CinEast is an annual film festival dedicated to present different kind of movies from Eastern and Central European countries.
The festival takes place in autumn and the program includes not only screenings but also a variety of different concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events promoting the life and traditions of the Eastern and Central Europe.

One of the events I participated in was called Estalgia party, which main idea behind was to combine a film screening with music, food and a quiz about the Eastern European history. The organizers had reserved Rotondes in Bonnevoie and the venue was already quite crowded when I came to pick up my bracelet. The cost of the event bracelet was 15 EUR at the door and besides the event program, it included some free shots of liquor and some typical Eastern European food.

I liked the theme of the party and how the staff was also dressed up accordingly. Similarly,  food could be collected with food stamps and the menu was adapted to project the poverty of socialist times. The quiz was a nice idea but unfortunately not everyone could take part of it so easily and the location and table arrangements made a bit difficult to interact with people. I would have liked the quiz to  take less time and have more time to be dedicated to the short films and the actual party with music – maybe an improvement point for next time!

Indeed, overall the atmosphere was really nice and it was easy to mingle around and talk to people. Most visitors that I talked to were either from Eastern/Central Europe or they had lived there for a period of time. A few had come due to pure interest towards movies. Generally my feedback for the event was positive and I was glad that the festival was not only about films but also had the cultural aspect very well integrated. Looking forward to next year Cineast already!