The international film and music festival “Kustendorf” will be held from January 13 to January 18 next year in Drvengrad, Mećavnik.
The founder and artistic director of the festival, director Emir Kusturica, said that the competition program of the 13th festival will consist of 21 films by local and foreign authors.
“Young directors from China, Romania, Belarus, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Switzerland, Serbia, Israel, Spain, Poland, Iran, Croatia and France will compete for the ‘Golden’, ‘Silver’ and ‘Bronze Egg’ awards”, said Kusturica.
According to him, the idea is for this to be a festival of directors and to concentrate on those authors who are going through a difficult period in the development of film art.
He said in Belgrade at a press conference at the Ministry of Culture and Information of Serbia, sponsored by the Festival, that 772 films had arrived.
“The international jury of the Festival will consist of Italian director, writer and producer Paolo Virci, French writer and screenwriter Tonino Benakvista and chess grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev,” said Kusturica.
The Vilko Filach Best Picture Award will be presented by the French director of photography Michel Amatje.
“The retrospective of the greats will be dedicated to director Pursa Djordjevic, as well as to Italian director Paolo Vircius,” said Kusturica.
He stated that the category “New Authors” will feature three new film artists, including Milena Grujic from Serbia with the film “A.S. (25)” and Miguel Angel Mouleta from Peru with the film “We are all sailors”.
According to him, the movie “From Tomorrow I Begin To” by Ivan Markovic and Vu Linfeng, which was co-produced by Serbia, China and Germany, is in that category.
“Contemporary Tendencies” will feature the films “Invisible Life” by director Karim Ainuz, the movie “Synonyms” by director Nadal Lapid, the movie “Lake of the Wild Geese” by director Diao Jinan.
This category will also include films directed by Mehdi Barsaoui, the film “Live and Sing” by director Johnny Ma, as well as the film “You Will Die in the Twenties” by Amjad Abu Alal.
The directors of these films will also be guests of the festival and will also hold master workshops.
As part of the accompanying program, a film by director Ivana Mladenovic “Ivana Grozny” will be screened, and during the festival in Andricgrad a selection of works will be presented from the Legate House called “Moderna”.
Serbian Minister of Culture and Information Vladan Vukosavljevic said at a conference in Belgrade that this festival is one of the most significant cultural events held in Serbia during the calendar year.
“This manifestation, essentially of a non-commercial type, involves a large number of young people from all over the world, who gather in the wonderful ambiance of Swordsman, where they exchange experiences. For years, Kustendrof has been a gathering place for the most valuable in the creative sense that film art carries with it,” emphasized Vukosavljevic.
During the festival, and after the screenings and workshops, the Russian group “Haters”, the band from Northern Macedonia “Jambo Agushev Orchestra”, the French-Romanian-Polish band “Klik hir”, as well as “Dejan Petrovic big band” and “Lav hunters” will perform from Serbia.
TST
