Winners of the 7th Annual South East European Festival Revealed

awardsCelebration for closing night of the 7th Annual South East European Festival (SEE Fest 2012 which ran from May 3-May 7 2012) took place Monday night, May 7th, at UCLA’s Bridges Theater in Los Angeles with the screening of the Turkish epic FUTURE LASTS FOREVER, an exploration of the parallel pasts and Anatolian elegies directed by Ozcan Alper, which also won Bridging the Borders award for best feature film of the festival. DO NOT FORGET ME INSTANBUL, a collection of seven stories by seven directors under artistic direction of Turkey's auteur Huseyin Karabey also received an award from Cinema Without Borders accordingly.

2012 Award Winners:

Juries and awards of the 7th South East European Film Festival included:

Bridging the Borders Award, with jurors Bijan Tehrani, editor-in-chief, Cinema Without Borders; Kevin Cassidy, international news editor, The Hollywood Reporter; and Fareed C. Majari, director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.

Best Documentary Award,
with jurors Margit Kleinman, director, Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades; Arnold Schwartzman, Oscar-winning filmmaker and designer; Valentina Ganeva, film editor;

Best Debut Feature Award,  with jurors Ana Maria Bahiana, author and film critic; Matthew Mishory, filmmaker; and Zeljko Marasovich, film composer;

Best Short Film, Best Short Documentary Awards,
 with jurors Prince Gomolvilas, playwright; Jelena Mrdja, actress; Marsha Goodman, EMMY-winning casting director; and Jelena Erceg, visual effects artist.

Best Cinematography Award,
feature and documentary film, with jurors Boris Schaarschmidt, cinematographer; Michael Pessah, cinematographer; Nicholas Fahey, cinematographer; and Hans Diernberger, visual artist.

About South East European Festival:

South East European Film Festival educates about and promotes cultural diversity of South East Europe through its annual presentations of films from this region and year-round screenings and programs. SEE FEST organizes conferences and retrospectives, serves as the cultural hub and resource for scholars and filmmakers, and creates opportunities for cultural exchange between Southern California and South East Europe.

For further details about the festival visit: http://www.seefilmla.org