From the 52nd year of Fest, the international film festival whose latest edition starts this Friday in Belgrade, the films for the last ten were chosen by Jugoslav Pantelić.
It's not even worth imagining how many movies had to be watched during that time, how many conversations had to be had, decisions made, personal life given and how much more, in order for the Fest to progress in this country. That's why we didn't let the difficult and beautiful days of the past drag us away from the present, because we can still untangle and repair the present. And a new Fest awaits us, a big and relaxing theme.
"WEATHER" How do you choose movies?, How are you, for example, this year they came up with the 108 titles that will be at this year's Fest?
JUGOSLAV PANTELIĆ: Fest has always been a special festival, where the audience has the opportunity to meet the most significant achievements that marked the previous year. In this sense, the selection of films is somewhat self-explanatory: the Fest brings together films that were nominated for an Oscar, as well as those that won awards or were noticed at major world festivals. That would be one part of the program, while the other would include less popular, but also quality titles, and in that sense the selector's job is more delicate, because those films need to be found or recognized. The criterion is simple and has been the same since the Fest existed, and that is - a good film.
The fest kicks off with a multiple Oscar nominee Burton Academy, and ends with a home movie Russian consul. These are films that can be watched even without watching, only based on information about them, they act as a good framework for the festival.
Alexander Payne's film may sound like a recommendation in itself, but it is also a really excellent film, one of, in my opinion, the best of the previous year. It is a film that reminds of the works of classic Hollywood and as such represents an achievement that reminds most of us of what, once upon a time, made us fall in love with the film. Film director It happened today from, Knife or Labyrinth, Miroslav Lekić, with his new film Russian consul takes us back to these spaces of ours half a century ago and deals with a delicate topic that is still relevant today. The excellent acting ensemble in the film is led by Žarko Laušević, who has the title role in To the Russian consul the last in his career.
What the films of the Fest will talk about this year?
It is very difficult to answer that question considering the number of films that you yourself have mentioned. I think that the program is quite diverse in terms of topics, and the only program unit that is thematically conceived this year is "Fest Focus". It brings together films that talk about children and young people who face some kind of violence. I felt the need to have such a selection which, as its name suggests, would focus on a certain topic, from different aspects, and which is of great importance for our society, and not only our society.
Contrary to tradition, this year, the title that unites all the films was not highlighted, but the Fest is advertised as - something for everyone. Is that the title?? If so, whether its author is the Festa team or the Cebefa team, festival organizers?
The Fest has a slogan this year, which will probably be published before the release of this interview, and it is one simple but effective sentence - Go and watch, inspired by the masterpiece of director Elem Klimov from 1985. It is a poignant war film, shot in a very expressive style and following the sufferings of a boy during the war. In addition to the fact that wars have, unfortunately, been very present in recent years and that the focus of that film is a child, this sentence is also taken as a metaphor and a call to an alert state of consciousness, directed both towards the films themselves and towards reality, but also towards ourselves . You will be able to read more about it in the introduction to the Fest catalog.
What was the intention of the criteria - something for everyone? Is elitism suppressed, which is an inherent element of a festival??
Expression something for everyone it was never a criterion, nor was it the motto of the festival, because the films that come to the Fest must first meet certain artistic qualities. On the other hand, there is truth in the fact that the Fest, as we have already talked about, is a festival that gathers films of various poetic orientations, films that come from different national and cultural traditions, different in terms of form, as well as budget. In this sense, it can be said that it is not a conceptually limited festival and that it is not elitist.
This year, neither you nor anyone else from the Fest presented the new program to the media, we already learned about it from the announcement of the organizers, Cebefa. If I remember correctly, this was also the case last year when there was not even a final press conference. Why?
And this type of communication is a kind of media presentation of the program. Press conferences are an integral part of the festival during the duration of the Fest, and as for the announcement conference for the media, I am sure that you will be informed about its holding by the press service of the festival.
The fest will be available in ten cinema halls in Belgrade, headed by MTS Hall, and ticket prices have not been increased. Some time ago, there were some disagreements between this hall and the organizers, but they are, obviously, overcome?
I don't know exactly which and where published information you mean. If you would share them with me, I might be able to answer that question, which normally goes beyond the scope of activities of the artistic director and selector of the Fest.
About the Fest in recent months "worried" people for whom it is not in the job description, I mean Ivan Karl, director of FCS, who proposed changing the term Festa. Outside influences have been a common occurrence in culture for years. How are you doing??
The Fest belongs to all of us, and in that sense I believe that everyone has the right to express their opinion about it, and since Ivan Karl was also the selector of the Fest, he probably has an additional interest in the Fest and a motive to express himself about it. I can agree or disagree with anyone who expresses views about the Fest, but I certainly take the comments into account, if they are well-intentioned and well-argued and concern the program part of the Fest.
It was probably not easy for you to choose domestic films because there is always the possibility of resenting someone. What awaits you this year??
There are many domestic films at this year's Fest, as many as possible Serbian co-productions. In the competition program alone, we have three very interesting titles, from directors who have already proven themselves as authors of impressive expression with their feature debuts. There is first Mladen Đorđević, an author of the middle generation who is a film The life and death of a porn gang quite established our cinematography some ten or more years ago, but also younger directors like Marko Đorđević and Siniša Cvetić, who with their films My morning laugh i Cutting announced the arrival of new forces from which and what we can expect in the future.
As for the potential resentment of someone for the selection of films, that is an inevitability that the Festa selector can always count on and must come to terms with. Quite simply, the selector must preserve his integrity and decide whether he sees a film at the festival and how he sees it.
As a selector, you probably wouldn't want to reveal your personal favorite, but at least say which movies you prefer: Oscar winners, films of small cinemas or ...
I really have to say that I don't have any particular preferences in that sense, I just like good movies, regardless of where they come from, what they talk about or how much money they were made for. Personally, of course, I can have certain themes, directors or styles that please me more than others in a certain period, but this does not fundamentally affect anything important when judging a film or selecting it for the Fest.
If the purpose of the question is to draw attention to some titles, the list would be really long, so I can only mention a few. We have, for example, titles that the audience has been waiting to see for a long time, either because of their themes or because of their success at festivals, such as Areas of interest Jonathan Glazer or Anatomy of a Fall Zastin Trije. We also have films by Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Aki Kaurismaki, which are already modern classics. Also, there are films that are sure to attract attention, which may not have been in the public eye as much recently, such as the film All of us strangers Andrew High.
I must also express my satisfaction with the fact that this year around 50 percent are non-distributed titles, which the festival itself bought for showing, which means that the opportunity to see them at the Fest is exclusive. I would also like to draw attention to the "Fest classic" program, which may not be sufficiently recognized as significant because the audience, as expected, tends to watch current titles first. However, this year's selection includes very interesting works, starting with Bertolucci's Sanjara which we will be able to watch in the restored 4K edition, until the movie In the vortex of sin, which comes from Germany on 35-millimeter tape, from 1937, in which the main role is played by Svetislav Ivan Petrović, our actor who achieved the greatest success outside the borders of the country, and whose 130th birthday we celebrate this year.
Do you find time for anything other than watching movies??
I have to find time for something other than watching movies, partly because of other obligations I have, partly because a person has to be present in the real world, outside of the film, so that, after all, he can watch the films themselves in an adequate way. way.
