Retrospective East/West
The East/West Retrospective is part of the official program for the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025. The project aims to reveal the rich cinematic heritage of the cross-border region between Slovenia and Italy to European audiences. The filmography of this region, which explores life along the Slovenian-Italian border, challenges the conventional perception of borders as mere divisions, instead portraying them as vibrant spaces of transition, exchange, and connection.
The selection includes a diverse range of feature films, documentaries, animated works, and newsreels that reflect the multifaceted experiences of life in multicultural areas, where people of various nationalities coexist and enrich each other's lives. It also focuses on themes that represent both the historical and contemporary experiences of the cross-border space, offering reflections on topics that resonate in many multicultural environments across Europe.
The East/West retrospective, which will travel to various European cities in 2025, will be further enriched with discussions and presentations by historians, sociologists, film theorists, and filmmakers. These insights will highlight the experiences of communities and individuals, shedding light on how to recognize and harness the advantages of multicultural regions.
The retrospective will kick off in March 2025 with special screenings in Nova Gorica and Gorizia.
Trailer for the Retrospective Oriente Vzhod/ Occidente Zahod – Border cinema.
Visual Artist
Cosimo Miorelli
Sound and Music
Vincenzo Di Francesco
Announcements/
Cinema in Udine
07. 01. 2025To discuss the history of cine-club culture in Udine, one must start with Guido Galanti, who in 1930 founded Cine Club Udine—the third cine-club in Italy in chronological order. Alongside him, Renato Spinotti (Dante Spinotti’s uncle) must also be mentioned. In 1934, Cine Club produced the 16mm medium-length film Giornate di sole (Sunny Days), a comedy directed and performed by Galanti, with cinematography by Spinotti. The opening title card featured a hand-drawn depiction of the angel on Udine’s hill and the inscription “La Galanti Film presenta” (Galanti Film Presents). Author: Giorgio Placereani
Trieste – The World in One City
07. 01. 2025Today I will attempt to summarize the development of cinematic culture in Trieste. I will discuss some well-known facts, such as the favourable view of cinema held by Trieste’s writers and intellectuals, or the city’s role as a bridge between Western and Eastern cinema. However, I also want to highlight a less discussed aspect: the presence of women in Trieste’s cinematic culture over the years. Author: Paolo Lughi
Restored Copy of the Film Red Boogie by Director Karpo Godina
16. 05. 2024The third symposium, East/West: Borders Through Film and History, which explores life along the Slovenian-Italian border through moving images, delivered an exceptional film experience on May 7 at 8:30 p.m. in the House of Film in Gorica. A freshly restored copy of the film Red Boogie by director Karp Godina from 1982 was shown, with the director himself joining us for the occasion.