On Friday, May 7th, in the Belgrade Sava Center, the 49th edition of the International Film Festival – FEST, which is organized by the Center of Belgrade Festivals – CEBEF, was officially opened. At the opening, after a minute of silence for all those who died of the infectious disease COVID-19, an In memoriam video of Hadži Aleksandar Đurović was shown, dedicated to film artists who died in the last year, after which the honorary awards “Belgrade Winner” for outstanding contribution to film art were presented. After the ceremony, The Dig directed by Simon Stone, starring Carrie Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes, premiered on the big screen.
Borislav Anđelić, doyen of film criticism in Serbia and the former art director of FEST, presented the award to our director Puriša Đorđeviću.
Upon receiving the award, the legendary director Puriša Đorđević said: “It is nice that FEST is with us again, and in a way – it is good that I am with you. I was born in 1924 on St. George’s Day, in Čačak. Since then, I have photographed many streets, many cities, many faces. What I could and could not, I tried to express in my films. And don’t get mad, but I’m just now making a new movie.
The current artistic director of FEST, Jugoslav Pantelić, presented the “Belgrade Winner” award to actor Rade Šerbedžija, and before that he said of this year’s edition of the festival: “May is not a normal time for FEST to take place, but it is good that we are together. We have ten days ahead of us during which we will meet, talk and exchange experiences about the programs that are held throughout Belgrade. I am sure that at this FEST you will discover some new authors, remind yourself of some films that inspired you and those you trust, and that among the younger audience in all halls of FEST, there will be those who will defend the colors of the seventh in the future. art. Be brave and watch those movies that you have never heard of – it may happen that those movies will be the ones you will remember this year. ”
Actor Rade Šerbedžija addressed the audienc with these words: “I am proud to be a part of this great cinematography of the South Slavs, who used to be called Yugoslavs, and this FEST, a festival that originated in 1971 at a time when Yugoslav film was one of the liveliest and most recognizable in the world. Led by the directors and film workers who founded such a magnificent festival in the middle of Belgrade. And that was the black wave, those were the masters of the seventies, including our great Puriša Đorđević, then Žika Pavlović, Makavejev, Saša Petrović, Žilnik, and all those divine actors who participated in their films. I am happy to be a small part of that rich time. ” At the end of his speech, Šerbedžija added: “Congratulations to these boys and girls who are building a new impetus and a new festival – a new FEST, in our difficult times, which is terribly important for this beautiful city of Belgrade.”
At the closing of the festival, the “Belgrade Winner” will be also awarded to the set designer Miljen Kljaković – Kreka.
At tomorrow’s FEST program, among the many premieres, there will be screenings of domestic and regional films, whose teams will pay their respects to the audience live. Living Man by Oleg Novković, with Nikola Đuričko and Nada Šargin in the lead roles, will be premiered on Saturday, May 8th at 7 pm in Kombank Hall, while the audience will be able to watch this performance in reruns on May 9th in the same hall, and on May 9 and 11 in the cinemas of Cineplexx Gallery Belgrade.
Milan Trenc’s film Fishing and Fishing Complaints, starring Rade Šerbežija and Leon Lučev, will premiere on May 8th at 4:30 pm at the Belgrade Youth Center, and rerun screenings on May 9th at Belgrade Youth Center and May 11th at the cinema Cineplexx Gallery Belgrade.
The Slovenian film “Stagnation” directed by Vinko Moderndorfer will be premiered in Kombank Hall on May 8th at 4:30 p.m., and repeated on May 9th in Kombank Hall and on May 10th in Cineplexx Galerija Belgrade.
The International Film Festival – FEST, will take place from 7th to 16th of May 2021, organized by the Center of Belgrade Festivals (CEBEF) in Sava Center, Kombank Hall, Belgrade Youth Center and Cineplexx Gallery Belgrade, and will present more than 70 premieres films of the latest world, European and domestic cinematography in seven selections. This year’s festival is held under the slogan “Back to the Future” with the intention of contributing to the revival of cinema screens and the return of film audiences to cinemas as the largest and widely known film event in the country and the region.
Tickets for FEST are on sale at the box office of the Sava Center (entrance B from Vladimira Popovića Street), Kombank Hall, Belgrade Youth Center and Cineplexx Gallery Belgrade. Tickets for screenings in the Sava Center, Kombank Hall and the Belgrade Youth Center can also be purchased online, via the website www.tickets.rs, as well as at all Ticket Vision points of sale.7