Gordan Matic, the director of Film Center Serbia, was one of the first speakers at this year’s Digital Conference, held on September 5th and 6th in Belgrade at the Metropol Hotel. This prestigious regional conference focuses on trends in telecommunications and media, bringing together the most prominent names in these areas from across the region, as well as numerous guests from abroad. The conference was opened by Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ and Social Affairs Zoran Djordjević, and the US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott was among the foremost speakers on the first day. One of the most important topics of the conference this year is the rise of local television series, as well as the lightning-fast development of film industry in Serbia.

On that occasion, Matić spoke about the biggest challenges facing Film Center Serbia, in a situation where the local film and television industries are on the rise and foreign productions are coming to Serbia in increasing number, to reap the numerous benefits of filming in our country. Mr. Matić also pointed out that the budget that Film Center Serbia has allotted film production in 2019 is over eight million euros, which is more than ever before, since the institution was founded. He also announced the start of the drafting of a new Cinematography Act on September 15 this year, and the formation of a working group to look at aligning the new law with EU regulatory papers.

Matić cited the digitization of cinemas in Serbia as one of the most important goals in his recently started term. “In the last four years, 47 cinemas have been digitized in Serbia with the help of the Film Center Serbia, while four more have received our support. With that, Serbia will have over 50 new digitized cinemas, which is especially important strategically, for cooperation with major foreign film industries such as French, Spanish or Italian,” he said, emphasizing the importance of the recently concluded agreement with France on cinematographic production, signed during a recent visit of president Emmanuel Macron.

The FCS Director stated that this institution has supported 49 projects from 18 countries in minority co-productions over the past two years,. “But the number of films is not the only thing that is important; quality also counts,” said Matić, pointing out the awards received at film festivals in Berlin, Locarno, and Sarajevo. “It is good that other countries have recognized our film makers. In the last two years, we have had 30 projects by our authors supported in foreign countries. The total participation of these countries in films by Serbian authors, during this period, amounts to over 2 million euros, which is a record so far, ”added Matić.

The arrival of a large number of foreign productions has brought a resurgence to the local film industry, thanks to quickly and effectively implemented tax breaks and skilled local staff. To date, productions from as many as 25 countries, most of them from the USA, have applied for these benefits. Gordan Matić said that the increasing demand carries with it a lack of skilled labor, but that there is room for progress in this field. “We have suddenly come to that, in a space of a couple of months: now you can no longer find experienced and high-quality assistant directors, electricians, spotlights, and that means projects are standing still. I want to work on this on behalf of Film Center Serbia, so we have already prepared one fund for the next four years, which will enable additional education for crafts in film,”announced the director of Film Center Serbia.