Eastern European Cinema
Again this category lumps a lot of countries together where the Alice collection is not large enough to warrant separate shelf-space for each country represented. Eastern European films are often categorised by a healthy black humour, an ability to look hardship in the eye and laugh - if somewhat bitterly at times. Included here are films from Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. To look for films from a specific country refer to the 'By Country' link on the left.
In Darkness (2011)
7.3/10
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Starring: Herbert Knaup, Benno Furmann, Maria Schrader, Agnieszka Grochowska, Robert Wieck...
From acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland ("Europa Europa"), "In Darkness" is based on a true story. Leopold Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in... Read more
Dust (2001)
6.6/10
Director: Milcho Manchevski
Starring: David Wenham, Joseph Fiennes, Anne Brochet
Love and war divide two brothers in this cross between a harsh Mexican western ("El Topo") and an urban drama. From the award-winning director of "Bef... Read more
Closely Watched Trains ( aka Closely Observed Trains ) (1966)
7.7/10
Director: Jiri Menzel
Starring: Vaclav Neckar, Jitka Bendova, Vladimir Valenta
An ironic, funny film about a young man on his first job in a small town railroad station, trying to get sexually initiated (in hilarious scenes) who,... Read more
Child's Pose (2013)
7.4/10
Director: Calin Peter Netzer
Starring: Luminita Gheorghiu, Vlad Ivanov, Bogdan Dumitrache
Seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son's life when he faces manslaughter charges, an affluent Romanian woman sets out on a campaign of em... Read more
Knife in the Water (1962)
7.6/10
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz
An absorbing drama that grows out of the tensions created when a couple off for a sailing weekend pick up a student hitchhiker. Polanski's first featu... Read more
Trilogy - The Weeping Meadow (2004)
7.9/10
Director: Theo Angelopoulos
Starring: Nikos Poursanidis, Alexandra Aidini
Theo Angelopoulos's magnificent, visually stunning epic film is, according to him, 'a story of exile, separation and wandering, chronicling the collap... Read more
_festival_poster.jpg)
In Bloom (2013)
7.7/10
Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß
Starring: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria, Zurab Gogaladze
Set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992. Friends Eka and Natia look to leave childhood behind as they ignore societal customs and work to escap... Read more
The Teacher (Ucitelka) (2016)
7.3/10
Director: Jan Hrebejk
Starring: Zuzana Mauréry, Zuzana Konecná, Csongor Kassai
Since the arrival of the new teacher, Maria Drazdechova, to a Bratislava suburban school in the year of 1983, life has turned upside down for students... Read more
A Short Film About Love (1988)
8.3/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko
A young man falls in love with an older woman who lives in the flats across the courtyard. He watches her and her succession of lovers until she becom... Read more
Black Cat, White Cat (1998)
8.1/10
Director: Emir Kusturica
Starring: Branka Katic, Bajram Severdzan, Srdan Todorovic
Bosnian born filmmaker Emir Kusturica's acclaimed comedy/drama follows the slapstick rivalry between criminal Gypsy families in a Slovenian town. When... Read more