CinEast Festival

31/08/2026

📢 CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS 📢

Ever wondered what it’s like to be behind the scenes of a film festival? 🌟 Join the CinEast team, meet inspiring people, connect with festival guests and experience the world of cinema from the inside. 🎬

If you love films and events, have strong organisational and social skills and would like to be part of making the festival happen, we’d love to have you on board! 🫶

From helping in cinemas and concert halls and supporting our guests, to assisting at special events, capturing moments as a photographer, driving and much more - there are plenty of ways to get involved. Every volunteer helps create the atmosphere that makes CinEast what it is. 🚗 📸 🎶

🎟️ Discover the latest CEE productions
🤝 Meet filmmakers, guests and fellow film lovers
💡 Learn new skills and put your existing ones to use
🍫 Get CinEast merch and access to all festival films and most concerts

And volunteering can fit around your everyday life, on most weekdays activities start around 18:00, while weekend activities start from 11:00. You’ll generally volunteer for around 2–3 hours per day - unless you want to stay longer! 🙂

📍Please note that accommodation and travel costs are not covered, so this opportunity is primarily intended for people living nearby or with good public transport connections to Luxembourg City.

Join us for the 19th edition of CinEast taking place from 9 to 25 October 2026 across Luxembourg, and become part of the team behind the festival. ✨

👉 Applications are open until 21 September 2026 ⏰ but don’t wait too long! Apply via the link in comments. 🔗

🎥 Be part of the team. Be part of the festival. Be part of CinEast. ❤️

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

CinEast Festival (Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg ) is calling on all film and festival lovers to help us bring the best of 2026 production to Luxembourg for our 19th edition! Side by side with our team, share your energy and skills, support screenings, concerts and special....

28/08/2026

🎬 If you had the magic power to invite any Central or Eastern European director, actor or musician to CinEast this year, who would it be? ✨

Tell us in the comments...we might still try to make your dream come true. 😉

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

27/08/2026

🎶 The party starts here 🎉

We’re kicking off the 19th edition of CinEast on 9 October at Melusina with a night of Balkan rhythms, brass, electronic beats and dancefloor energy featuring Shantel & Bucovina Club Soundsystem! 🪇

🎉🔥 SHANTEL & BUCOVINA CLUB SOUNDSYSTEM – OPENING CONCERT @ CinEast 2026! 🔥🎉

A true pioneer of the Balkan Beat movement, Shantel has been bringing the vibrant sounds of Central and Eastern Europe to dancefloors around the world for over two decades. Expect a lively mix of Balkan brass, Roma music, ska, club music and irresistible rhythms - the perfect soundtrack to start CinEast 2026. 💃🕺

With Somethingski Trio live as a support band!

✨ And when the concerts end, the fun continues with Shantel's DJ set!

📅 Friday, 9 October 2026
📍 Melusina, Luxembourg
🕢 Doors open: 19:30
🎉 Followed by a DJ party until 3 am

🎟️ More info & tickets via the link in the comments
💶 €29 presale | €32 at the door

Let’s open CinEast 2026 the way we like it: with music, dancing, Eastern European food and a celebration of the cultures and sounds of Central and Eastern Europe. See you on the dance floor! 🎉

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

26/08/2026

🎬 Throwback to the guests of CinEast 2025! 🌍

Last October, the 18th edition of CinEast welcomed more than 30 international guests - directors, actors, producers and film professionals who brought their stories, ideas and perspectives to you, our dear audience.

🎤 From engaging Q&As and lively ciné-debates to special events/informal get togethers and spontaneous encounters, our festival venues became places to meet the people behind the films and discover the stories beyond the screen. 🎬

Among the many inspiring voices who joined us were:

✨ Danis Tanović, Małgorzata Szumowska, Kasia Adamik, Aňa Geislerová, Želimir Žilnik, Alisa Kovalenko, Teodora Ana Mihai, Meel Paliale, Eliza Kubarska, Katarzyna Kot, Gintarė Parulytė, Igor Bezinović, Katya Trichkova, Stephan Komandarev, Raha Raz, Arjun Talwar, Bronja Žakelj, Olga Chajdas, Mara Tamkovich, Alexandra Makarová... and many more. 🎥

Do you miss these encounters and exchanges? If so, during CinEast 2026, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to reconnect, discover new perspectives and share the love of cinema with filmmakers and film professionals through Q&A sessions, ciné-debates and other events. 🎬

🎟️ 2026 guests announcements are coming soon… stay tuned!

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

24/08/2026

🎬 Ciné-concert: Tartuffe by Wladigeroff Brothers

Step into the world of silent cinema brought to life with a live fusion of jazz, folklore and Balkan rhythms. 🎬🎶

🇧🇬 As part of our Focus on Bulgaria, the Wladigeroff Brothers are coming to Luxembourg with a live soundtrack to F. W. Murnau’s silent-film classic “Tartuffe” (1925), joined by Stoil Ivanov on drums & percussion.

🤝 This event is part of “Pause meets CinEast”, the jazz matinée series we have organised in partnership with neimënster for many years.

Coming from one of Bulgaria’s most renowned musical families, twin brothers Alexander and Konstantin Wladigeroff, grandsons of Pancho Vladigerov, Bulgaria's most celebrated composer, have developed their own distinctive sound, blending Bulgarian folklore with jazz, classical influences and contemporary grooves. Their music has taken them to stages and festivals across Europe and around the world.

🎶Musicians
🎺Alexander Wladigeroff - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
🎹Konstantin Wladigeroff - Piano & Clarinet
🥁Stoil Ivanov - Drums & Percussion

📍 Neimünster
📅 18 October 2026 | 11:00

🎟️Tickets available via the link in comments

Join us for a special encounter between silent cinema and live music - a century-old cinematic classic reimagined by some of Bulgaria’s most acclaimed musicians. .🎬🎶

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

23/08/2026

Still making the most of your summer? ☀️🏖️🚆

Maybe you’re wandering through the lively streets of Central Europe, swimming in the Adriatic, hiking in the Carpathians, discovering hidden gems in the Balkans or simply enjoying a well-deserved break somewhere new. 🌊🏞️☕

But every journey eventually has to come to an end, and when autumn arrives, you can keep exploring: through cinema. 🎬

October is getting closer and so is the 19th edition of CinEast. ⏳ We’re finishing another programme filled with stories, landscapes, characters and journeys from across Central and Eastern Europe and we’ll start revealing more soon. ✨

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

22/08/2026

The week behind us, Sarajevo was the place to be 📍 And we were there for the final chapter, taking in one last evening of cinema, conversations and celebrations before the curtain came down. 🎬

Last night the 32nd SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL brought its latest edition to a close with a special screening of “No Man’s Land “ - 25 years after its premiere and Academy Award win. Danis Tanović, CinEast 2025 Jury President and dear friend of the festival, was there to share this special moment with the Sarajevo audience. 🇧🇦

And what a way to close the festival: celebrating outstanding films and talents from across the world, but especially CEE region. 👏💛

🏆 ❤️ Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Actor went to Adrian Văncică for “You Don’t Belong Here”
🏆 ❤️ Best Actress Heart of Sarajevo was awarded to Eva Kostić for her role in “17”
🏆 ❤️ Ana Urushadze took home Heart of Sarajevo for Best Director for “Supporting Role”
🏆 ❤️ Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Feature Film - “To Hold a Mountain” by Biljana Tutorov & Petar Glomazić
🏆 Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality - “17” by Kosara Mitić
🏆 Special Youth Perspectives Award - “Skateboarding Is Not for Girls” by Dina Duma
🏆 Special Jury Award. “The Ferry Flows” by Zhora Papoian
🏆 Special Mention for promoting gender equality - “Don’t Ask Me If I Killed” by Helena Maksyom

As usual, we’re keeping a close eye on what’s happening in Sarajevo 👀🎬 – and several of these CEE stories are already on our radar for the 19th edition of CinEast.

Sarajevo, we 💛 you and until next time!

See link in comments for full winners list. 🔗

20/08/2026

✨ What do Radu Jude, Kasia Adamik and Gintarė Parulytė have in common?

Their films were among the Luxembourg-linked productions we brought to CinEast 2025 🤝 From Radu Jude’s “Dracula” and Kasia Adamik’s “Winter of the Crow” to the animated “Thelma’s Perfect Birthday”, the short “Sujip” and “Whispering Forest”, which sparked a discussion on the environment.

🎬 After 19 years of building bridges between Luxembourg and CEE countries, we're proud of something beyond the festival itself: the creative partnerships between Luxembourg and Central & Eastern European film industries.

Our Lux meets CEE programme showcases these collaborations each year – a reminder that CinEast’s role goes beyond presenting films to fostering co-productions, connecting talents and encouraging industry cooperation.

Looking back at 2025 we were proud to present to you these works with Luxembourg’s stamp:

🎥 "Dracula" by Radu Jude - co-produced by Paul Thiltges Distributions
🎥 "Winter of the Crow" by Kasia Adamik - co-produced by Iris Productions / Iris Group
🎥 "Thelma's Perfect Birthday" by Reinis Kalnaellis - co-produced by Paul Thiltges Distributions
🎥 "Whispering Forest" by Katarzyna Kot - a Luxembourg–France co-production shot in Poland and produced by Iris Productions / Iris Group
✨ Plus, Gintarė Parulytė's short film "Sujip", co-produced by RED LION, screened as part of our Short Fiction Films Marathon.

✨ To our joy, all of these screenings were enriched by the presence of filmmakers, crew members and/or producers, giving audiences the opportunity to discover the stories behind the films.

🙏 All of this wouldn’t be possible without our long-standing partner Film Fund Luxembourg and their support to Lux meets CEE and CinEast Pro programmes which strengthen connections between Luxembourg and the film industries of Central and Eastern Europe.

🎬We're already looking forward to revealing the Luxembourg co-productions that will be part of CinEast 2026!

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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

18/08/2026

🎷🇧🇬 What happens when one of Bulgaria’s finest kaval players ventures into jazz, Balkan rhythms and improvisation?

Meet Nedyalko Nedyalkov, one of the world’s most acclaimed kaval players, and his band Globalkan, coming to Luxembourg this October as part of our “Focus on Bulgaria” programme. 🎶

✨On Saturday, 10 Oct, Nedyalkov will be joined at neimënster by Petar Milanov (guitar), Stoyan Yankoulov (drums) and Vladimir Karparov (saxophone) for a concert that brings together the distinctive rhythms of Bulgarian folklore with jazz improvisation, blended with latin, classical and even pop influences. 🇧🇬

🎶 If you know Bulgarian music, you’ll recognise the roots. If you know jazz, you’ll hear freedom. And if you know neither, this is a great place to start 😄

📅 Saturday, 10 October 2026
📍 neimënster
🕢 20:00
🎫 29 EUR presale & 32 EUR @ the door
🎟️ More info & tickets via the link in comments

🇧🇬 Stay tuned for more events from our “Focus on Bulgaria” programme, celebrating the country's cinema, music, photography and exceptional guests throughout the festival.
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🗓️19th CinEast | 9-26 October 2026
🔜More info coming soon.

15/08/2026

🏆 Florin Șerban conquers Locarno! 🕺

🇷🇴 “You Don’t Belong Here” by Romanian director Florin Șerban takes home the Pardo d’Oro - Grand Prize of the 79th Locarno Film Festival. The film also received the Europa Cinemas Label, the First Prize of the first Junior Jury in the International Competition programme, and a Special Mention for young star Teodor Butănescu. Florin was our guest in 2011 with "If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle" and we wonder whether anyone remembers his Q&As at Ciné Utopia and Cinémathèque Luxembourg (see some images via the link in comments) 👏🎬

Several other films from CEE got awarded too:

🇵🇱 “Blossoming” by Kamila Serwicka took home the top prize in the Semaine de la Critique. 🌸

🇬🇪 “Tear Gas” by Uta Beria, a Georgia/France/Germany co-production, received the second Junior Jury Award for the best film in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente. 👏

🇺🇦 “I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming” by Isabelle Stever, a Germany/Ukraine co-production, received the “The Environment is Quality of Life” awarded by the first Junior Jury to the directors in the Concorso Internazionale. 🌱

These films are, of course, on our radar for CinEast 2026 this October. 👀🎬🇱🇺

Congratulations to Florin and all the filmmakers and teams behind these outstanding works! 👏

See link in comments for full winners list. 🔗