The 69th Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival – March Festival will be held from March 29th to April 2nd, it was announced yesterday at a press conference at the Belgrade Youth Center, which is the organizer and executive producer of this important cultural event for the city of Belgrade.
Andreja Mladenović, Assistant Mayor of Belgrade and Chairman of the March Festival Board, said that this year Belgrade will host a large number of film artists, not only from our capital and Serbia but also from the region and the world.
– The fact that the March Festival will be held as a traditional event in our capital, instills hope that we are returning to normal life. This festival is one of the longest-running Belgrade festivals. We are extremely proud to be able to nurture this tradition and to contribute to a festival which deserves the attention of not only filmmakers but also fans. Its specificity is that it deals with documentaries, short, feature, animated and experimental films, and as such gathers and showcases important achievements in these film fields – said Mladenović.
He pointed out that in the previous three years, the festival team remained unchanged and he thanked the Ministry of Culture for the support it provides every year, as well as the Youth Center, which has been organizing the festival for many years.
– We are proud of everything that this festival has achieved, and that is in the first place the awarding of domestic authors, which is invaluable in relation to all other festivals that are held in the country and the region – Mladenović emphasized.
City Secretary for Culture Ivan Karl said that the March Festival is a manifestation that has the most competition, because there are many similar festivals that have been profiled in recent years.
– We are aware of the fact that we are in the era of global social networks and platforms that are a training ground for showing short or experimental films, and on that side this festival has competition in several places, but at the same time, it has all the conditions to continue developing – said Karl.
Acting director of the Belgrade Youth Center Nenad Dragović thanked the City of Belgrade for its support, especially Andreja Mladenović and the Secretariat for Culture and Secretary Ivan Karl, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Information, Film Center and Lukoil, a friend of the March Festival; and the Austrian Cultural Forum, DPC, the production company Living Pictures and the Tourist Organizations of Belgrade and Serbia, which supported this year’s edition of the event.
The artistic director of the March Festival, Dejan Dabić, announced that 77 films and numerous achievements will be shown in the competition program within the review program divided into three parts: World, Regional and Domestic Panorama. He also pointed out that for the first time this year, the category of international short film was introduced in all film genres, as well as two new professional awards, for screenplay and animation. Traditionally, the Grand Prix for the best achievement at the 69th March Festival will be awarded, as well as awards for the best films in competition categories, as well as professional awards for directing, camera, editing and sound design, and composed music.