With the challenges generated by the pandemic and the viability for an enriching online experience, BEAST International Film Festival will first kick off from the 24th to the 28th of March 2021 in partnership with the Portuguese streaming platform FILMIN.
Born from a collaboration and dialogue initiative between Portuguese cinematographic operators, critics, festivals and national as well as international cultural institutions, Filmin is the main independent cinema streaming platform in Portugal.
This year, Romania is the focus of BEAST IFF through the Focus Country program, which debuts at the Opening Session one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2020: Ivana The Terrible, director Ivana Mladenović’s second feature.
The section will also include sessions dedicated to other documentary films from Romania, such as the critically praised Acasa, My Home, a film by director and investigative journalist Radu Ciorniciuc, and The Distance Between Me and Me, a feature-length documentary by directors Dana Bunescu and Mona Nicoară, which elicits deep reflections around the iconic figure of Romanian artist Nina Cassian.
Besides Focus Country, the EastWave, EastDoc and experimentalEAST competitive sessions are also highlights of the festival, featuring mid-length and short films that show the work of emerging young talents from Central and Eastern Europe.
These sessions will be available until April 4th for Filmin subscribers or via the platform’s pay-per-view model. Along with the Portuguese streaming website, other platforms such as Vimeo, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and Instagram will also host BEAST IFF’s exhibitions, events, live streams and Q&As.
Since September 2017, OKNA (PLUSEAST) CULTURAL ASSOCIATION has been presenting BEAST International Film Festival, an event shining a light over the East European cinema landscape. While exploring the Balkans, Baltics or Post-Communism, BEAST IFF opened a cultural umbrella covering 21 countries, with a unique representation focusing works and talents representing the new faces of the New East.
The festival is establishing itself as a complex channel of contemporary culture from Central & Eastern Europe to Portugal, focused on cinema but extending its program with parallel activities such as exhibitions, masterclass sessions, workshops and unique related industry events.
The festival structure is designed in a way that is able to provide a diverse collection of films, as part of the Official Competition, as well as the special programs such as Focus Country, Portuguese Abroad or BEAST KIDS. All of this contributes to bringing a broader and more complete selection to the big screens of Porto.
Until now, BEAST International Film Festival presented over 300 films (short, medium length and feature) of which several world, European and Portuguese premieres, within 10 categories with more than 150 screening sessions including special line-ups of national and international guests.
