James N. Kienitz Wilkins can turn a phrase. The dynamic works of the Brooklyn-based writer/director are distinctive in their investigation of language, unconventional approach to performance, and exploration of conversation as a potent transmitter of ideas.

This October, the 2014 BFI London Film Festival Experimenta showcased roughly 70 film and video works broadly defined as “experimental cinema and artists’ film and video.” The Experimenta programming offered works both magnificent and maddening, and the nearly parallel festival provided much to consider on its own.

One common element to many of the most interesting films at this year’s BFI London Film Festival (LFF) is a direct or indirect connection to Eastern Europe.