FNE: How did the LET'S CEE Film Festival begin?

Magdalena Żelasko: It was in 2010 when I had the thought of establishing an international Film Festival for the first time, dealing with the best of what the cinema from Central and Eastern Europe is offering. Right here in Vienna, in the middle of the continent. I am from Poland, I was born and raised there, and I always knew what we have to offer. The main reason for my final decision was this one: More than half of the inhabitants of Vienna have a so called migration background and many of those immigrants are originally from CEE-countries. In the greater area of Vienna, for example, live tens of thousands of people from Poland or Romania and a few hundred thousand people from former Yugoslavia and Turkey. All these people rarely get the possibility to see good films in their mother tongue and from the countries of their origin that far from home – and I wanted to change that. It took me more than half a year to start, but it worked.  

FNE: What are some of your favorite memories of the past editions of the festival?

Magdalena Żelasko: The greatest joy is, for sure, when you see that many people come to the screenings and that they also like the selected films very much. We even had to send home quite a number of potential viewers last year because we were sold out. That was sad, on the one hand, but on the other hand, we realized that we were on the right track.

Wolfgang P. Schwelle: And there are, naturally, also the encounters with filmmakers, young ones as well as famous ones like Alexander Sokurov, Jan Svěrák, Agnieszka Holland, Allan Starski and Branko Lustig, which are especially very enriching. If you are interested in filmmaking – which we certainly are – this is a really great chance. But believe me: To meet young and talented directors, actors and other people from the business is not less fascinating.

FNE: This is a major anniversary year. Are you planning any retrospectives to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Magdalena Żelasko: LET'S CEE 2014 will particularly elaborate not only on one, but on four commemorative years. 100 years after the outbreak of World War I – and 75 years after the beginning of World War II – it is about time to take stock of the European Union's eastward enlargement in 2004 and, naturally, also of the last quarter of a century after the fall of the Iron Curtain. A very special project this year is “25 – The Retrospective”. In the frame of this series we will show a selection of the respectively greatest feature film from each one of altogether 25 Central and Eastern European countries, produced since the fall of the Iron Curtain 25 years ago and according to the judgment of quite a few of the best film critics from all over the world.

FNE: Besides that, what do audiences and guests have to look forward to this year?

Magdalena Żelasko: There will be also competitions of the best feature films, documentaries and short films, Austrian premiers of some of the best Central and Eastern European film productions, Master Classes with internationally renowned filmmakers, great concerts and much more. And, as in the previous years, quite a large number of famous directors and actors will visit the LET’S CEE Film Festival. The detailed program will be published on our webpage www.letsceefilmfestival.com very soon.

FNE: What do you see as the most exciting developments in film in the CEE region?

Magdalena Żelasko: We observe that the thematic spectrum of films from the CEE region is getting broader and that the films are becoming more satisfying in terms of quality. At the same time, you must consider that it costs an enormous amount of money to promote a film internationally. Most Eastern European productions simply do not have that money – and, by the way, the same applies for many Austrian films as well. Take for example the Lithuanian movie Redirected, a very entertaining mix of action, thriller and comedy, filmed in a sort of Guy Ritchie style. Promoted with lots of money, this movie would be, without any doubt, an international success – and we would not have seen a movie like this a couple of years ago.

FNE: Austria has always had a unique position in relation to CEE. What has been their response to the festival?

Wolfgang P. Schwelle: There are two sides to the story. You have to distinguish between the audience, who welcomed us in a very kind and supportive way, and the reaction of the so called official Austria. When talking about the official Austria, we again have to make a difference. And the most important one is between words and deeds. Verbal support we get practically from all sides, but when it comes to money, we are still left more or less completely in the lurch.

FNE: What does that mean more precisely?

Wolfgang P. Schwelle: The Ministry of Culture hasn't been funding us at all, not with a single cent, and the City of Vienna gives us only alms. From the City of Vienna we get about four percent of our budget. All in all, it is a shame, especially when you consider that there are hundreds of millions of euros put into other cultural sections. The people in power spend all the money almost exclusively on cultural offers which are mainly consumed by elderly, wealthy and long-established Austrians. They want to be elected by their new citizens too, by the immigrants, but that’s just it.

FNE: Do you think this has something to do with xenophobia?

Magdalena Żelasko: Considering that even the largest and most successful IFF in the world like the Berlinale or the one in Cannes get more or less half of their budget funded by the public, and we get in comparison less than ten percent, you see how absurd the official policy in Austria is in this regard. Why don't they fund us, I don't know.

Wolfgang P. Schwelle: If half of your population has an immigrant background, but you only spend a few percent of your budget on appropriate cultural activities for them, this is very clearly a matter of discrimination and xenophobia. Even though nobody dares to say it out loud.