The CinEast festival, in collaboration and with the support of one of its main partners, Kulczyk Investments, presents the Young Talents Award.
Five films by first or second-time film directors from the festival’s selection will be competing for this award. A separate Young Talents Jury composed of four students of the BTS cinema et audiovisuel at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers in Luxembourg will decide on the winner of the Award.
The award will be announced by the Jury at the CinEast 2023 Awards Ceremony on 21 October and the director of the winning film will receive an invitation to join the International Jury of CinEast 2024. In 2022, the Young Talents Award went to Croatian directors Andrija Mardešić and David Kapac for their film The Uncle. Andrija will be joining the Jury of CinEast 2023 as well as meet the students of the Lycée.
In collaboration and with the support of 
Young Talents Competition
The 2023 Young Talents Competition will consist of five films:
All About the Little Things by Denis Šafařík
Forever-Forever by Anna Buryachkova
Larry by Szilárd Bernáth
The 9th Step by Irma Pužauskaitė
Where the Road Leads by Nina Ognjanović
Young Talents Jury
The 2023 Young Talents Jury:
Alyssa Joao
Morgane Verdin-Pol
Ethan Beaufort
François Sfalcin
The jury members will be guided in their choices by the Luxembourgish film director Eric Lamhène.
The film Citizen Saint wins the Grand Prix of the 16th edition of the CinEast Festival!
During the awards ceremony of the 16th edition of CinEast (Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg, 5-22 October 2023), the International Jury awarded the Grand Prix to the film Citizen Saint by Tinatin Kajrishvili and the Special Jury Prize to the film Blaga's Lessons by Stephan Komandarev. The Critics’ Prize, awarded by the Press Jury, was also awarded to the film Blaga’s Lessons by Stephan Komandarev. The Press Jury also decided to award a Special Mention to the film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Anna Hints. The Young Talents Award was won by the film Larry by Szilárd Bernáth. Finally, the Audience Award was won by Sisters by Linda Olte.
The International Jury of the festival was made up of the following personalities: the French director Patrice Leconte (President of the Jury), the directors Iryna Tsilyk and Andrija Mardešić, the actress Sophie Langevin and the producer Vincent Quénault. The Press Jury was made up of journalists Katrin Büchler, Tómas Atli Einarsson, and Isabelle Debuchy. Finally, the Young Talents Jury was made up of Alyssa Joao, Morgane Verdin-Pol, Ethan Beaufort and François Sfalcin, students of the BTS Cinéma et audiovisuel at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers.
Patrice Leconte commented on the jury's decision to award the Grand Prix to the film Citizen Saint by Tinatin Kajrishvili: “An incredible story of great originality, about false idols. The mise en scene and cinematography unanimously amazed the jury. A totally accomplished film with elements of magical realism, shifting from humour to terror. The Grand Prix of the CinEast 2023 festival is awarded to the film Citizen Saint by Georgian director Tinatin Kajrishvili.”
Ukrainian director Iryna Tsilyk thanked the festival for its commitment to Ukraine and justified the jury’s decision to award the Special Jury Prize to the film Blaga’s Lessons by Stephan Komandarev as follows: “In this film Eli Skorcheva delivers a powerful performance in the role of Blaga, serving up an implacable script. A terrible resolution, and one that is eminently contemporary: in our individualistic world, rational beings are sometimes transformed into monsters. This is why the Jury decided to award the Special Jury Prize to Blaga’s Lessons by Stephan Komandarev.”
Katrin Büchler and Tómas Atli Einarsson presented the verdict of the Press Jury relating to the Critics’ Prize awarded to the film Blaga’s Lessons by Stephan Komandarev with these words: “Blaga’s Lessons, directed by Stephan Komandarev, struck a chord with us all… Poignant and shocking, the film’s narrative and style show greed and desperation are not individual character traits, but societal ills.”
They also commented on the Special Mention of the Press Jury for the film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Anna Hints: "Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is deeply evocative and visually stunning. It also, crucially, reminds us that the world can be a difficult and dangerous place for all but a privileged minority."
Ethan Beaufort announced the verdict of the Young Talents Jury to award the Young Talents Award to the film Larry by Szilárd Bernáth: “It is a film where the cinematography combines with a great sense of musicality to create a truly touching story that simultaneously offers us a vigorous spectacle and a sincere drama. We are convinced that this movie is a perfect showcase of what Eastern European cinema is capable of with such a motivated filmmaker, actors and crew. The winner of the Young Talents Award of this 16th CinEast film festival is LARRY, directed by Szilárd Bernáth.”
Linda Olte's film Sisters received the highest marks in the public vote (in cinemas and online) and thus received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
Finally, the Audience Awards for Best Short Films were won by: Island of Freedom by Petr Januschka (Best Short Fiction Film), The Silence of the Banana Trees by Eneos Çarka (Best Short Documentary Film) and Crab by Piotr Chmielewski (Best Short Animated Film).
The ceremony, with the participation of members of the International Jury, the Press Jury as well as the Young Talents Jury and other guests, was followed by the screening of the festival's Closing film Guardians of the Formula by Dragan Bjelogrlić.
