Guardians of the Formula has won two awards at the recently concluded Locarno Film Festival. Yesterday, Dragan Bjelogrlić, the director, was awarded the “Variety Piazza Grande” award for the best film in the “Piazza Grande” selection, as well as the “Pardo Verde Ricola” jury award, which is awarded to films with the most impressive message.
The “Variety Piazza Grande” award is awarded by a jury made up of critics of the prestigious American film magazine who attend the screenings in Locarno that year. The award is given to a film premiered in the “Piazza Grande” program, and to a film that stands out for its artistic qualities and for its potential for theatre audiences. This award should help the film’s international placement, thanks to Variety’s prestige in with the film industry and its authority in the film world.
The film is a true story of the accident in Vinča near Belgrade, in 1958, which was hidden for decade.
With two awards from Locarno, the crew of the film will present itself to a large audience next week at the regional premiere as part of the main program of the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival.
This unique story, based on the novel by Professor Goran Milašinović, was written by Vuk Ršumović, along with Ognjen Sviličić and Dragan Bjelogrlić. The team, led by Bjelogrlić as director, consists of director of photography Ivan Kostić, editor Milena Predić, set designers Jelena Sopić and Jovana Cvetković, costume designer Marina Vukasović Medenica, composer Aleksandar Ranđelović, while executive production is signed by Goran Bjelogrlić.
The film is a project by the production companies CobraFilm and United Media, with the support of Euroimages, Creative Europe Media, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, as well as Film Centers of Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and North Macedonia.
One Serbian minority co-production was also awarded in Locarno – also the full-length feature film “Excursion” directed by Una Gunjak, which won a special award in the “Cineasti del presente” selection.