This year will be among the most successful when it comes to the presence of Serbian film industry at the Cannes Film Festival. As a part of the ACID TRIP side programme, seven Serbian films will be shown, while I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967), directed by Aleksandar Petrović, has been included in the Cannes Classics programme.
As written before, I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967), Aleksandar Petrović’s magnum opus, will be shown at the 70th Cannes Film Festival prestigious Cannes Classic programme, at the initiative of the Yugoslav Cinematheque. The film stars the cream of Serbian actors: Bekim Fehmiu, Velimir Bаtа Živojinović and Oliverа Kаtаrinа. For the needs of this Cannes screening, the Yugoslav Cinematheque has developed a new copy of the film that was awarded the Grand Prix du Jury at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.
I Even Met Happy Gypsies will be the first Serbian film screened as a part of the official Cannes Classic programme of the most renowned of all global film festivals. The film will be screened on May 24th at the Buñuel Theatre, beginning at 2130h. The screening will be attended by Olivera Katarina, whose arrival to Cannes has been organized by Film Center Serbia. This year’s Cannes Classic is made up of sixteen films produced between 1946 and 1992. Some of the other films on the list include Blow Up, All That Jazz, In the Realm of the Senses, The Battle of the Rails…
As a part of the Cannes programme dubbed ACID TRIP #1: Serbia, the Belgrade Auteur Film Festival will present seven films by young Serbian directors: two feature films and five shorts. The films to be presented over the course of three days, from May 19th to May 21st are: Transition, by Milica Tomović, Stone in Hand by Stefan Ivančić, Emergency Exit by Vladimir Tagić, Dos patrias by Kosta Ristić and If I Had It My Way I Would Never Leave by Marko Grba Singh (all to be screened on May 19th), as well as feature films Humidity by Nikola Ljuca (May 20th) and Requiem For Mrs. J. By Bojan Vuletić (May 21st). All screenings begin at 1600h in Aleksandar III Theatre, and they will be attended by the creators, whose visit to Cannes has been supported by Film Center Serbia. A gala cocktail party, hosted by ACID with the help of Auteur Film Festival and Film Center Serbia, will take place on May 22nd.
It is important to note that a cooperation agreement between the French National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC) and Film Center Serbia (FCS), which is a result of close ties between the two countries in the field of film and tradition of cultural cooperation, as well as an expression of the need for stronger bilateral relationships with the goal of encouraging transfer of knowledge and best practices. One of the main goals of this agreement is the exchange of knowledge in the field of film archive management, especially when it comes to technical issues, as well as development of international co-productions and organization of meetings between French and Serbian producers. The agreement covers important issues like co-productions, film heritage, audio-visual education, institutional exchange programs and joint fight against piracy.
On top of that, two Serbian producers have secured their place at this year’s Cannes festival, where they will present their new projects. Jovana Nikolić will present her documentary project The Black Wedding, directed by Dragan Nikolić, as a part of the Producers on the Move programme. Milan Stojanović will present his new feature film project, The Users, a melodrama directed by Ivan Ikić, at the Producers Network.
Film Center Serbia will again be present at the Cannes Film Festival, just like it was in the preceding years. This year, all visitors to the FCS stand will have a chance to get two catalogues. The first catalogue presents feature films – those that were finished and distributed in the previous year, as well as those that are still in productions, postproduction or preproduction, including minority co-productions and films awarded at this year’s FEST and March Festival – approximately 60 films, varying in genre and length. This catalogue also brings an essay on the I Even Met Happy Gypsies phenomenon, a guide to this year’s ACID TRIP, a list of top box office films in Serbia in 2016, as well as feature articles focusing on new projects by Jovana Nikolić and Milan Stojanović. The second catalogue presents only documentaries, over 40 films divided into four sections (Completed/Distributed, In production or postproduction, Minority coproductions and Films awarded at March Festival). The catalogues are in English, and both have been designed by Nenad Radojčić, one half of the Braća burazeri design team.
The 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival takes place May 17th – May 28th 2017. Films competing for the Palme d’Or include new offerings by Michael Haneke, Sofia Coppola, Michel Hazanavicius, Francois Ozon… The President of this year’s jury is Pedro Almodovar, while Monica Bellucci, the star of Emir Kusturica’s latest film, will be hosting the opening and closing ceremonies.
Đorđe Bajić