EuRaw Stories Archives - Page 3 of 12 -

SPOOR – JULY 21

Poland 2017
Detective 1'30 min 

Director: Agnieszka Holland, Katarzyna Adamik
Cast: Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka

Janina Duszejko, a former engineer, an astrologist and vegetarian, lives in a small picturesque village in the Sudeten Mountains. One night, she stumbles on the dead body of a neighbour. The poacher died a mysterious death. There are traces of roe deer hooves around his house…

In time, dead bodies of the local VIPs are discovered. All of them were hunters. Duszejko tries to convince the local police force that they were murdered by wild animals. As another VIPs is found dead, Duszejko becomes the main suspect.

When the local parish house burns down and the priest and chaplain of the local hunting association dies in flames, the police are almost certain who did it…

This subtly humorous story of friendship, love of nature and vengeance, with unique, ambiguous characters will be a mixture of high-end and low-end genres from psychological drama to pastiche-like detective story.

Book tickets for this screening.

Screening at Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne

Which side are you on?

Sports rivalries can bring out the best and the worst in people. You might find yourself accidentally hugging someone on the opposite side of the political spectrum, just because you both barrack for Collingwood. Anyone who is not with you is against you during a heated game.

To get you in the mood for our next screening, we compiled a list of some of the most famous sports rivalries.

Collingwood vs Carlton – probably the most publicised AFL rivalry is the one that started in 1892 between blue collar Collingwood and white collar Carlton. Wikipedia unbiasedly informs us the two teams played each other in finals six times. Carlton won five of those finals.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid – OK, this one is not in Australia, but you don’t have to live in Europe, be into soccer, or even into sport, to have heard about this historic rivalry. When they face each other, it’s not just a soccer match; their annual confrontations are now known as El Clásico – arguably the most awaited match of the year.

Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City – This is the rivalry that The New Daily calls the ‘ultimate rivalry in Australian sport‘ – each game between the two teams brings to the stadium around 50,000 eager fans.

The Ashes – this cricket test is between historic rivals Australia and England. Why is it called the Ashes? After Australia won the test in 1882, a sporting newspaper wrote that the body of English cricket had been “cremated and the remains taken to Australia”. The Ashes urn may or may not contain the remains of the burnt cricket ball.

Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier aka The Fight of the Century – this one’s an oldie, but it lives on in many people’s memories, even if only through hearsay. What was so unforgettable about this fight? For the first time, two previously undefeated boxers were facing each other. And one for the quizmasters. Who won? Joe Frazier in 15 rounds.

You really don’t have to be into sports at all to enjoy the spectacle behind these rivalries. We hope they have you ready for the international soccer fan immersion we have in store for you next Saturday. Vuvuzelas might be a bit much for the space, but you can whistle to your hearts’ content.

Next Saturday, 5pm on 16 June at the Loop Project Space and Bar, we are screening ZG80, a film about the legendary rivalry between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade. Buy your tickets for our next screening.

ZG80 – June 16th

Croatia 2016
Comedy 1'30 min 

Director: Igor Šeregi
Cast: Rene Bitorajac, Matija Kačan, Marko Cindrić

https://vimeo.com/197296263

ZG80 is an action comedy about one of the greatest rivalries in football fans history – the one between football fans Bad Blue Boys (football club “Dinamo“, Zagreb, Croatia) and Delije (football club “Red star“ Belgrade, Serbia).

In a dawn of Yugoslavia war, football hooligans from Zagreb went to game in Belgrade, Serbia, home of their favourite enemies “Delije“ of football club “Red star“. This is a story of a friendship, loyalty and a senselessness of politics and war in former Yugoslavia.

Book tickets for this screening.

Screening at Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne on June the 16th, doors open at 5:00 pm.

The odyssey continues. Next stop – Bulgaria

We went home and scoured our mothers’, aunts’ and neighbours’ memories for what would make a good Bulgarian food staple to introduce to you. We are happy to announce that this month’s featured delicacy is … drum roll … the Bulgarian banitsa – a coil of traditional cheese and yogurt pastry.

The banitsa you can taste at our next screening on 19 May will be prepared with love by Lars Caterers (who have been so very supportive of our experimentation); they are making individual twisted cheese pies with filo pastry, topped with yogurt and parsley.

The accompanying film is Uncle Tony, Three Fools and the Secret Service, a revealing documentary about how Bulgaria has dealt (or not dealt) with secret security files post-communism.

So come and eat some banitsa with us, watch a film, break some barriers. Saturday 19 May from 5pm at Loop Project and Space Bar. Book your ticket now.

UNCLE TONY, THREE FOOLS AND THE SECRET SERVICE – MAY 19TH

BULGARIA 2013
Documentary 1'27 min 

Director: Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova

Uncle Tony, Three Fools and the Secret Service is a feature documentary debut for Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova, made without state funding for production and dedicated to Mina’s animation teacher and outstanding animator Antony Trayanov/Uncle Tony.

The film became a mirror for a post-communist society that hasn’t dealt with the role of the totalitarian Secret Service in recent history – a role that commands daily life till nowadays and creates a complex political problem. Bulgaria hasn’t had a proper lustration process and the dossiers are still closed allowing many former agents and informers to take high political positions.

The authors of the film, subjected to threats and intimidation, were also attacked within their own Film Guild. Official letters were exchanged by the main institutions with the aim to prevent distribution. The Ministry of Culture, FILMAUTOR, CEM (the Council for Electronic Media), the Bulgarian National Television, the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers and the tax authorities each responded with their own position and contacted the production company Activist 38 for relevant inspections. The copyright society FILMAUTOR illegitimately revoked the contract with Activist 38 and as result the Bulgarian National Television refused to air the film.
This campaign was triggered also by the fact that the film was seen as defaming several prominent directors from the past amongst whom the legendary Donio Donev. Donev, a brilliant animation director, whom Uncle Tony worked alongside with, is perhaps the best known name of Bulgarian cinema. He was also an informer for the Secret Service.

The controversy caused by the film was covered by the main media of the country and some international editions too. The European organisations EDN (European Documentary Network), EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and Cineuropa published support articles. An intellectual group at home created a Facebook page in support of the film entitled: Please sign in support of freedom of speech, expression and thinking in Bulgaria.

Despite attempts to discontinue screening the film, it was shown in the cinemas in Sofia for several months, which marks an unprecedented longevity for a homegrown documentary film.

Book tickets for this screening.

Screening at Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne

Soft tasty kolache, Czech beer and a black comedy

No cultural immersion is complete without some traditional food. To make the Czech experience more wholesome, we went on a search to find the right culinary match for The Teacher, the Czech film we are screening this Saturday. And guess what? We found the only place in the whole of Melbourne that makes kolache – the traditional Czech soft bun. Kolache Cravings from Melbourne’s North were thrilled to come on board and help us feed you.

If you haven’t heard of kolache before, don’t wait any longer to try them. We did, and could barely stop at one. Phil and Nona use only the best and free-rangest eggs and meats to make them, and a traditional artisanal method to ensure the bun stays soft and dreamy, while still low on sugar.

On the menu this Saturday we have:

kranski and cheese kolache
plum poppy seed and cream cheese kolache
an entertaining Czech dark comedy, The Teacher.

If you get thirsty, the Loop Bar serves Czech beer and special cocktails for only $12 for our guests. What’s there to decide? Book your tickets for this screening and join us this Saturday at the Loop Bar in Meyers Place.

The Teacher – April 28th

CZECH REPUBLIC 2016
Comedy 1'42 min 

Director: Jan Hřebejk
Cast: Zuzana Mauréry, Peter Bebjak, Zuzana Konecná

“From Oscar-nominated writer/director Jan Hřebejk (Divided We Fall), THE TEACHER is a wildly entertaining black comedy inspired by the true story of a Communist-era school teacher who manipulated her pupils and their families for unprecedented personal gain.

The early 1980s, Czechoslovakia. At the start of a new term at a suburban high school, a seemingly empathetic and kind new teacher, the middle-aged Maria Drazděchová greets her class. She asks them to introduce themselves and share what their parents do for a living, explaining that it’s important to know how their parents might collectively help the group. Soon after, she gradually begins to pressure both students and parents by seeking favours – grocery collection, handyman assistance, lifts and haircuts – and connecting them with special treatment in class and, most significantly, good grades.

Before long Maria’s demands grow more complex and dangerous, so when a serious incident finally draws her unscrupulous behaviour to her colleagues, the principal calls a secret meeting, seeking parents to sign a petition to move “Comrade Drazděchová” on from the school. But her high connections with the Communist Party hang above everyone in the room, and it’s soon evident that standing up for what’s right may be much easier said than done.

With production design and cinematography that recreates the era to wonderful effect, THE TEACHER delivers a timeless and universal story of opportunism, bias and human dignity. Laced with wicked humour and standout performances, this rousing morality tale employs a delicate touch to skewer not only the complications of communism, but the human characteristics that ensure it never quite works out as expected.” (Palace Films)

Book tickets for this screening.

Screening at Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne

Proud to belong with Euraw Stories

Every March the most multicultural city in Australia celebrates its diversity with Multicultural Diversity Week and we are joining in again, this year with a screening of The Citizen.

The festival theme for 2018, proud to belong, acknowledges that belonging is an achievement that has its challenges for newly arrived people and encourages sharing and embracing everyone’s cultural heritage.

We chose The Citizen because Wilson, the main character, is the perfect person to take you behind the scenes on the journey of a refugee trying to make a new home for himself. After losing his whole family to war in Guinea-Bissau, Wilson hopes to become a model Hungarian citizen. The film follows the trials, failures and successes in his journey.

Wilson is played by amateur actor Dr Marcelo Cake-Baly, whose story mirrors that of Wilson. Cake-Baly himself became a Hungarian citizen in 1995, after arriving in Hungary in 1976.

There is painful honesty, sorrow, but also humour, romanticism and sensibility in The Citizen. Join us for the screening at 5pm on Saturday 17 March in the ever stylish Loop Project Space & Bar.

Browse the Diversity Week program.

The Citizen – March the 17th

HUNGARY 2017
Drama 1'49min

Director: Roland Vranik
Cast: Marcelo Cake-Baly, Agnes Mahr, Arghavan Shekari

Award-winning Hungarian director Roland Vranik’s third feature film considers the many nuances of integration through the means of an unorthodox love story. The Citizen follows Wilson, who, after losing his entire family to the horrors of war and making the perilous journey to Europe as a political refugee, settles for a sedate life as a security guard in a Budapest shopping center. However, Wilson is driven by a quest: to become a model Hungarian citizen and to do so at any cost.
The Citizen poignantly dwells on some of the most complex issues of modern society. With Spartan use of technology, a naturalistic and pared-down mise-en-scene and by employing mostly unprofessional actors, director Roland Vranik emphasizes the complexity of human emotion and lets the universal vulnerability of the heart mirror the equally universal vulnerability of humanity.

Book tickets for this screening.

Screening at Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne