Anthony Lapia's debut film After won the Novi Sad Film Festival's best feature award, and the film's best director honor went to Croatian director Juraj Lerotić, who wrote the heartbreaking drama Safe Place.
Last night's awards ceremony at the Arena Cineplex cinema marked the ending of the first Novi Sad Film Festival.
The jury, consisting of the director of the Pula Film Festival and the president of the jury Tanja Miličić, the selector of the independent film section of the Venice Film Festival Andrei Tanasescu, the head of the animation and visual effects department at Academy of Arts Novi Sad, and the storyboard director of Ilbe Studios Mileta Poštić, states in their explanation that the film After "organically and honestly, unpretentiously and simply draws the viewer into an unexpectedly harmonious and fluid story in the world of techno music and drugs.
From frame to frame, the audience rhythmically 'flows into the screen' and dives into a time capsule in which the lives of Felicia and Said are intertwined", while Juraj Lerotić "masterfully directed a powerful personal story that, without a hint of melodrama, calmly and precisely leaves a strong emotional imprint on viewers".
The Audience Award went to Argentinian El Santo by Agustin Carbonere, who officially opened the Novi Sad Film Festival.
In what way, student filmstook part in the competitive selection, and Guguto Memeto, directed by Branislav Stošić, won the best prize. According to the jury's explanation, "with its adaptation of the prose of the award-winning writer Stefan Tićmi, presents a combination of live action and animation, which, with its unusual styling, greatly exceeds the usual quality standards that we expect when it comes to student films."
The best high school film is Under the Bridge by Andrej Tomin from the Philological High School in Belgrade, who, according to the jury, stands out for his simplicity and clarity: "The film team managed to convey deep emotions and complex relationships through a story that is both simple and understandable."
Earlier, at the press conference that day in the Best Pitch selection, the Montenegrin project Nothing Will Be Called After Me, directed by Đorđe Vojvodić received one million dinars for the completion of the film.
The curtain came down with a concert by Urban & 4 and the string ensemble Camerata Novi Sad, after the presentation of awards, but also with the Love Party, which gathered a large number of guests.
The festival spirit in Novi Sad will be present in the coming days as the selection continues to be dedicated to new films made on the territory of Novi Sad and to authors who have linked their lives and works to this city. It is about the selection A Sad Novi, within which the audience will watch the films from September 25 to 27: Manja by director Nikola Končarević, as well as two cinema premieres of the films Penal and Sexual Life by Ana Đ directed by Milica Stojanov and Ana in Love, Mr. Forgetfulness and Mom directed by Manuel Srbin. All screenings will be held at 9 p.m. in the Cultural Center of Novi Sad.
A documentary about Mira Banjac, a laureate for her contribution to national cinema, will also be shown at the very end of this year's film story, and the audience will once again have the chance to see Agustn Carbonere's "El Santo," which won the audience award.
Fly into the Movie Screen was the tagline for the Novi Sad Film Festival, which gave locals and visitors the chance to see over 20 films in over eight selectionsat the Serbian National Theater, the Cultural Center of Novi Sad, the Arena Cineplex, the "Laza Kostić" Gymnasium, the Zenit Bookstore, and the Svilara Cultural Station.
During the festival days, Novi Sad showed that it has all the preconditions for the development of filmmaking, young and mature authors, and film workers in general. The foundations of Novi Sad's rich film history are made by experienced filmmakers, which was an additional motive for starting a new film event and forming a new space for the development of film art. Through the involvement of institutions, but also the entire film community and audience, Novi Sad is certainly becoming a film-friendly environment.
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