A Season of Classic Films: Seven Slovenian Shorts

In collaboration with the Slovenian Film Centre and the Slovenian Film Archives, the Slovenian Cinematheque presents seven digitally restored remarkable short films in a world premiere, in the context of A Season of Classic Films. This rare overview of Slovene filmmakers will premiere on Tuesday 22 June in a special free-admission event at the Silvan Furlan Hall of the Slovenian Cinematheque in Ljubljana. Between 23 and 27 June, the films will be free-to-view online with English subtitles. An introduction by Igor Prassel, Head of programme department at the Slovenian Cinematheque, will provide the context to the films and details about their restoration.

Watch Seven Slovenian Shorts (23 – 27 June)

The Slovenian programme highlights important filmmakers from the history of national cinema (1946-1984) and, in particular, their explosive creativity within film expression, which without exception integrates formal and narrative experiments. The historical overview starts with France Štiglic’s Mladina gradi (Youth Builds, 1946), an internationally acclaimed documentary on the building of socialism after liberation and then continues with Bizoviške perice (Laundresses from Bizovik, 1959), a film reportage on countryside laundresses by Jože Bevc, followed by Barva spomina (The Colour of Memory, 1967), a portrayal of painter Jože Spacal and his art directed by Jože Babič and Giorgio Šestan, Gratinirani možgani Pupilije Ferkeverk (Fried Brain of Pupilija Ferkeverk, 1970), an exquisite experimental short calling for freedom of expression by the renowned DOP and film director Karpo Godina, Slavica exception (Slavica Exceptional, 1971), a documentary portrait of a professional striper by Mako Sajko, Cukrarna (1972), Jože Pogačnik’s homage to an old building and its inhabitants with a glorious past and a tragic present, and finally, Zvonko Čoh’s Poljubi mehka me radirka (Kiss Me Gentle Rubber, 1984), a milestone in Slovenian artistic animated film.

The seven short films have been digitised by the post-production company Iridium Film and digitally restored under the guidance and supervision of an expert group led by the Slovenian Cinematheque.

The special free screening and the film restorations are made possible thanks to A Season of Classic Films, an initiative of the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) with the financial support of the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme. Twenty-two film institutions from all over Europe, including the Slovenian Cinematheque, are taking part this year in A Season of Classic Films. The initiative offers free access to restored European films, connecting the public with cinema history and the preservation of film heritage.

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A Season of Classic Films: One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970)

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of one of the most popular musical comedies in Croatia, the Croatian state archive – Croatian cinematheque will release the newly-digitised film One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away / Tko pjeva zlo ne misli and it will be free-to-view online between 18 and 25 June.

Watch Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (18-25 June)

Tko pjeva zlo ne misli is a musical comedy set in 1930s Zagreb. The film presents in a seemingly vaudeville plot the life of the Šafranek family in Zagreb in 1935. The father of the family, Franjo, drinks spritzers, while Ana, the mother, is confined in the kitchen where she fantasises about the men in the novels she reads. Ana’s sister often comes uninvited mainly just to have a free lunch. Mr. Fulir, a playboy, starts courting Ana, eventually leading to a big scandal. In this routine and complicated world of adults, their son Perica satisfies his child curiosity in observing the elders and writing about everything they do and say in his diary. The film is strongly placed in this specific ambient and time, but it presents universal themes of romance and seduction, dreams, hopes and delusions in their collision with reality.

The special screening is made possible thanks to A Season of Classic Films, an initiative of the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) with the financial support of the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme. Twenty-two film institutions from all over Europe, including Hrvatski državni arhiv – Hrvatska kinoteka / Croatian state archive – Croatian cinematheque, are taking part this year in A Season of Classic Films. The initiative offers free access to restored European films, connecting the public with cinema history and the preservation of film heritage.

Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away) | Yugoslavia, 1970, 93′

Director: Krešo Golik. Producer: Croatia film. Cast: Relja Bašić, Mia Oremović, Mirjana Bohanec, Franjo Majetić, Tomislav Žganec, Vida Jerman. Scriptwriter: Krešo Golik (based on a novel by Vjekoslav Majer) / Director of photography: Ivica Rajković / music composer: Živan Cvitković / editing: Katja Majer / scenography: Željko Senečić / costumes: Ljubica Wagner. Physical characteristics of first release: 35mm, 93’, colour, sound, Croatian. Film copy screened during A Season of Classic Films: New digitisation of a photochemically restored 35mm film copy. DCP, 93’, colour, sound Croatian. No subtitles (dialogue-lists available). Copyrights: Croatia film (until the end of 2020); authors rights.

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A Season of Classic Films: Summer Daydream – A Selection of Vintage Bulgarian Short Films

The Bulgarian National Film Archive (BNFA) joins the second edition of A Season of Classic Films with a compilation of early Bulgarian films, entitled “Summer Daydream: A Selection of Vintage Bulgarian Short Films”. BNFA offers four archival treasures (1926-1940) which present life in Bulgaria during the interwar period with a pinch of humour. The programme will be screened on Thursday 17 June at 19:00 EEST (Sofia time) / 18:00 (Paris time) at the film archive’s Odeon movie theatre and the event will be simultaneously streamed via BNFA’s YouTube channel, with an introduction by film expert Rosen Spasov. The live musical accompaniment will be provided by violinist Boyana Zhelyazkova and pianist Yasen Obretenov. After the live stream event, the programme will remain available until the end of June.

Watch Summer Daydream: A Selection of Vintage Bulgarian Short Films

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A Season of Classic Films: Two new restorations from the Cinematheque of North Macedonia

Both digitally restored, Mirno Leto (A Quiet Summer, 1961) and Frosina (1952) will premiere on 11 and 16 June, respectively, at 20:00 as part of A Season of Classic Films. The films will be presented in special open-air screening events in Skopje and via live stream and they will remain free-to-view online for five days via the Cinematheque’s website.

Watch Mirno Leto (11-15 June) and Frosina (16-20 June)

Мирно лето [Mirno Leto] (A Quiet Summer) | Yugoslavia, 1961, 99′

Director: Dimitrie Osmanli (Димитрие Османли). Producer: Vardar Film – Skopje. Cast: Slobodan Perovic, Ljupka Dzundeva, Darko Dameski, Ilija Milchin, Petre Prlichko, Meri Boshkova, Ilija Dzuvalekovski, Stojka Cekova. DoP: Ljube Petkovski / Scriptwriter: Frida Filipovic / Music composer: Dragutin Savin. Physical characteristics of first release: 35mm, 99’, B&W, widescreen, sound, Macedonian. Film copy screened during A Season of Classic Films: New restoration. DCP, 99’, B&W, sound, Macedonian. Available subtitles: English. Copyright: Vardar Film – Skopje, Kinoteka na Republika Severna Makedonija.

The film tells the story of Mira and Zare, a young couple yearning for their summer peaceful vacation by the lake. They will get a chance to escape from it all when Zare, who is an anthropologist, is put in charge of the renovation of an old house by the Ohrid lake. The house is set to become part of the local ethnographic museum and he will spend the summer to develop the interior and the collections, while Mira hopes to paint and relax. The long-awaited retreat for the couple turns into a revolving door of uninvited relatives and friends who they thought they left behind in the city.

This is the premiere of a new 2K restoration to celebrate the film’s 60th anniversary, one of the most beloved films in the country as it is regarded as the first comedy produced in the Macedonian language. Upon its release in 1961, the film was a great success with more than 25.000 people watching the entertainment sensation in the two cinemas where the screenings were available.

The only surviving black and white internegative acetate print of Mirno Leto, preserved by the Cinematheque of North Macedonia, has been digitally restored. There are no complete original negative prints and only positive copies survive from past cinema distribution that are in a really bad condition and not adequate for screenings. The internegatives were scanned in 2K and processed by Click Film lab in Zagreb, Croatia. The sound was also digitally restored and a new 2K master was completed from which a DCP and other digital versions for access and archiving purposes are now available.

The premiere of the new restoration on 11 June will be introduced by Atanas Chuposki, Senior Filmologist at Kinoteka as well as a mini concert.

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Open Call: Eye Traineeship Programme “Film Restoration” & “Film Collection”

Eye Filmmuseum is pleased to announce that the application for its traineeship programme “Film Restoration” and “Film Collection” is now open. With these two traineeships, Eye aims to build a bridge between academic training and hands-on daily practices. This programme is designed to educate a new generation of film restorers and film collection specialists, and seeks to facilitate their transition into the labour market.

Both traineeships will have a duration of 10 months and will start in September 2021. The trainees will be working in the Eye Collection Centre in Amsterdam-North: Eye’s expert centre for collection development, preservation, restoration, digitization and research – with facilities such as film and sound restoration ateliers, a scanning department, film vaults, and a research centre.

Throughout the programme, the trainees will follow different but parallel curricula, working with material from the Eye collection, and each following a project from start to finish.

Candidates can apply by sending a motivation letter (maximum one page) and a curriculum vitae to eyeacademic@eyefilm.nl by the 15th of June before 09:00 AM (CET).

For more detailed information and the Call for Applications, please visit Eye’s website.

A Season of Classic Films: Celebrating the cinemas reopening in Belgium

After more than seven months of closure, cinemas in Belgium are finally reopening on Wednesday 9 June. On the occasion, the Royal Belgian Film Archive, CINEMATEK, will release the new restoration of the classic Belgian magic realism film De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen (The man who had his hair cut short, André Delvaux, 1965) in a world premiere during two free special screenings in its renovated cinema.

André Delvaux’s debut film is a timeless exploration of universal feelings, such as love, desire and death. The leading character Govert Miereveld is infatuated with his pupil Fran. This results in him plunging into a downwards spiral of mental desperation. The screenplay is an adaptation of the novel by renowned Flemish author Johan Daisne. The international cast and crew include the actress Beata Tyszkiewicz, cameraman Ghislain Cloquet, sound engineer Antoine Bonfanti and Suzanne Baron as editor, who had worked before on several Nouvelle Vague films in France.

This is a new digital restoration in 2K from the original negative material preserved and restored by CINEMATEK. The restoration and free screenings are made possible thanks to A Season of Classic Films, an initiative of the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) with the financial support of the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme. Twenty-two film institutions from all over Europe, including CINEMATEK, are taking part this year in A Season of Classic Films. The initiative offers free access to restored European films, connecting the public with cinema history and the preservation of film heritage. 

Following the free world premiere at CINEMATEK, the film will be screened in Belgium and abroad, including during the Il Cinema Ritrovato 2021 festival in Bologna.

De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen (The man who had his hair cut short) | Belgium, 1965, 95′

Director: André Delvaux. Producer: Paul Louyet (Ministerie van Nationale Opvoeding en Cultuur) & Jos Op De Beeck (BRT) / now called VRT – Flemish public television. Cast: Senne Rouffaer (Govert Miereveld), Beata Tyszkiewicz (Fran), Hector Camerlynck (prof. Mato), Hilde Uitterlinden (Beps), Annemarie Van Dijk (Corra), Hilda Van Roose (Miss Freken), François Beukelaers (patient), Arlette Emmery (student), Paul S’Jongers, Luc Philips, François Bernard, Vic Moeremans, Maurits Goossens, Dora Van der Groen (voice of Fran), Yvonne Lex (vocal voice of Fran). Screenplay: Anna De Pagter & André Delvaux, based on the novel by Johan Daisne / Asst. Dir.: François Beukelaers & Pierre Grunstein / Dialogues: André Delvaux & Johan Daisne / Music: Frédéric Devreese / Cinematography: Ghislain Cloquet / Sound: Antoine Bonfanti / Editing: Suzanne Baron / Producer: Denise Delvaux / Art design (decors): Jean-Claude Maes. Physical characteristics of first release: 35mm, 95’, sound, B&W, sound, Dutch. Film copy screened during A Season of Classic Films: New restoration from the original negatives preserved by Cinémathèque royale de Belgique / Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief. DCP 2K, 95’, sound, B&W, sound, Dutch. Subtitles available: English, French. Copyright: Catherine Delvaux – Nouvelle Imagerie – catdx@lanim.eu.

CINEMATEK, 9 June 2021, 19:00 and 21:30. * New restoration world premiere*.  Book your free ticket here!

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Europeana Aggregators’ Fair

As an aggregator of Europeana, the European Film Gateway will be represented at the Europeana Aggregators’ Fair that takes place on 16 and 17 June 2021 online. On 17th of June from 13:00–13:30 EFG staff invites interested colleagues to join the “EFG for beginners” session during which you can learn about and discuss the best and easiest ways on how to get connected and present your collections on the European Film Gateway and Europeana.

The Aggregators’ Fair web conference provides an opportunity for staff working at cultural institutions to learn more about how to bring their content to new audiences such as the educational sector, to meet the people who work behind the scenes to make cultural heritage available through Europeana and to receive guidance and training from experts in this field.

Read the full programme and register via Eventbrite.

23rd NITRATE FILM FESTIVAL

Dear film lovers,

Although COVID-19 pandemic, a terrible disease that took lives of our family members, cousins and friends, as well as numerous significant persons from film industry, is slowly subsiding, culture cannot stand still. Thus we have decided to organize the 23rd Nitrate Film Festival in Jugoslovenska kinoteka in its old, established term for decades (6–15 June), with a simple slogan – Nitrate 23.

Ernst Lubitsch, Mikhail Romm, Leitão de Barros, Julien Duvivier, István Gaál, Allan Dwan, Vittorio Cottafavi, Wilhelm Dieterle, Jean Epstein, Otakar Vávra, Raymond Bernard, Dziga Vertov, Youssef Chahine, Jacob and Luise Fleck are the names of distinguished film authors whose films will contribute to the importance of this year’s Festival. In versatile and divers program with an abundance of various genres and films, of which many will have their Serbian premiere, we shall present thirty-six films from twenty-six film archives from Europe, Japan, Egypt and United States of America. It is our greatest pleasure to be able to organize screening of eight films discovered in recent years in the Yugoslav Film Archive Nitrate Fund, among which the most significant one is the film The First Vuk’s Convocation in Trsic 1933. Unlike last year, we have finally had an opportunity to invite over twenty guests from the neighbouring countries and beyond, with whom we shall exchange impressions and views on future of film archives in light of all that have happened to us in the last fifteen months, along with watching masterpieces of world cinematography.

That is why we are honoured and pleased to invite you, for the twenty third time, to Jugoslovenska kinoteka cinema theatres (this time to the cinema theatre in Uzun Mirkova no. 1), where together we shall enjoy the beloved world of motion pictures through the film time machine.

Aleksandar Saša Erdeljanović
Director and Festival selector

Nitrate 23 Programme

A Season of Classic Films: Maria do Mar (1930)

Cinemateca Portuguesa joins A Season of Classic Films with the premiere of the new digital restoration of Maria do Mar (Leitão de Barros, 1930), the masterpiece of Portuguese silent cinema, on Saturday 12 June at 20:00 WEST, in the centennial venue Teatro São Luiz (Lisbon) and accompanied by Bernardo Sassetti’s musical score, commissioned by Cinemateca and performed live by Orquestra Sinfonietta de Lisboa. There will also be an online screening on 23 June. 

Watch Maria do Mar (on 23 June)

Maria do Mar is a local synthesis of the European film avant-gardes of the 1920s, combining the boldest formal composition and montage, with an inquiring ethnographic look at the fishing community of Nazaré (now world-famous after its inclusion in the big-wave surfing circuit). Its balanced mix of modernity and tradition, as well as its deliberate conflation of the documentary and the fiction modes of representation, make it a founding moment in the history of Portuguese cinema, and a landmark of the European film heritage. 

The new digital restoration of Maria do Mar presents the version restored by Cinemateca Portuguesa in 2000. The new digital copy comes from the 4K digitisation of the film’s original camera negative. The image’s digital restoration and colour correction were made by Cineric Portugal.  

Bernardo Sassetti’s musical score was originally commissioned by Cinemateca in 1999. It was orchestrated by Vasco Pearce de Azevedo, Bernardo Sassetti, and Luís Tinoco, and recorded in 2010 by Bernardo Sassetti (piano), Filipa Pais (vocals), and the Orquestra Sinfonietta de Lisboa (conducted by Maestro Vasco Pearce de Azevedo), with José Pedro Gil, Vasco Pearce de Azevedo, and Bernardo Sassetti as the recording producers. The score is now part of the new digital copy of Maria do Mar and will be performed live in Teatro São Luiz on Saturday 12 June. 

A Season of Classic Films is a series of free screenings across Europe. The initiative is coordinated by the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) and is supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme. The films are presented by 22 members of ACE with the aim to increase visibility to the richness of their collections and raise awareness of film preservation and culture, especially among young adults. 

Maria do Mar | Portugal, 1930, 105′

Director: Leitão de Barros. Producer: Sociedade Universal de Superfilmes (SUS). Cast: Rosa Maria (Maria do Mar), Oliveira Martins (Manuel), Adelina Abranches (aunt Aurélia), Alves da Cunha (Falacha), Perpétua dos Santos (Falacha’s wife), Horta e Costa («Peru»), António Duarte («Lacraio»), Maria Leo (Maria’s friend), Mário Duarte (doctor), Celestino Pedroso (Colonel), Rafael Alves (officer), Galiana Murraças and Bernardina (women). Direction, script, editing: Leitão de Barros / Sequence: António Lopes Ribeiro / Photography: Manuel Luís Vieira, António Salazar Dinis / Intertitles: Norberto Lopes / Lightning: José Correia / Set photo: Ferreira da Cunha. Physical characteristics of first release: 35mm, 105’, B&W, silent, Portuguese intertitles. Film copy screened during A Season of Classic Films: New digital restoration in 4K with newly-recorded music of the original music composition. DCP after digital restoration, 105’, B&W, with recorded original musical score, Portuguese intertitles. Available subtitles: English/French. Copyright: Leitão de Barros’ heirs (film work), Bernardo Sassetti’s heirs (music score of the restored version of the film).

Local screening: Teatro São Luiz, 12 June 2021, 20:00 (WEST) 

Online screening: www.cinemateca.pt, 23 June 2021. Available with English and French subtitles. 

 

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