films Archives -

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

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

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

Did you miss a EuRaw Story?

Rainy weekend afternoons are made for curling up on the couch with a good film, wouldn’t you agree?

If you have a full year pass and you couldn’t make it to one of our screenings, you can always borrow a DVD from our library. All films are available for hire after they have been screened. We don’t want you to miss out on any EuRaw Stories goodness.

Hire costs only $5 per film with a $25 deposit, reimbursable once you return the DVD in its original condition.

Send us an email if you want to hire any of the films we’ve screened, including the special screenings, and we’ll make it happen.

E: stories@euraw.com.au

The story of a poster – Elena

The movie poster for Elena is an incredible graphic representation of the film. It’s rare to see such a good story synthesis incorporated into one design. Here is the story of the making the poster in the words of Adrian Curry from Notebook, a sought after and highly referenced movie publication for mubi:

“(…) Sam Smith has become one of the most sought-after designers on the independent film circuit with his refreshingly simple, witty and indelibly striking hand-drawn designs (it doesn’t hurt that he also has a great knowledge of both film history and the history of movie poster design). (…)

Zvyagintsev’s dark and beautiful film premiered at Cannes (…) where it won the Special Jury Prize. For the US (…) release we wanted to emphasise the noirish aspects of this captivating modern Russian crime drama and none of the keyart we’d seen from Europe really captured that aspect of it (though I am quite fond of the Australian poster).

Sam, with his love of Czech posters of the 60s and 70s and their frequent animal iconography, immediately zeroed in on the crow that appears at the start of the film as a linchpin element for his design. One of my favorites of his early comps featured nothing but a thicket of wintry trees silhouetted against a teal blue sky, and, above the title, that ominous bird. But much as we loved it as a piece of art we felt that the poster needed its titular character or it wouldn’t really be telling you enough about the film (unlike the great Czech and Polish designers, we can’t afford to be quite so oblique). However, the title treatment and color scheme were strong enough to survive throughout successive drafts.

Sam experimented with a number of ways to represent Elena herself, some of which made her look a little too babushka-like in our opinion, but he quickly settled on the perfect look for his crow.

After a number of variations Sam hit upon the silhouette that is used in the final design. Windows are a major feature of the film (Elena lives with her rich husband in a modern glass-walled penthouse) so to have Elena looking out of the window, her back to us, ruminating, maybe plotting, fits the feel of the film perfectly and also gives her a hint of Joan Crawford at her most devious. Sam refined his horizon of leafless branches reaching up like grasping hands (one of my favorite elements of the poster), and even created his own stylized laurels for the film’s many accolades.

Early in the process, Sam had shown me a bunch of Penguin crime paperback covers (many of them the work of Polish emigré Romek Marber) that he was looking at as a possible direction for the poster. You can see that a couple of them clearly influenced our final look.

Going beyond the call of duty, Sam also made a smaller, pared-down screenprint version of his design which was printed at Kangaroo Studios in his home town of Nashville, TN. His friend Adrian Cobb has made this wonderful short film documenting the process.

You can see more of Sam’s work on his website, and you can read about his process and see more of his favorite posters and other graphic work on his blog Sam’s Myth.

Domestic screening – a success

We’re stoked with our EuRaw Stories second screening. Thank you to all who got curious about what we have to offer and joined us on the night.

The film delivered its promise of quirky, dark humour, and Clara Voda’s presence made the night all the more interesting. We got some insight into the process of filming Domestic and her observations about the film industry in Eastern Europe and in Australia. Clara currently teaches at the New York Film Academy Australia in Sydney.

The Woolshed Pub turned out to be the perfect place to get moving and chatting after the screening.

Overall, we had a great night and hope you did too. We’d love to hear your feedback and ideas on how we could do better in the comments below.

March Screening – the Australian Premiere of Domestic (Romania 2013)

Circle March the 19th in your calendars and get ready for the Australian Premiere of Domestic (Romania 2013).

Adrian Sitaru’s Domestic (Romania 2013) is an absurdist comedy about the relationships we take for granted: people and the animals they love, they eat, they ignore, they worry about. A perfect balance of tenderness and humour.

More about the film here.

And remember, if you came to our launch, just bring your pass along and you will get free entry to Domestic. For all the other movie enthusiasts passes can be bought online or on the night.

Adrian Sitaru selected for Berlin Film Festival

Our March film Director, Adrian Sitaru, had his latest film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

His film, ‘Illegitimate’, appeared in the Forum section, which focuses on avant-garde, experimental and fresh cinematic landscapes.

Come see his his previous film, ‘Domestic’, on March 19 at the Dock Performance space in Docklands, for a taste of his signature filmmaking.

Good luck Adrian!

Lost & Found – six glances at a generation

Are you ready for an awesome collection of shorts tomorrow night? Here is a taste of what ‘Lost and Found’ has in store for you:

The Ritual (fiction 15’09), Bulgaria, directed by Nadejda Koseva.

Georgi’s parents are preparing a wedding for him. A spirited celebration begins as guests arrive in his parents’ adorned home – but the crucial guests are not on hand yet.

Turkey Girl (fiction 20’05), Romania, directed by Cristian Mungiu (winner of Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007 for “4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days’, best script at Cannes Film Festival 2012 for ‘Beyond the Hills’).

Tatiana’s mother is in hospital, waiting to be operated on. The family must gather all their financial resources to pay for it – and Tatiana’s beloved turkey must be sacrificed in the process.

Birthday (documentary 11’38), Bosnia-Herzegovina, directed by Jasmine Zbanic (winner of Golden Bear at Berlin 2006 for ‘Grbavica’).

This documentary portrays two ten year old schoolgirls, Dunja and Ines, who live in different districts of Mostar. They have never met, because the historic bridge over the the Neretva River, which divides the city, was destroyed in the war.

Shortlasting Silence (fiction, 20’23), Hungary, by Kornel Mundruczo (winner Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2014 for ‘Feher Isten’, nominated Palme d’Or, Cannes 2010 for Tender Son, Fipresci prize, Cannes 2008 for ‘Delta’)

After the death of his mother, a suicide prevention counsellor visits his sister in their parents’ country home. Memories of their earlier incestuous relationship are awakened.

Fabulous Vera (fiction 17’31), Serbia, directed by Stefan Arsenijevic (nominated for Oscar and winner of Golden Bear 2003 for Torzija).

One day, tram inspector Vera takes control of the wheel of the vehicle when the brakes suddenly fail and she finds herself racing dangerously across town. What will make the unstoppable tram turn to a halt?

Gene+Ratio (animation 12′), Estonia, directed by Mait Laas.

An architect tries to help his wife with the birth of their child and he finds himself on a fantastic journey, experiencing astonishing things between the stars and the tides. With six sequences, this film provides the transitions between each individual episode of Lost and Found.