Apr 22, 2015
The South East European Film
Festival (SEEfest) (seefilmla.org) will celebrate its 10th
anniversary beginning April 30th, with a special opening night gala
at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. This year the festival will
place the spotlight on the rich cinema of Romania, and to celebrate its milestone
year, will present its first ever Legacy and Lifetime Achievement Awards to
Oscar-winning actor George Chakiris and legendary Romanian actor Victor
Rebengiuc.
"It is a special privilege for
a film festival to recognize those artists of South East European heritage
whose legacies define cinema," says Vera Mijojlic, president/founder
SEEfest. "We pay homage to two very different and uniquely talented artists,
Romanian Victor Rebengiuc and Greek-American George Chakiris, both of whom
created unforgettable on-screen characters and transformed the films in which
they starred."
The
son of Greek immigrant parents, SEEfest Legacy Award recipient George Chakiris
is an Academy Award-winning actor/singer/dancer with a distinguished 50-year
career in cinema, theater, television and music recording. His body of work encompasses nearly 30 films,
multiple television variety shows and mini-series, stage plays and revues and
concert tours. An early international artist and a ‘triple-threat’ talent, his
global reach has spanned North America, Europe and Asia.
In
1962, Chakiris was honored with an Academy Award in the “Best Supporting Actor”
category for his portrayal of Bernardo in “West Side Story.” His dynamic
performance also garnered a Golden Globe Award. One of the leading dancers of
his generation, Chakiris appeared in iconic Hollywood musicals of the 1950s,
including “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Brigadoon,” “White
Christmas” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” with Marilyn Monroe, Rosemary
Clooney, Mitzi Gaynor, Rosalind Russell, Vera-Ellen, Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby
and Debbie Reynolds.
Significant
movie titles include “The Young Girls of Rochefort” with Catherine Deneuve and
Gene Kelly, “Who Stole the Mona Lisa?” with Marina Vlady, “Diamond Head” with
Charlton Heston, “The Big Cube” with Lana Turner, “Kings of the Sun” with Yul
Brynner, “The High Bright Sun” with Dirk Bogarde and “Bebo’s Girl” with Claudia
Cardinale.
From
the 1970s – 90s, Chakiris had an active presence on American television
contributing to numerous dramatic mini-series and variety shows. An
accomplished theatre performer and Capitol Records recording artist, Chakiris
has been twice honored by France’s Ministry of Culture with the “Ordre des Arts
and des Lettres” for his contribution to the arts. He currently designs his own
jewelry line “The George Chakiris Collection.” (www.georgechakiris.com)
Born
in Bucharest, Romania, Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Victor Rebengiuc is
the leading actor of his country, equally sought after by the young directors
of the Romanian New Wave genre. His memorable performances in "Medal of
Honor,” which won Best Film at SEEfest in 2011 and in the short film "Half
Shaved" presented in 2014, as well as this year’s festival’s opening night
selection “The Japanese Dog,” are timeless highlights of a remarkable career.
His
breakout role was in the 1965 film “The Forest of the Hanged,” directed by
Liviu Ciulei, who was awarded the “Best Director” prize at the Cannes Film
Festival. The film was a watershed moment in the recent history of Romanian
cinema as the country’s first film to gain critical recognition
internationally.
Rebengiuc
has collaborated with veteran Romanian filmmaker Dan Piţa and has worked with
the great theater director Silviu Purcărete. He also collaborated with the
celebrated Romanian stage and film director Lucian Pintilie, most notably in “Too
Late,” nominated for the Palme d'Or in Cannes (1996) and “Last Stop Paradise” (1998),
winner of Special Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
He
received several awards for his work at international film festivals in Torino,
Thessaloniki, Cluj, an honorary doctorate from the Theater Institute and the Prometheus Opera Omnia Award for Performance
Art from the Anonimul Foundation.
SEEfest
2015 is scheduled from April 30 – May 7, 2015, with screenings at Laemmle’s
Music Hall Theatre in Beverly Hills and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, with
select complimentary screenings at the Macha Theatre in West Hollywood.
Boasting
its largest selection ever of award-winning works from the region, SEEfest will
showcase North American and West Coast premieres of feature films, documentaries,
fiction, documentary and animation shorts, with attendance by filmmakers,
industry professionals and cultural dignitaries from Los Angeles and South East
Europe.
The
complete schedule of films to be screened at SEEfest 2015 is now available
online at www.seefilmla.org
About The South
East European Film Festival (SEEfest)
SEEfest
presents cinematic and cultural diversity of South East Europe to American
audiences and creates cultural connections through films, artistic and social
events. SEEfest was founded in 2006 by Vera Mijojlic, long-time film critic and
cultural entrepreneur.
Follow
SEEfest at www.seefilmla.org, www.facebook.com/seefest,
twitter.com/seefilmla
www.writersguildtheater.com
www.laemmle.com
www.goethe.de/ins/us/los/enindex.htm
www.machatheatre.org
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