The 54th Sopot Film Festival (SOFEST) was held from 29 June to 4 July under the slogan The Sun is New Every Day.
Nurturing a tradition spanning more than half a century, the Sopot Cultural Centre presented a selection of the most outstanding Serbian films, as well as the most significant minority regional and international productions. The competition programme included 21 feature and documentary films, while the non-competition programme included three films, two of which were dedicated to the youngest – Ozi: Voice of the Forest and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and the third was the documentary Brate, dedicated to the untimely death of basketball great Dejan Milojević.
The festival's artistic director, Aleksandar Avramović, reminded at a press conference held on 25 June in the Yugoslav Film Archive Hall that more than half of the films in competition had participated in several dozen international festivals – from those in neighboring countries and Europe to those in America and Australia.
‘Some deserved and received awards for screenplay, direction, acting, as well as the Grand Prix. This attests to the vitality and creative powers of our artists and Serbian cinema, and this in extremely unfavorable circumstances,’ he emphasized.
Avramović singled out four authors in particular, emphasizing that their debut films represented exceptional achievements: Vladimir Tagić, whose film Yugo Florida opened the 54th SOFEST, Stefan Đorđević, the author of the film with the most poetic title – Wind, Talk to Me, Aleksandar Radivojević, whose Karmadonna established itself in the world of thrillers and horrors and at genre festivals in Brooklyn and Sydney, and Georgi Unkovski from Macedonia, the author of a ‘small film with a big heart’ called DJ Ahmet.
The festival opened with a traditional carriage parade with film crews, fireworks, and a screening of the film Yugo Florida, as well as a concert by the RTS Folk Orchestra and Choir, a performance by the Kosmaj Cultural and Artistic Society, and the presentation of the Liberty Statuette to Jovan Marković for his outstanding contribution to cinema and production.
The concert of the RTS Folk Orchestra and Choir entitled Who's … Over There was dedicated to the most famous melodies from Serbian films, including songs from the films I Even Met Happy Gypsies, Caught in the Throat, The Marathon Family, Time of the Gypsies, as well as from the television series such as Truckers and House Theatre.
As part of the accompanying programme, an exhibition of film posters by Jovan Marković and FIT Productions was opened, as well as a memorial exhibition dedicated to Professor Radenko Ranković. The exhibitions were available to the public in the Gallery and the hall of the Sopot Cultural Centre throughout the festival.
The panel Hitmaker – Jovan Marković, Screenwriter and Producer was held on the second day of the festival, in the Gallery of the Sopot Cultural Centre, and the panel participants were Dr Dijana Metlić, professor of art history at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Dr Ognjen Rakčević from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Vukan Marković from the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade, Dušan Cicvara, film critic and writer, Jovan Marković himself, to whom the panel was dedicated, and Aleksandar Avramović, as the panel moderator.
The festival was officially closed with an awards ceremony and a screening of the film The Wedding by director Igor Šeregi.
The films in competition were evaluated by a jury consisting of: Professor Dijana Metlić, Veselin Krčmar, director of photography, winner of the SOFEST Special Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to Cinema, and Danilo Bećković, professor at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade, winner of the Liberty Statuette for Best Director for the film The Samurai in Autumn.
The Grand Prix award was presented to the film Karmadonna by director Aleksandar Radivojević, produced by the Digimedia film company, Serbia. The jury stated that they were honored to present the award to a hilarious, courageous, and in every sense radical satire, adding that its viscerality, as well as extraordinary power of directorial expression, opened up new battlegrounds for contemporary Serbian cinema.
The Best Director Award went to Ivana Mladenović for the film Sorella di clausura. According to the jury, the film courageously and uncompromisingly takes us through a world where documentary rawness and fiction intertwine, creating a touching and empathetic parody of romantic melodramas.
The Mira Stupica Award for Best Actress was given to Jelena Đokić for the film Karmadonna. In the jury's statement, it was noted, among other things, that ‘this is a unique creation, which raises the standards of female action heroines in domestic cinema and represents an absolute acting triumph at this year's festival.’
The Bata Živojinović Award for Best Actor was presented to Andrija Kuzmanović for his thoughtful, convincing, and psychologically nuanced role in the film Yugo Florida by Vladimir Tagić.
Special Mention for poetic film was awarded to the film How Come It's All Green Out Here? by director Nikola Ležajić for its authentic expression in a poignant testimony about a devastated world and the destroyed Serbian community in Croatia.
Special Mention for youth film was given to the film Hajduk u Beogradu directed by Milan Todorović.
The decision on the Audience Award for Best Film was made by the audience jury consisting of: president Sara Todorović and jury members Aleksandra Baković and Dijana Janić. This award was given to the film Yugo Florida by Vladimir Tagić for a profoundly moving, honest, and multi-layered artistic achievement, which in the most beautiful way established a direct, emotional connection with the hearts of the audience.
‘Yugo Florida is a film that does not stop living when the cinema lights go out, it remains with us as a warm warning and reminder of the importance of forgiveness and human warmth. Due to its exceptional ability to make people laugh, cry, and restore faith in the power of unity, the audience of the Sopot Film Festival unanimously declares this film its winner’, the jury's statement reads.
The variety of themes, genres, and authorial approaches at this year's SOFEST once again highlighted the power and vitality of contemporary Serbian cinema, as well as the importance of cooperation with partners from the region and Europe.
The festival was held under the auspices of the founder of the event – the City of Belgrade, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Sopot, the Film Centre of Serbia and the Yugoslav Film Archive, and it was organized by the Belgrade Festivals Centre.
The Belgrade audience will have the opportunity to see three award-winning films that are being screened as part of the SOFEST PLUS programme on 7 and 8 July in the Makavejev Hall of the Yugoslav Film Archive: Sorella di clausura, Karmadonna, and Yugo Florida. Admission to the screenings is free.