The 21st annual South East European Film Festival #SEEfest, co-presented by ELMA foundation for European Languages and Movies in America, is bringing to Los Angeles, U.S. premieres, European talent, and Industry panels and workshops from April 29 – May 6. The festival will showcase feature, documentary, and short films from the culturally rich area of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
Opening the festival on April 29th at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills (8556 Wilshire Blvd) will be the Los Angeles premiere of Ioana Mischie’s feature debut, “CATANE.” This Romanian comedy-romance is set in a village that Mischie’s playful approach makes into a modern-day fairytale, where hapless bureaucrats eventually find their groove. Fulbright Scholar Alumna of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Mischie is an internationally known transmedia artist and futurist, receiving awards for a variety of filmmaking projects, cinematic virtual reality, and innovative concepts, including Webby, Fipadoc, Golden Drum, and European XR awards.
Two of her VR franchises were awarded the first European Meta grant through Women in Immersive Technologies and the Immersive Creators Catalyst. She is attending the festival as a guest filmmaker supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, and will also be one of the featured panelists at SEEfest Industry Days.
Under the patronage of the honorary chair, Bulgarian-American actress and entertainer Irina Maleeva, the festival highlights stories of resilience and hope, adding a touch of Eastern European flair and humor.
Among the competition titles is the critically acclaimed Austrian-Ukrainian-French co-production MILITANTROPOS, which world premiered last year at Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight section. A mesmerizing vérité documentary (Indiewire) and a painful and brilliant example of poetic cinema (Indie-Eye), the film, directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorleva and Simon Moskovyi (the trio known as the Tabor Collective), explores the psychological and social transformation of individuals living through the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The most awarded film in the lineup is Slovak drama FATHER, flawlessly directed by Tereza Nvotová, and starring superb Milan Ondrík in the leading role, with Dominika Morávková as a co-lead in this devastating drama about guilt, grief, and forgiveness, which garnered multiple awards and recognitions following its premiere in the Orizzonti section at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. FATHER was most recently named one of the four finalists for the 2026 Latin American Critics’ Award for European Films, selected as a finalist by 35 film critics from 13 Latin American countries, highlighting its impact in the region. The winner will be announced at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) on April 18, 2026.
From Slovenia comes the breakout young filmmaking star, Katarina Resek, aka Kukla, whose debut feature FANTASY scooped up awards including Winner of the 2026 Trieste Film Festival’s Award (Grand Prix) for Best Feature Film, and Cineuropa Award, and Special Mention from the Mermaid Award at the 2025 Thessaloniki Film Festival. In a year which delivered an abundance of films about teenage girls struggling with growing up pains, Kukla masterfully captured the longing of every young dreamer, and the deliverance that comes in the person of their neighbor Fantasy, a trans woman with an eye for fashion.
From Slovakia, director Jakub Kroner’s gangster saga delivers a powerful punch with a two-hander MIKI and Černák – the first being the origin story, and the latter the ultimate power grab of the real-life Miki Černák whose brutal reign epitomized the worst of the Eastern European post-socialist corruption rooted in unbounded crime. Both films commanded massive box office in Slovakia, the largest in history, topping foreign and local fare, and elevating the exceptional lead Milan Ondrík to a major star status.
Georgian PANOPTICON, which was the country’s Oscar entry this year, wades into the young man’s frustrated sexual awakening in the shadow of an absent mother and all-but-absent father who left home to become a monk. Lead actor, Data Chachua, is a dead ringer for Truffaut’s discovery (in 400 Blows) Jean-Pierre Léaud, who also famously starred in Jean Eustache’s 1973 The Mother and The Whore; Chachua has a gripping screen presence that promises a career beyond his native country.
Serbia’s OUR FATHER, which world premiered last September at TIFF, takes us to an isolated enclave lorded over by a renegade priest dead set on curing drug addiction by his own, merciless and unforgiving methods. The film is a parable about the lengths that unchecked power can go in a society devoid of checks and balances.
Kosovo-Swiss documentary, with double nominations for the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary at the 2025 Chicago International Film Festival, and the Golden Eye Award at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival, THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY directed by Dea Gjinovci blends cinéma du réel with magical realism portraying a community grappling with memory and loss; while Albanian-Italian master of archival documentaries, Roland Sejko, brings to SEEfest another sobering exploration of 20th century history of the eastern bloc and dictatorship in his native Albania, A STATE FILM. It world premiered in the Giornate degli Autori in Venice last year, and offers no narration, relying entirely on the power of images to tell the story of a succession of ‘eternal friendships’ that all ended up terminated in the reign of Enver Hoxha, leading to the ultimate isolation of the country.
Croatian deceptively titled HONEY BUNNY from director Igor Jelinovic, is a marvelous character study of toxic family dynamics worthy of Pirandello. Terrific ensemble cast carries the story of the inheritance feud to epic heights, yet the movie never spills over into a histrionic territory under director Jelinovic’s steady, assured hand.
In the shorts program some of the many standouts are Jan Gorecki’s THE REPORTER, making a case for why we should care about any war; Anna Vasof’s 3cm OF COMPLEXITY playfully uses a panoply of fun devices to merge human ingenuity with a homo ludens in all of us; and HOW SMART ARE THE CROWS from Irida Zhonga employs stunning animation in the service of science with aplomb and humor.
PROGRAM LINE-UP
FEATURE FILMS 2026
Catane – Romania
Director: Ioana Mischie
In the remote Romanian village of Catane, a community of villagers, long surviving on disability benefits obtained through ambiguous means, faces exposure when a local inquiry descends. What unfolds is not a story of deception, but of unexpected ingenuity. As the villagers band together under pressure, they craft a disarmingly poetic and humorous response to the absurdities of a broken system. In reinventing their way of life, they reveal not only a means of survival—but a radical model of communal resilience in a fractured world.
Černák – Slovakia, Czech Republic
Director: Jakub Kroner
The Černák’s group battles rival gangs and politicians in the bloody conclusion to Miki Černák’s reign as the boss of all bosses.
Comatogen – Romania
Director: Igor Cobileanski
Alina, a modest nurse supporting her son Radu, tries to rekindle a past love with Pavel, a real estate director. When Radu steals €18,000 from Pavel’s office, relationships and ambitions spiral out of control. The coma of wealthy client Mr. Klauss brings his daughter Mihaela into Alina’s life, offering financial help in exchange for a shocking crime. COMATOGEN reveals the characters’ true moral selves, showing how greed, lies, and desire can drive people to betrayal—and even murder.
Fantasy – Slovenia
Director: Kukla
Mihrije, Sina and Jasna (early 20s) are best friends who live in Slovenia. They are tomboys and refuse to conform to the conservative system they live in. Their world turns upside down when they meet Fantasy, a transgender woman. Together, they embark on a journey that explores the complexities of gender, desire, and self-discovery.
Father – Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland
Director: Tereza Nvotová
A devoted father’s tragic mistake shakes his marriage and leaves him isolated. As guilt and the threat of imprisonment loom, he fights to regain his wife’s trust and rebuild what he’s lost—but can he ever find redemption?
Honey Bunny – Croatia
Director: Igor Jelinović
Tonina, a caring and self-confident accountant, runs her company together with her husband and daughter and pulls all the strings for the family logistics. Along with all her obligations, Tonina is taking care of her demented and bedridden mother. Her younger sister Tajana and her family have a much more easygoing and less ambitious approach to life. The two sisters clash when Tonina secretly buys out a part of their island family house from their cousin Željka, even though the sisters had agreed to buy it together. One year later, Tonina and Tajana try to reconcile for their mother’s birthday, but tensions resurface.
Miki – Slovakia, Czech Republic
Director: Jakub Kroner
This is the story of a man who returns from abroad to his native village, to a country that is changing rapidly and where new great opportunities are opening up, including in the field of organized crime. Miki, originally a bus driver, gradually discovers and activates the abilities within himself to build one of the largest and most feared mafia groups in the country.
Panopticon – Georgia
Director: George Sikharulidze
After his father abandons him to become an Orthodox monk, Sandro struggles to reconcile his duty to God and his awakening sexuality, which manifests in uncontrollable ways and leads him to unhealthy behavior, as he searches for meaning and belonging in the turbulent society of post-Soviet Georgia.
The Flying Meatball Maker – Turkey
Director: Rezan Yeşilbaş
In the streets of Diyarbakir, a middle-aged man by the name Kadir, is standing at his counter day in, day out, selling meatball sandwiches. He has a family to feed and this is how he ended up making a living. However, Kadir has his head in the clouds – literally. He has one obsession in life; he wants to fly. Kadir’s dream of flying clashes with common sense of his surroundings who find it utterly absurd and even provoking. His quest to fly causes troubles in his family, condemnation from the conservative society and even warnings from the security personnel in the city as flying in Diyarbakir is a security concern for the state. None of these obstacles does stop Kadir from trying to achieve his dream, and against all odds, Kadir succeeds in becoming the owner of a powered parachute. While Kadir insist on living out his dream, his wife Azize is obliged to keep the household together and secure a good future for her children. This does over time cause increasing tensions between the two of them and Azize wants Kadir to show the family the same engagement he’s devoted to his quest to fly. Azize still shows patience and refrains from doing anything that would spoil her relationship with Kadir, but she also subtly undermines and obstructs his efforts to fly. The discontent expressed by the extended family only adds to the rising tensions. But Kadir still insists on taking flight.
Our Father – Serbia, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Director: Goran Stanković
A drug addict is brought for rehab treatment at an isolated monastery commune run very strictly by an authoritative priest. After initial resistance to the treatment, the newcomer starts accepting responsibilities and gradually becomes the right-hand man of the priest. When the priest takes his stringent methods too far, the existence of the commune is called into question. A powerfully accurate depiction of the essence of manipulation tactics; in an environment ruled by toxic masculinity, it’s easy to lose sense of self and become a different person. The moral complexities of the story – based on true events – are particularly well underlined by the exacting visual style and strong performances.
DOCUMENTARIES
Militantropos – Austria, Ukraine, France
Directors: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi
Militantropos captures the human condition through the fractured realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film pieces together everyday lives transformed by war – those who flee, those who lose everything, and those who stay to resist and fight – tracing both the instinct to survive and the need for closeness.
9-Month Contract – Georgia
Director: Ketevan Vashagashvili
In Tbilisi, Zhanaa, homeless mother, resorts to surrogacy to provide a safe life for her teenage daughter, Elene. While trying to keep her pregnancies hidden from Elene, Zhana’s financial struggles persist. With no proper regulations in place, she pushes her body to the extreme through multiple childbirths, taking a dangerous toll on her organs and risking her life. As Zhana’s health declines, Elene matures and eventually confronts her mother about her choices and their consequences. Through the director’s decade-long friendship with the duo, the film explores the evolving dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship and raises questions about the extent of a mother’s sacrifice.
A State Film -Italy
Director: Roland Sejko
A journey through the images of a regime that made cinema an instrument of power. A story of communist Albania constructed exclusively through propaganda film archives and, for the first time, unpublished material from Enver Hoxha’s private film archive. Since the end of the Second World War and for over forty years, the history of Albania has been inextricably intertwined with that of a single man. Enver Hoxha led the country through ephemeral alliances and radical ruptures, leading it to total isolation.
Electing Ms Santa – Moldova/Romania
Director: Raisa Răzmeriță
Politics in Moldova is no longer just a man’s game – at least not in Elena’s village. By launching a bold bid for local office, 42-year-old Elena becomes the uncomfortable face of change. Her decision to run is more than just a political campaign; it is the story of a woman daring to dismantle patriarchal boundaries while her entire nation stands on the threshold of historic transformation, edging closer to the European Union.
My Dear Theo – Poland/Ukraine
Director: Alisa Kovalenko
A deeply personal documentary by Alisa Kovalenko, who combines her perspectives as a mother, soldier, and filmmaker. The film spans from early spring to summer 2022, capturing the routine, waiting, and sudden violence of life in the trenches. Through Alisa’s camera, viewers experience the stark reality of the Ukrainian frontline, from the quiet moments of reflection to the chaos of missile strikes. Her letters to her son Theo provide an emotional core, exploring themes of love, legacy, and the personal cost of war. By focusing on her relationships with comrades and the inner turmoil of conflict, My Dear Theo offers a unique, intimate view of war that transcends traditional documentary storytelling.
My Friend Sely – Croatia
Director: Maja Alibegović
The filmmaker returns to Slovenia to capture a portrait of an inspiring female figure in her life. Revisiting her homeland means confronting a lifelong sense of displacement. An unconventional friendship with the rebellious, daring huntress Sely supports her journey to self-realisation and acceptance. Sely embodies resilience against prejudice as her struggle for equality and respect as an immigrant woman paved the way for future generations. A dreamlike journey through memories blends the author’s contemporary Super 8mm visuals and Sely’s archival footage, highlighting themes such as female empowerment, intergenerational friendship, and diversity.
The Beauty of the Donkey – Switzerland, Kosovo
Director: Dea Gjinovci
A lyrical hybrid documentary tracing a daughter’s journey to reconnect with her father’s lost homeland. After sixty years in exile, Asllan returns with his daughter, Dea, to Makermal, the Kosovar village he once called home. They set out to revive his idyllic childhood memories, working with villagers to reconstruct a world erased by war. As playful re-enactments give way to haunting revelations, Dea and Asllan confront the painful disappearance of a beloved matriarch and the collective scars of a community grappling with memory and loss. The film becomes a moving meditation on the fragile architecture of remembrance, blending cinéma du réel with magical realism.
Truth Or Dare – Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Norway
Director: Tonislav Hristov
A documentary about how fake news is being used to influence political and cultural opinions in order to destabilize Europe. Genka is a Bulgarian investigative journalist with 20 years of experience. Her car has been burned down twice, and her life has been threatened. Ivan is an engineer who spreads and manufactures conservative and anti-EU fake news. As Europe is experiencing unseen polarisation, Genka and Ivan are running their agendas and must face each other.
SHORT FICTION
Hi Mom, It’s Me Lou Lou – Turkey
Director: Atakan Yilmaz
The Place Under The Sun – Moldova
Director: Vlad Bolgarin
Eraserhead in a Knitted Shopping Bag – Bulgaria
Director: Lili Koss
La Première Image -Greece/France
Director: Olia Verriopoulou
The Reporter – Poland/Ukraine
Director: Jan Górecki
The Road Home – Romania
Director: Marian Fărcuț
SHORT DOCS
3cm of Complexity – Austria, Greece
Director: Anna Vasof
Around The Clock – Croatia
Director: Marina Musulin
Beware of the Southern Stars – Greece
Director: Christos Karteris
Hollowgram – Romania/US
Director: Laura Iancu
I believe the Portrait Saved Me – Kosovo/Netherlands
Director: Alban Muja
Palaces of Memory – Azerbaijan
Director: Matlab Mukhtarov
Self-Preserving Nudity – Ukraine, Ireland
Director: Nelly Shylova
SHORT ANIMATION
Disturbia – Bulgaria
Director: Mira Yankova
Fačuk – Croatia, Slovenia
Director: Maida Srabovic
How – Croatia
Director: Marko Meštrović
Silent Cinema – North Macedonia
Director: Krste Gospodinovski
How smart are crows? -Greece, Netherlands, United States
Director: Irida Zhonga
Sailboat at the End of the Street – Croatia
Director: Lucía Aimara Borjas
The Shadow – Croatia
Director: Petra Balekić
Vanja & Vanja – Croatia
Director: Danijel Žeželj
Festival passes, and tickets to the Opening Gala are available at https://seefest2026.eventive.
