21st South East European Film Festival Opens April 29 with Catane

The 21st annual South East European Film Festival, commonly known as SEEfest, has announced its 2026 lineup, featuring a diverse selection of fiction and nonfiction cinema from South and Eastern Europe. The festival is scheduled to run from April 29 to May 6, 2026, in Los Angeles.

The event will open on April 29 with the screening of Catane, the feature debut of director Ioana Mischie. Set in Romania, the film is a comedy-romance described as a modern-day fairytale, where hapless bureaucrats eventually find their groove.

SEEfest is co-presented by ELMA, the foundation for European Languages and Movies in America. The festival was established in 2006 by Vera Mijojlić, a journalist and entrepreneur native of Sarajevo, with the goal of introducing high-quality cinema from South and Eastern Europe to audiences in the United States.

2026 Program Highlights

The 2026 program includes several notable international entries, including Panopticon, directed by George Sikharulidze. This production, representing Georgia’s official Oscar entry for the year, explores a young man’s sexual awakening amid the absence of his parents, noting that his father left home to become a monk.

Other featured films in the lineup include:

• Honey Bunny: A Croatian narrative feature directed by Igor Jelinovic, which serves as a character study regarding toxic family dynamics.
• Fantasy: A film from Slovenian director Katarina Resek, also known as Kukla. The film has already received significant recognition, winning the Cineuropa Award and the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the 2026 Trieste Film Festival, as well as five awards at the Slovene Film Festival in Portorož, Slovenia.

The festival continues to maintain a high profile within the entertainment industry, with Bulgarian American actress and entertainer Irina Maleeva serving as the honorary chair. Maleeva’s professional background includes work with Orson Welles and Federico Fellini, and she is slated to appear in the upcoming comedy Sunny’s Closet.

Event Logistics and Access

The Opening Gala is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 6 PM to 9 PM at the Fine Arts Theatre. This event will feature the screening of Catane.

In addition to the physical screenings in Los Angeles, SEEfest has expanded its reach by launching a streaming service through a partnership with the Darkroom platform, allowing for broader accessibility to its curated content.

The festival’s mission remains focused on cultural exchange and providing a platform for filmmakers from the South East European region to reach an American audience. Support for the event is available through cine-fan memberships and art patrons who support the festival’s network of cultural organizations.