First open air film festival in Serbia, Cinema City has been closed Sunday in ovation of the mainly young audience, with ceremony awards and at the end and a big drunken haze party in evening. No doubt that organizer, Exit did pretty much to cheer and entertain Novi Sad. Taking the fact that this pretty large and beautiful Serbian City has no cinema, the festival organized first open air cinema in Serbia. The festival fulfilled total capacity with total sale of tickets, with all open air sits taken. During the period from 6th to 14th of June, the city of Novi Sad has become a large cinema, thanks to Cinema City Film and New Media Festival, with the magnificent and variable film program. During that period, total of eight locations in Novi Sad has been adapted for the needs of movie projections, while the city center to become a large festival arena. The goal is to animate attention of the visitors of the festival during whole day, with film, music and entertaining program of the festival, in order to conceptualized and fully intensifies the dynamics of Novi Sad.


INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

After the careful consideration of all films in main competition program the jury decided to award with The Grand Prix and IBIS statuette, in the EXIT POINT INTERNATIONAL CLASS competition selection–and amount of 10.000,00 $ film “Tony Manero”, directed by Pablo Larrain. The Grand Prix went to, as it was explained “an amazing, deep and complex story of a murderous obsession mirroring the political situation in a country suffering under a brutal dictatorship in the late 1970s. co-screenwriter and main actor Alfredo Castro gives a compelling performance which remains etched in the memory long after our prize-winner, Pablo Larrain’s Tony Manero, has ended.“The Best directing Award in the EXIT POINT INTERNATIONAL CLASS competition selection– IBIS and modest amount of 2.000,00 $ went to Alexei Uchitel for the film „Captive“.“ The prize for Best Director goes to a film which concentrates more on inner personal , struggles rather than the political and ideological elements of the military conflict, in this case in Chechnya. With accomplished cinematography by Yuri Klimenko and a hypnotic central performance by lead actor Vyacheslav Krikunov, this film is a damning statement on the cruelty of war set against the harsh grandeur of the mountainous locations. We therefore award the Prize for Best Direction to Alexei Uchitel for Captive.“
The Best acting in the EXIT POINT INTERNATIONAL CLASS competition selection– IBIS statuete and 2.000,00 $ went to two actresses – Betty Quizmolli for a role in a film „Katia’s sister“ and to Leora Barbara for a role in film „Stella“.“The Prize for Best Actor goes ex aequo to two young actresses at the beginning of promising careers. We wish to salute a debutant who plays the perfect passive „observer“, who only introduces herself as „Katia’s sister“. It is not until the last scene of the film that we learn her name, Lucia – as played by Betty Qizmolli in Mijke de Jong’s Katia’s Sister.This prize is shared with another first-time actress who adeptly portrays her struggle to reconcile her new academic world in a prestigious Parisian school with life in her parents' working class bar – to Leora Barbara as the title figure of Stella in Sylvie Verheyde’s film of the same name. “

`Special Mention for the Artistic Achievement `– a Plaque for a film from EXIT POINT INTERNATIONAL CLASS competition selection went to Ziya Mirza Mohamad and Haron Ahad for the roles in a film” Two Legged Horse”, directed by Samira Makhmalbaf, for “a moving and naturalistic performances in a story of victimization between a severely disabled boy who humiliates and abuses the impoverished boy hired to carry him around on his back. The Special Mention goes to Ziya Mirza Mohamad as the „two-legged horse“ and to his master played by Haron Ahad in Samira Makhmalbaf’s harrowing and uncompromising Two-Legged Horse.”

NATIONAL CLASS

For a domestic audience, of course, the most interesting films were from the National Class Program, which content domestic Serbian Cinematography. So the GRAND PRIX , IBIS statuette and prize in the amount of 10.000,00$ for the Best Film in the ’National Class’ competition program went to the film „ORDINARY PEOPLE“ directed by Vladimir Perisic “for it’s compelling , moving and thought provoking film making”. The Best Directing Award– IBIS and prize in the amount of 3.000,00 $ in the ’National Class’ competition program went to director of film „ST.GEORGE SHOOTS THE DRAGON“ Srdjan Dragojevic, “for the masterful handling of an epic war story in a microcosm”. The Best Sreenplay Award- IBIS and prize of 2.000,00 $ in the ’National Class’ competition program went to screenwriter of the film „WAIT FOR ME AND I WILL NOT COME“ by Miroslav Momcilovic, for a “ mosaics of storylines, skillfully depicting the despair and the euphoria of being in love”. The Best Male Role Award- IBIS and 2.000,00 $ prize in the ’National Class’ competition program went to an actor in the film „ST. GEORGE SHOTS THE DRAGON“ Lazar Ristovski, for “Ristovski’s subtle yet powerful performance”. The Best Female Role Award- IBIS and 2.000,00 $ in the ’National Class’ competition program went to an actress in the film „HERE AND THERE“, Mirjana Karanovic, for a female part in film by Darko Lungulov that already won the award on prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. “Mirjana Karanovic gave a seemingly effortless portrait of a middle aged woman who discovers herself again.” The Best Editing Award - IBIS and prize in the amount of 2.000,00 $ in the ’National Class’ competition program went to editor of the film „ST. GEORGE SHOOTS THE DRAGON“, Petar Markovic, “for his substantial contribution in orchestrating a multilayered story.” The Best Photography Award - IBIS and prize in the amount of 2.000,00 $ in the ’National Class’ competition program went to cinematographer of the film „AUTUMN IN MY STREET“, Aleksandar Ramadanovic. “Through his vivid and realistic style, he transports the audience to the hearth of the action.” Special Mention – diploma, for the film went to „Autumn in my Street“directed by Milos Pusic, because, as it is said” it represents the energy of a New Wave of Serbian film-making.”

THE CHEAP THRILL

As usual, there is a part of the festival program that attracts lots of attention and gets to become very popular even if the films had very little or no budget at all. This program then, sometimes gets to be most popular, relaxed, and unpretentious and it is called “UP TO 10.000 BUCKS”.

The Best Film Award , IBIS and prize of 2.000,00$ in the competition program of “UP TO 10.000 BUCKS” went to the film „ZIVAN PUJIC JIMMY“ directed by Ognjen Glavonic, for “the awakening and inspiring positive energy of his film.” II prize - non monetary award – under the Jury decision – diploma went to “RED RABBIT”, directed by Egmont Mayer. “Within a few minutes we get a detailed yet simple metaphorical tale.” III prize- non monetary award – under the Jury decision – diploma went to “JOURNEY OF A RED FRIDGE”, directed by Lucian and Natasa Muntean, for “not just for beautiful images, but also for a beautiful, touching story.”


FIPRESCI

Someone say: what we would do without FIPRESCI Critics. No festival can live without them. Award FIPRESCI SERBIA JURY OF CRITICS in the selection National Class went to the film “Wait For Me and I Will Not Come” by screenwriter and director Miroslav Momcilovic, who “with all the attributes needed for a wholesome and quality work, represents the model how a new reanimated Serbian film should be made. With the sincere and straightforward film expression, and a colorful behavioral spectrum of the gallery of characters, brilliantly portrayed by the acting ensemble, it is not hard to recognize how Momcilovic skillfully treats the topic of love, the topic about which we thought everything has already been said.” Special recognition by CRITICS JURY OF FIPRESCI SERBIA in the selection National Class went to the film “The Life and Death of a Porno Gang” by screenwriter and director Mladen Djordjevic,”who bravely moves the boundaries of theme and style in domestic film, in order to justify his coarse expression and wild energy in showing systematically and staggeringly the distorted world we live in, and at the same time, making an intelligent metaphor about socio pathological consequences of the 1990s in Serbia.” Award FIPRESCI SERBIA JURY OF CRITICS in the selection Exit Point went to the film “Kabuli Kid” by Barmak Akram, “as an unforgettable and striking portrait of Kabul's everyday life, this film depicts the spiritual superiority which surpasses the unimaginable horror of the twenty-five-year war in Afghanistan, which left more than fifty thousand orphans living on the streets, and the film is dedicated to them. It is a compassionate and touching story about indestructible love between a mother and her child, told with plenty of optimism and sophisticated humor.” Award for the most engaging film at Cinema City festival went to the film “Courting Condi” by Sebastian Doggart. And finally Special Mention for the Contribution to the Development of Serbian Cinematography Cinema City festival went to Aleksa Gajić for the film “Technotise: Edit and I”.

Radmila Djurica
http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/radmila