“Films from the New Europe” at USC
by Andre Soares
This weekend, the University of Southern California is presenting the mini-festival "Films from the New Europe" on Friday, February 29, and Saturday, March 1, at the Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall.
As per the USC website, the showcase includes "recent feature films and animated shorts from Eastern and Southern Europe that directly engage with post-Cold War transformations and the rethinking of what European identity and European cinema mean. The films that will be presented combine the auteurist legacy of European arthouse films with an aesthetic appeal that makes them accessible and competitive on a global market. They examine and challenge the emotionally and politically charged redefinitions of ‘Europe’ since the fall of the Berlin Wall and grant access to underexplored voices from traditionally marginalized cultures."
I’ve only seen one of the feature films: Corneliu Porumboiu’s quirky Romanian comedy and Cannes Film Festival 2006 Golden Camera winner 12:08 East of Bucharest, which has received quite a bit of praise in the United States and elsewhere. In my view, the film — which pokes fun at the (mis)construction of history — has its moments, but I didn’t quite get much of Porumboiu’s humor.
Also in the program, György Pálfi’s bizarre Taxidermia — Hungary’s submission for the 2008 foreign-language film Academy Award; Pawel Pawlikowski’s Last Resort, about an asylum-seeking Polish woman who develops a relationship with a seaside merchant in Britain; Fatmir Koçi’s Albanian documentary The Land of Eagles, about the convoluted history of that small country; and Koçi’s narrative feature Tirana Year Zero, about a young couple in search of a better life away from Albania.
(And I’m assuming they meant Southeastern — not Southern — Europe as, obviously, since the showcase focuses on former Communist countries, no films from Italy, Spain, or Portugal are part of the program.)
All screenings are free and open to the general public. Individual reservations will be required for each screening.
The schedule and film synopses below are from the USC website:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29
7 p.m. Animated Shorts Program
Introduced by Prof. Christine Panushka (USC).
8:30 p.m. Taxidermia (2006), directed by György Pálfi, Hungary, 91 min.
Followed by a panel discussion with Prof. Aniko Imre (USC), Prof. Katarzyna Marciniak (Ohio University) and Prof. Melinda Szaloky (UCSB).
SATURDAY, MARCH 1
12 p.m. 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 89 min.
Introduced by doctoral candidate Alice Bardan (USC).
2 p.m. The Land of Eagles (2007), directed by Fatmir Koçi, Albania, 77 min.
Followed by a Q&A with director Fatmir Koçi and producer Donika Bardha.
4 p.m. Tirana Year Zero (2001), directed by Fatmir Koçi, Albania, 89 min.
Followed by a Q&A with director Fatmir Koçi.
6 p.m. Catered reception in Queen’s Courtyard
Open to all, no reservations necessary.
7 p.m. The District (2005), directed by Áron Gauder, Hungary, 87 min.
Followed by a Q&A with director Áron Gauder and writer/producer Erik Novák.
9 p.m. Last Resort (2000), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski (Poland), UK, 73 min.
Given the uncertainty of an available 35mm print, this film may be screened from a DVD.
Introduced by doctoral candidate Alice Bardan (USC).
ABOUT THE FILMS
Animated Short Program
Far from being primarily a children’s medium, animation in Eastern Europe has long been a rich field of formal experimentation and highly charged politics. This selection of short films by masters of East European animation offers a unique taste of how animation varied across the region and changed across the decades. Dusan Vukotic’s Oscar-winning Ersatz and Witold Giersz’s Waiting are rarely-seen gems made during the communist 1960s. The rest of the selection, made in the 1990s, features a piece by Michaela Pavlátová, one of the most original younger filmmakers from the Czech Republic, Polish Jerzy Kucia, known for his minimalist style as "the Bresson of animation," and two films from Estonia — you don’t want to miss this opportunity to see Janno Poldma’s Birthday, Priit Pärn’s wonderful 1895, and a peek into one of the most exciting animation cultures in the world, finally emerging from beyond the Iron Curtain.
Ersatz (1961), by Dusan Vukotic, Former Yugoslavia, 10 min.
Birthday (1994), by Janno Poldma, Estonia, 10 min.
Waiting (1962), by Witold Geirsz, Poland, 10 min.
Repete (1995), by Michaela Pavlatova, Czech Republic, 8 min.
Across the Fields (1992), by Jerzy Kucia, Poland, 17 min.
1895 (1995), by Priit Parn, Estonia, 30 min.
Taxidermia (2006), directed by György Pálfi, Hungary, 91 min.
Gyorgy Palfi’s Taxidermia tells the stories of three generations of Hungarian men (one a sexually frustrated, low-life, peeping-tom soldier; his son who is an obese Communist champion speed eater; and the grandson, a twisted taxidermist who is trying to invent a machine so he can embalm himself) while at the same time satirically mocking Hungary’s struggles as it passes from imperial servitude, through Soviet authority, to independent lethargy.
Taxidermia is a no holds barred attack on the senses, filled with grotesque imagery and surreal beauty that not only lampoons society but reveals the sometimes ugly truth about mankind and our excesses, all in one of the most bizarre films ever seen.
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 89 min.
16 years after the Revolution and just days before Christmas, a local television station in Bucharest has invited several guests to share their moments of glory, as they allegedly stormed city hall, chanting "down with Ceasescu!," before Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife fled the presidential palace by helicopter so many years ago. An alcoholic history teacher and a lonely retiree, who moonlights as Santa, are forced to answer questions from dubious viewers who aren’t overly convinced that the Revolution ever took place in their city.
The Land of Eagles (2007), directed by Fatmir Koçi, Albania, 77 min.
The Land of Eagles is about the history of Albania in the 20th century, a documentary based on extraordinary and rare film footage about a small, bizarre and unknown country in Europe. It’s about an ancient people in the Mediterranean, the Albanians, descendants of the Illyrian’s, the old civilization that lied between ancient Greece and Rome, a vital bridge that joins East and West.
The film is about the unveiling of Albania after 450 years under the Ottoman Empire and its struggle to be self reliant. It is about the vibrant history of the land which bore Mother Teresa [sic, Mother Teresa, though of Albanian parentage, was actually born in Skopje, Macedonia] and the age-old tradition of religious tolerance and harmony. It is about a rich culture of diverse music and dance and century-old and odd customs that still live today. It is the history of a country that for 47 years after World War II and around the fall of the Berlin Wall — became one of the most isolated places in the world under the brutal communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. It is a film about the dream of freedom, a dream that proved to be more beautiful than freedom itself.
The Land of Eagles gives a rare insight to the struggle and survival of one of the proudest and most resilient, but still unknown or misunderstood people of the Mediterranean: the Albanians. Scripted by Ismail Kadare, three time Nobel Prize nominee and winner of the inaugural Man Booker International Award, and narrated by actor Michael York.
Tirana Year Zero (2001), directed by Fatmir Koçi, Albania, 89 min.
Tirana Year Zero is a 2002 Albanian film that tells the story of a young couple in post-communist Albania, at a time when many Albanians left the country in search for a better life abroad. The protagonist of the movie is Nik, who lives in the capital of Albania, Tirana, along with his mother and father. He is in love with a beautiful girl named Klara, who wants to move to Paris to be a model. Nik makes his living with an old truck that belonged to his father, who is now sick, and seemingly dying. Amidst the criticisms of his mother, the confusion and desperation covering the country, and the desire of his girlfriend to leave, Nik is still unsure whether he wants to leave. The film explores the way Nik handles the events of his life.
The District (2005), directed by Áron Gauder, Hungary, 87 min. A group of teens from the wrong side of Budapest’s tracks band together to make themselves rich by traveling back in time, burying a horde of wooly mammoths under the city’s streets, then returning to the present and drilling for oil. As creators of a new oil-producing nation, their scheme draws the attention of Putin (who uses the district’s Russian hookers as spies), Blair and George W. Bush. In the midst of it all, star-crossed teen love is in bloom. This outrageous and visually stunning animated satire plays like an unhinged ghetto updating of "Romeo & Juliet" smash-filtered through a politically-charged and politically-incorrect — kaleidoscope of clashing world views and social unrest, complete with musical numbers and a wicked soundtrack of Hungarian hip-hop. You have never seen anything like it.
Last Resort (2000), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski (Poland), UK, 73 min.
A young Russian woman and her son arrive in London, expecting to be met by her fiancé. When he does not arrive, they claim asylum, and are confined to a small seaside town while their claim is considered. A relationship develops between the woman and the manager of a local amusement arcade.
ABOUT PARKING
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 850 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes are available for Lots M & V (across the street from the George Lucas Building) for $8.00. You must pull into Gate 5, located at the intersection of McClintock Ave. and W Jefferson Boulevard and purchase your parking pass with the booth attendant. Street parking is also available along W Jefferson Blvd.
For more information about Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative, please visit their website or contact them at visionsandvoices@usc.edu or (213) 740-6786.
Organized by SCA Critical Studies Professor Aniko Imre and SCA Special Events Coordinator Alessandro Ago for the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
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