discussions and screenings are open to the general public.

Young Professionals Programme

The goeast Students’ Competition presents work by young filmmakers from East and West. The BHF-BANK Foundation finances three audience prizes worth 1,000 EUR respectively as well as an adjudicated supporting prize (1,500 EUR) for the best short film from an Eastern European film school. Since 2007, goEast has hosted the presentation of the Co-Production award of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which offers support to three projects involving the cooperation of young filmmakers from Eastern and Southeastern Europe as well as from Germany. Awarded in cooperation with ARTE, a grant of up to 70,000 EUR goes to one outstanding project proposal in each of the three categories Documentary, Animation, and Short Film. With a week-long programme geared towards exchange of experience and provision of support for joint proposals, the annual Project Market fosters networking among young filmmakers from Eastern Europe and Germany. The workshops and discussions held during the goeast Young Professionals programme allow upcoming filmmakers to profit from the experience of renowned commissioning editors, producers and directors.

Homage/Portrait

Dedicated to Otar Iosseliani, Kira Muratova or Sergei Parajanov one year, to Jan Svěrák, Benedek Fliegauf or Fatmir Koci the next – this alternating festival slot pays tribute to the achievements of established masters or highlights the inspiring careers of contemporary filmmakers or actors.

Beyond Belonging

Seeking to push back the boundaries of goEast, the section Beyond Belonging is open to productions from countries outside Central and Eastern Europe but bearing a clear relation to the region all the same. A changing Europe calls for a shift of perspective that looks beyond national and regional frontiers in order to examine the transformations affecting post-communist and western societies alike.

Highlights

Genre cinema meets box-office hits! This section presents hand-picked highlights of Central and Eastern European mainstream cinema.

Specials

Film archives. Partner festivals. Matinees. School Film Days. Concerts. Closing parties. The goEast Specials round off the packed festival programme with interesting presentations, exciting guests and irresistible music.

Awards

An international jury chooses the recipients of the Škoda Prize (10,000 EUR) – the “Golden Lily” – for Best Film, the “Remembrance and Future” documentary prize (10,000 EUR), the prize for Best Director (7,500 EUR) of the City of Wiesbaden, and the prize (2,000 EUR) of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. A jury dispatched by FIPRESCI awards the International Film Critics’ Prize.

Award Winners

The ŠKODA Award "The Golden Lily" for Best Film

Award for Best Director donated by the City of Wiesbaden

Documentary Award – “Remembrance and Future” of the Foundation EVZ (since 2008)

Documentary Award by the Hertie Foundation (until 2007)

Award of the Federal Foreign Office for “artistic originality which creates cultural diversity”

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