Looking back at goEast 2006

With the grand award ceremony on Tuesday evening, the sixth instalment of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden – came to a close. For seven days, more than 150 long and short films could be seen on the screen – accompanied by film-talks, panel-discussions and an extensive number of special events. Ten feature films and six documentaries were in competition. The head of the jury, Ulrich Gregor, handed out the awards with a total endowment of € 29,500: the “Golden Lily” or Skoda-Award for the Best Film; the Award for the Best Director, endowed by the city of Wiesbaden; a new award highlighting artistic innovation and the support of young professionals sponsored by the Federal Foreign Office; as well as the non-profit Hertie Foundation Award for the Best Documentary. In its statement, the jury expressed its admiration of the unusually high artistic quality of the feature films that were shown.

In the sixth year of the festival’s existence, the many interdisciplinary events in the sidebar programme, a special feature of goEast, have established themselves as a fixture for audiences and trade visitors alike. Highlights of goEast included the symposium “Mainstream Made in Russia“, featuring guests such as the prominent Russian writer and cultural critic Victor Erofeyev. More than 300 spectators attended the scholarly event and the extensive accompanying film series devoted to discovering popular Russian cinema. As in past years, the Students’ Competition and the goEast Concert were audience hits. In its second year, the “Portrait” film series is also well-established. Numerous viewers followed goEast’s invitation to discover the unusual film oeuvre of the Lithuanian artist Sarunas Bartas. goEast’s plentiful offerings for emerging filmmakers also enjoyed great popularity. Young filmmakers from Germany and Central and Eastern Europe had the opportunity to meet with professionals and come away with diverse inspiration for their own projects.

In addition, a wide range of public discussion forums such as a Round Table on issues of distributing Central and Eastern European films in German-speaking countries gave 160 international guests and 80 journalists from Germany and abroad plenty of opportunity to exchange views and make contacts. “The lively discussions and the great interest in the events prove not only that goEast has established itself as a festival for its audience and professionals, but also that an event such as a festival can raise awareness about Eastern Europe“, festival director Christine Kopf said at the award ceremony. In 2006 goEast counted nearly 8,000 visitors at its screenings and its events, furthermore 800 attended the release concert for “Brot”, the new album by the Russian cult band “Leningrad“, which came especially for the occasion.

Website goEast 2006