The winner of the “Nebojša Popović” award for 2025 is Maja Medić, director of photography and photographer, author, editor and book editor and curator of a series of exhibitions that include important directors, cinematographers, actors, critics and film phenomena.
The “Nebojša Popović” award will be presented to this year’s winner on Sunday, January 11th, 2026, at 8 p.m., in the Belgrade Cultural Center Hall, as part of the film marathon conceived by last year’s winners, representatives of the Academic Film Center-Student City Cultural Center, Milan Milosavljević – editor and Ivan Velisavljević – editor of the Archive program.
Cultural Center of Belgrade, Film Center Serbia, Radio Television of Serbia, Yugoslav Cinematheque, Subotica Open University / European Film Festival Palić, Citizens’ Association “Pogled u svet” / Author’s Film Festival, Fund B92 / “Free Zone” Festival, International Documentary Film Festival “Beldoks” and members of the family of Nebojša Popović, in their joint desire to preserve the memory of an exceptional professional and human being, as well as the legacy he has left behind, established the “Nebojša Popović” award for contribution to promotion of film art and culture and critical thinking in that area.
The winner of the award for 2025 is Maja Medić, whose creative work and artistic oeuvre consists of exceptional, nuanced, sensitized and, above all, polyfunctional photography, which is an artistic document and testimony of its time; meta-narratively dedicated to film art and great figures of film and screen creativity. Her photos are more than exhibition artifacts, they are a precious “pictorial note” in monographs and books, on call whenever words are insufficient and inadequate.
The award consists of a sum of money and an art object/plaque by Ajla Selenić, which is provided by Film Center Serbia, as well as the right and privilege of the award winner to select the film program for the next award ceremony.
The award jury consists of prof. Dr. Nevena Daković; the president, as well as members – academician Želimir Žilnik, film director and Maša Seničić, film critic and PhD student at FDU – made a unanimous decision, and offered this explanation: “In the film Contempt, the famous Jean-Luc Godard repeats the proverbial and well-known saying that ‘A picture speaks and is worth more than 1000 words’, and Maja Medić constantly proves this with her work and creativity, because she succeeds time and again to translate theoretical considerations and theses into evidence through superior artistic practice – perfect composition, chiaroscuro effects and affective sensibility of recorded scenes.
Previous winners of the “Nebojša Popović” award are: Svetlana and Zoran Popović (2016), prof. Vladimir Vlada Petrić (2017), Milan Vlajčić (2018), Miroljub Stojanović (2019), Srđan Vučinić (2020), Pavle Levi (2021), Radoslav Zelenović (2022), prof. Dr. Nevena Daković (2023) and the Academic Film Center – Student City Cultural Center (2024).
MAJA MEDIĆ (1979) is a graduated cinematographer, photographer, organizer of monographs and exhibitions, producer, director and certified creative coach. In the last ten years, she has prepared monographs on the history of Serbian and Yugoslav film, in cooperation with cultural institutions – Puriša (Cačak Cultural Center and FCS, 2024), Nebojša Đukelić (Festovih 50, Library of the City of Belgrade, 2022), Cinematographers in Serbian Film, (FCS, 2021), Yugoslav Cinematheque – 70 years (JK – State Audiovisual Archive of the RS, 2019), National Class: Drama films by Goran Marković (FCS, 2016), Throat with strawberries – 40 years of TV series (with Stefan Arsenijević, KCB and Vulkan, 2016). She worked as a technical editor on books – The Best Serbian Films of the 21st Century (FCS, 2018), Critical Guide to Serbian Film 2000-2017 (FCS, 2018) and a selection of photographs for a monograph on Nebojša Glogovac (UDUS and Vulkan, 2018). She curated sixteen exhibitions on the same theme, primarily in cooperation with the Cultural Center of Belgrade, but also cultural centers around Serbia (about Nebojša Glogovac, Milena Dravić, Goran Paskaljević, Purisa Đorđević, the series Throat in strawberries, 50 years of the film Battle of the Neretva, 40 years of the film Masters, masters! and cinematographers in Serbian film). She participated in the organization of events and conducting interviews with filmmakers, was a member of the FEST and LIFFE festival jury, and worked on twenty film projects as a photographer. He is currently working on his own documentary film.
NEBOJŠA POPOVIĆ (1958–2015) was one of the few remaining bright voices among Serbian film critics. His reviews were lucid and erudite, sharp and modernly presented, so that they simultaneously communicate with the widest television audience and the intellectual elite. His famous conversations with leading contemporary world and domestic filmmakers in the “Second Century” show on RTS set a high standard, being comprehensive and in-depth, live, personal interactions that resulted in layered portraits of the interlocutors and often shed new light on their creativity. As the editor of the film program of the Belgrade Cultural Center Hall, he profiled the concept of a quality art film, influencing the film tastes of generations of viewers. Nebojša Popović promoted his love for film, as well as his deep intellectual reflection about it, throughout his entire career.