The 20th Free Zone Film Festival was opened last night in the Blue Hall of the Sava Center with screenings of the Palme d’Or awardees this year in Cannes: “The Man Who Couldn’t Be Silent” by Nebojsa Slijepčević and “Anor” by Šon Bejker.
Nebojsa Slijepčević officially declared the festival open.
– Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you. I can already see, after Cannes, that this is the most magnificent screening of the film – said Slijepčević.
He recalled that his first author’s film, “Za four godine”, was shown at the Free Zone and that since then he has been a guest six times.
– This is my favorite festival, not only because it follows me through my career, but also because the selection and the way the films are treated is fantastic, as well as the discussions that follow, and all of this is at an exceptional level and because you, the audience. I wish you a happy 20th birthday. I hope it’s just early youth – said Slijepčević.
Director of the Free Zone and one of the selectors, Rajko Petrovićhe pointed out that he is extremely glad that the anniversary of the festival is being celebrated in one of the most beautiful movie theaters in Europe and the world.
– When we are asked what is the specificity of our festival, I say that it is the audience. We started as a small festival in DKC where 10-15 films were shown, and today we go to four cities in 15 theaters. This would not have been possible without the support of the audience, and this is an opportunity to thank all the people who have come to the Free Zone in the past 20 years and you who are there with all my heart, as well as all those who have participated in the organization of previous festivals – said Petrović.
He also thanked for the support of the Ministry of Culture, the MEDIA Program of Creative Europe, the French Institute, the Reconstruction Women’s Fund, and the Film Center of Serbia, which supports the winners of the three competitive selections with cash prizes.
Selector Ivan Bakrač he revealed the names of the jury that will decide on the awards: Snežana van Hauvelingen, Nadin Lange and Nemanja Vojinović in the International selection, Maja Šuša, Nemanja Bečanović and Maša Seničić in the regional selection and Ljiljana Ilić, Đorđe Bajić and Zoran Janković in the First Two Steps selection.
The jury that will choose the best film for young people consists of high school students Isidora Cvetković, Iva Gošnjak, Rade Mirković and Sofija Sofrenić.
Selector Branka Pavlović she stated that the Free Zone has been with us for 20 years to encourage and empower both those in the audience and those who work at the festival.
– Maybe in the very near future films will become significantly different from what we know, but I firmly hope that the need to tell stories that are important to us, that make us better, that encourage us when it’s difficult and give us hope in the sea of bad news – stay. Stories that bear witness to reconciliation, forgiveness and the strength of the human spirit. And that in spite of that – or precisely because the world has not gotten better in the last 20 years – they will create films and works of art that remind us that each of us individually and all of us together are part of that world and that without us and our involvement, it would not he can become better than himself.
In the films before you, you will see that freedom in every sense is easily lost and difficult
it conquers, day by day, year by year through everything we do or don’t do. The outcome is uncertain but worth the effort. That’s why we’re still here – said Branka Pavlović.
- Until November 11, the free zone will bring 77 plays and documentaries from 37 countries to the audience in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac.
At the closing ceremony on 11.11. at 20:00, the most watched Italian film last year in this country, the great family drama “There’s Always Tomorrow” by Paola Cortelezi, will be shown in Dom omladine Belgrade, Cineplex Arena, and Cineplexx in Niš and Kragujevac.
More information about the program and hourly rates at official website.
Photo: Tanja Drobnjak, Milica Knezević
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