With the awards ceremony at the Serbian National Theater and a concert by the renowned regional artist Božo Vreća with the Camerata Novi Sad orchestra, the second edition of the Novi Sad Film Festiva concluded last night.
The second edition of this festival featured over 100 participants, more than 50 hours of film screenings attended by nearly five thousand visitors, and showcased over 30 works from four continents across 5 competitive and 3 showcase selections.
In its second year, the festival successfully presented seven premieres and brought together some of the most significant names from the world of cinema, including Oscar winners, this year's laureates Zoran Perišić, Ištvan Šabo, and Olivera Katarina, whose award was accepted last night by her son, Mane Šakić.
The film 'Her Body' by director Natálie Císarovská was awarded Best Film in the main international feature competition. The jury awarded Best Direction to Karthik Subbaraj for 'Jigarthanda Double X.' The Grand Prix went to the opening film 'Voy! Voy! Voy!' by director Omar Hilal, while the Audience Award was given to 'Lena and Vladimir' by Igor Aleksov, who also received a Special Mention at the festival. The selector was director and screenwriter Nikola Spasić, the jury chair was Susan Costa Pereira, director of Creative Europe from Portugal, and the other jury members were Edvinas Pukšta, a member of the European Film Academy and Lithuanian film selector, and British producer Bill Chamberlain.
In a selection that distinguishes the Novi Sad Film Festival as unique by bridging film and the IT sector, the Game Cinematics award, supported by the Film Center Serbia, was unanimously given to 'RESIDENT EVIL Village.' Second place went to 'CALL OF DUTY – MODERN WARFARE III,' while 'Game Cinematics EXOBOURN' secured third place. The selector was visual artist Leon Aksin, and the jury comprised Mileta Poštić, head of the Animation and Visual Effects program at AUNS, serving as jury president, along with members Tijana Prodanović, a scientist and professor, and 3D artist Đorđe Ilić.
Biggest Prize Money for Films in Development
In the Work in Progress selection, which showcases projects and films in development, the Novi Sad Film Festival awards the largest monetary prize of 10,000 euros, supporting filmmakers in their creative endeavors. This year’s winner is 'Rattlesnakes' by director Nikola Ljuca. The jury president was Mahnowoo Kwon, director of one of the world's largest platforms for film and new media exchange, the Busan Content Market, along with jury members producer Ena Rahelić and director, producer, and screenwriter Milan Todorović.
Support for Future Filmmakers
The special contribution of the Novi Sad Film Festival is reflected in the support it provides to high school students and university students who are just beginning their creative journeys. Works by high school students in the 'Wednesday in School' selection were showcased at the 'Laza Kostić' Gymnasium, curated by Sonja Leštar, an actress, teacher, and multimedia artist. The jury, led by Jovana Đurović, a multimedia directing student at AUNS, included Miloš Rajtarov, a camera student at AUNS, and Ognjen Radić, a dramaturgy student at AUNS and educator. The winning film in this competition was 'Domac' by Aleksandar Musić.
This year's selection of short student films was curated by renowned film and television screenwriter and playwright Milan Puzić. The decision on the winner was made by a jury led by film entrepreneur Anđela Prnjak, alongside director of photography Aleksa Radmanović and artistic director of the Beldoks festival, Marko Grba. In this selection, the award went to Tamara Kostrešević for her film 'Dan za nas.
The festival was supported by: City of Novi Sad, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, Cultural Center of Novi Sad, Schweppes, Converse, Stojanov, Kalem by Zak, Maxim and co. Open Air is sponsored by Neoplanta. The general sponsor of the festival is Blanc 1664.
