East European Film Bulletin

Hollywood’s recent return to the eighties has become a genre of its own. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) proved that audiences would turn up for practical stunts and period hits, and the industry took note. The Fall Guy (2024), Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024), and the Road House (2024) remake have each tried a version of that formula. A retrospective look at the original films, however, often exposes uncomfortable cultural norms and may explain the drive to develop more sanitized versions.

Nothing Extraordinary, Everything Important Martina Buchelová’s Lover, Not a Fighter (Milovník, nie bojovník, 2026) Vol. 167 (September 2026) Martina Buchelová’s feature debut unfolds through seemingly insignificant moments – awkward lunches, first crushes, family conversations, afternoons spent listening to music – and gradually reveals itself as one of the most emotionally engaging films from this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Between Unstable Experience and Retrospective Framing Jan Těšitel’s David (2015) Vol. 167 (September 2026) For film critics, debut features often reveal their full significance only in retrospect. At the moment of their release, they are typically read through expectations of what a filmmaker might become rather than what the film itself already is. They are usually discussed as announcements of future talent, yet the careers that follow rarely follow a predictable or linear trajectory.

Jan Těšitel on David Vol. 167 (September 2026) Czech director and screenwriter Jan Těšitel debuted in 2015 with the psychological drama “David,” which achieved success on the domestic and international festival circuit.

Directing From a Distance Comes Chahbazian’s Here, Elsewhere (2026) Vol. 167 (September 2026) It’s always embarrassing to ask the first stupid question. After a screening of Here, Elsewhere at this year’s Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan, mine was the following: “To what extent is your film influenced by Godard’s Here and Elsewhere?” To which the director Comes Chahbazian replied: “None at all. Godard doesn’t have a monopoly on the words.” Fair enough. The resemblance may only be superficial.

Golden Apricot 2026 Adapting a story of grief for an international audience. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.

Contradictions of Co-Production Tamara Stepanyan’s In the Land of Arto (Le Pays d’Arto, 2025) Vol. 167 (September 2026) This year’s Golden Apricot Film Festival opened with Tamara Stepanyan’s In The Land of Arto. A maker of solid documentary films (Village of Women; Embers), Stepanyan is one of Armenia’s most promising directors. Unfortunately, her debut fiction feature collapses under the contradictions of co-production.

Νο Surrender László Nemes’ Moulin (2026) Vol. 166 (Summer 2026) Closer to the mainstream than he would ever admit, László Nemes recounts the final years of French Resistance leader Jean Moulin in a ‘French’ film that falls into all the clichés the director of Son of Saul had previously resisted with persistent – and not insignificant – arrogance throughout his career.

Realism is an odd category for cinema. During the silent and early sound eras of the 1920s and 1930s, cultural critic Ilya Ehrenburg used the term “dream factory” to describe, not without cynicism, how film studios applied industrial methods to manufacture human fantasy and emotion. The phrase crossed into the American lexicon through fan magazines and gossip columns, where it began to take on a new meaning.

Cannes 2026 Zvyagintsev returns to themes of guilt and corruption as they relate to modern-day Russia. The Palme d’Or winner meets Western Europeans’ self-image. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.