The film Short Summer by the Russian director Nastya Korkija, produced by the Serbian production company Art & Popcorn, won the prestigious Lion of the Future – “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for the best debut film at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
Miroslav Mogorović, co-producer of the film from Serbia, said on the occasion of winning this important award: “I am proud that our film Short Summer was crowned with the prestigious Lion of the Future award at the 82nd Mostra in Venice. This award is not only a confirmation of the exceptional talent of author Nastja Korkija and the entire film crew, but also a strong encouragement to all of us at the Art & Popcorn Center for Film Arts, who believe in the power of new film voices and original cinematographic visions. Short Summer is proof that courage and faith in new generations of creators pay off – and on the world’s biggest stage. This award also belongs to Serbian cinema as a whole, because it shows that our films have the power to touch the audience even beyond our current and former borders. Venice is the beginning of a great journey for us, and the Lion of the Future award is proof that film dreams, when shared and nurtured, can become reality.”
The International Jury of the Lion of the Future Award – “Luigi de Laurentiis”, the best debut film at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, was chaired by Scottish director Charlotte Wells, and included French-Tunisian director and producer Erich Seiri, as well as Italian director and screenwriter Silvio Soldini.
The film had its premiere in the Giornate degli Autori (Author’s Days) competition program and tells the intimate story of seven-year-old Kaca, a girl about to start school, while her grandparents are going through a serious family crisis and are on the verge of separation. Through a poetic view of childhood, the authors look at the broader context of Russian society at the time of the Second Chechen War and the wave of terrorist attacks in 2004.
The screenplay is written by Nastja Korkija and Mihail Buškov, and the film was shot in August and September 2024 at locations around Belgrade, Bor, Perlez and several other places. The project was created as a co-production of the companies Tam Tam (Germany), Totem (France) and Art & Popcorn (Serbia).
The main role is played by the Russian actress Maja Pleskovich, who lives in Belgrade, while the famous Russian actors Aleksandar Feklistov, Jakov Karihaljin, Aleksander Karpusin, as well as Serbian actors Vesna Jovanović and Stojša Oljačić play supporting roles. A significant part of the film crew consists of Russian emigrants, and Serbian artists – costume designer Marija Janošević and film mask designer Jasmina Mina Lilić – also took part in the production.
The film received the support of numerous funds from Germany and France, MEDIA Creative Europe, as well as Film Center Serbia and the Film Incentives Program of the Republic of Serbia. The producers of the film are: Natalia Drozd, Andrea Schutte, Dirk Decker, Berenice Vincent, Miroslav Mogorović and Stefan Mladenović, who is also the executive producer of the film.
Photo: Pavel Karykhalin