The South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles (SEEfest) pioneered the concept of regional, cross-border programming with issue-driven films that tell a larger story about South East Europe, where borders of all kinds are fluid and porous just as often as poisonous. By presenting multiple points of view from this troubled region, the festival unlocks delicate doors into human existence, highlighting concerns of our time that resonate with American audiences.

The festival annually presents internationally acclaimed films, art installations, a filmmaker conference, accelerator for film and new media projects in development, film retrospectives, literary salons, and other events. SEEfest maintains an extensive network of cultural, artistic, civic and public diplomacy partners and also serves as a resource for film aficionados, educators, young scholars, youth volunteers and the media.

The 20th annual South East European Film Festival (SEEfest), co-presented by ELMA, the foundation for European Languages and Movies in America, is excited to bring you another stellar lineup.

Schedule

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

SEEfest Opening Gala: The New Year That Never Came

6 - 10 PM @ WGA, Writers Guild Theater

20th Anniversary SEEfest Opening Gala Co-presented by 6:00 pm Red Carpet 7:00 pm Program Begins Reception follows the film in the theater lobby Your Gala ticket includes the red carpet photo-op, premiere screening, catered reception, and validated parking. | On the brink of revolution in 1989 Romania, six lives intersect amid protests and personal struggles, leading to the explosive fall of Ceausescu and the communist regime.

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Shorts Program 1: Documentaries

10 - 11:30 AM @ Goethe-Institut Los Angeles

How and why do historical figures become key to our memories of the past? How do specific places become sites of post-imperial memory? And how are former empires personified through objects and material culture? The daughter of a Transylvanian-Saxon travels to Romania with her mother to discover her family's life under communism and the meaning of home. This personal short documentary tells the story of a soldier who never wanted to be one.

Shorts Program 2: Documentaries

11:30 AM - 1 PM @ Goethe-Institut Los Angeles

Cena, the grouchy Slovenian woodcarver spent his childhood dreaming of jumping from the Giant of Planica, a legendary ski-jump built to break records. Although a bad case of asthma cut his wings at an early age, his dreams live on. Each summer, he organizes his very own Ski Jumping World Championship - in his own garden.

Shorts Program 3: Animation

1 - 2:30 PM @ Goethe-Institut Los Angeles

A movie about a breakup. A young man is cleaning his father's apartment who recently passed away. He is forced to relive traumatic memories of growing up and losing his soul. A Colombian cumbia song that tells us how to respect our timing and enjoy the small things. How the Croatian space forces were sent to the newly discovered planet New Paradise as part of the space exploration program. The painter is always stopped by a butterfly before making his first brushstroke.

At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking

5 - 6:30 PM @ Laemmle Royal

A story about man and grief as a universal human experience that can be both isolating and unifying.

When Santa Was a Communist

7:15 - 8:45 PM @ Laemmle Royal

An acting troupe tries to bring the joy and sparkle of Santa Claus to children in post-war Bosnia, but the shadows of the past do not rest.

Friday, May 2, 2025

A Picture to Remember

2:30 - 4 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

A PICTURE TO REMEMBER is an essayistic account of a family's long journey through the war. It chronicles the search for a way to handle terrible and recurring losses experienced by three generations of Ukrainian women - those of the director, her mother, and that of her grandmother.

Soil and Wings

5 - 6:30 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

A warm portrait of a Bektashi Muslim matriarch and her hard-working family shows gender equality blooming where least expected – in a rural community of pious Muslims devoted to family and tradition in a muddy tobacco-growing village in the Balkans.

Supermarket

7 - 8:30 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

What's like to live in a supermarket by yourself...and find out you are not alone?

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Shorts Program 4: Fiction

12:30 - 2 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

On the border between two countries, the hopes of a desperate man turns into the fear of losing everything. Journalist Nika write a report on a young man Roko who is being racketeering by the drug dealers over his younger brother debts. Her article is triggering a killing spree in the downtown Split.

Shorts Program 5: Fiction

2 - 3:30 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

Few brief encounters during the working night of lonely taxi driver. Mak, a young man working his night shift at a gas station, encounters Nada, a female truck driver. They bond over their shared Macedonian roots and find comfort in each other, as they attempt to escape their individual loneliness. In an apartment building, residents call the police and the SPCA to stop a dog's incessant barking. What is going on behind the locked door of the flat belonging to the elderly everyman?

Wingless

5 - 7 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

Inspired by the true life story of Bulgarian paralympic 'Long jump' world champion Mihail Hristov, the story follows him from the moment he loses his arms and then how he makes the life-changing decision to become a professional athlete.

Cat's Cry

7 - 9 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

When his daughter disappears, Stamen, a retired factory worker from a small industrial town in Serbia must fight a flawed social system to gain custody of his granddaughter, who suffers from a rare condition called “Cat’s Cry Syndrome”.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Shorts Program 6: Fiction

2:30 - 4 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

The doctor comes across unusual symptoms at the man said to have died of a heart attack when he examined the corpse. A shy, 14-year-old Deni struggles to find acceptance as her domestic life and friendships collide. In the near future where AI dating application ReaLife navigates human relationships, Neda (26) finds herself torn between the allure of a perfect online match and the desire for genuine human connection.

Nasty

4:30 - 6:30 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

A deep dive into the life of Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, the sport's original rebel.

Mother Mara

7 - 9 PM @ UCLA Bridges Theater

Mara’s life is disrupted by the sudden death of her only son. Through a relationship with a younger man, she tries to face the loss and find a way to move on.

Monday, May 5, 2025

Fakir

3 - 4:30 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

Ex-convict Dalibor (23) tries to save his family and break a generational cycle of trauma and abuse while becoming a fakir in local shabby circus.

The Sky Above Zenica

5 - 6:30 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

In the center of Europe, one of the world's most polluted cities has united its citizens in a common fight for a viable future. But money, power and environmental politics prove to be as toxic an opponent as the factory smoke that is threatening their lives.

Our Children

7 - 8:30 PM @ Laemmle Town Center

How the children affect the feelings and opinions, as well as the relationship between himself and his wife?

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Grand Prize

3 - 4 PM @ Laemmle Royal

Against the backdrop of the thriving Croatian ballroom scene, Teo - a young trans man searching for his place, finds support in Valentina, a seasoned dancer.

Another Day

5 - 6:30 PM @ Laemmle Royal

After many years of performing together in the streets of Italy, the lives of two artists begin to take separate paths.

Waterdrop

7 - 8:30 PM @ Laemmle Royal

In a picturesque Albanian town on the shores of Lake Ohrid, Aida reigns as a tough, successful businesswoman.

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Closing Night Gala: DJ Ahmet

7 - 10 PM @ Laemmle Royal

A 15-year-old Yuruk boy from a remote North Macedonian village escapes into music amidst parental expectations, societal conservatism, and forbidden love for a promised girl.

Buy Tickets

Date: April 30 to May 7, 2025

Location: Various venues in Beverly Hills, CA

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