MARTOVSKI FESTIVAL - 70th EDITION March 28 - April 2, 2023 // Belgrade Youth Center

The 70th Edition of the Martovski Festival – Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival, a permanent event of cultural importance for the City of Belgrade, will take place from March 28 to April 2, 2023, in the Belgrade Youth Center under the management of the Center.

One of the oldest Europe film festivals will this year go on for 6 days, and it will be marked by the significant anniversary of 70 years of establishment, something no film festival in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia has had so far.

Before the anniversary, on Serbia's Statehood Day, a special recognition arrived: by decree of the President of the Republic of Serbia, the Martovski Festival was awarded the Sretenje Order 3rd class, for special services to the Republic of Serbia and its citizens in public and cultural activities, and on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its existence. This recognition is a great honor for the Martovski Festival and belongs to all the people who have been a part of the event in its long history – filmmakers, organizers, audience, guests, friends, all those who made the Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival last and be one of the most important film festivals in Serbia and the region.

The  Martovski festival Chairman of the Board is Nikola Nikodijević, Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Belgrade, and its members are: Boris Jovanović, Milena Nikolić, Nenad Popović and Dragomir Zupanc. Since 2019, the art director of the Martovski Festival has been Dejan Dabić, film critic and author of animated films, a long-time selector of the Festival of Actors' Achievements in Niš and editor of the Niš Cultural Center film program.

This year, the Martovski Festival will, through the monograph Martovski Festival 1954 - 2023: a 70-year Film Journey (edited by Prof. Radenko Ranković) and the program Martovski Festival Laureates in the Yugoslav Film Archive (Kosovska 11), which includes some of the award-winning films in the history of the event so far, remind the audience of the importance of this Festival both in the Serbian context and in the context of the former Yugoslav cultural space.

The Martovski Festival traditionally presents a diverse film program in several national competition categories: documentary film up to 50 and over 50 minutes, experimental film and video art, animated film and short feature film. All genres of short films will be represented in the international competition program.

The selection committee members were: selectors of the domestic competition program – Igor M. Toholj (film auteur, producer and programmer), Saša Radojević (film critic, director and screenwriter) and Miroljub Stojanović (film critic, publicist and editor); selectors of the international competition program – Borjana Gaković (film historian, theorist and programmer from Germany), Dragan Nikolić (film director, screenwriter and editor of the film program of the Belgrade Youth Center) and Dejan Dabić (art director of the 70th Martovski Festival). They had a difficult task before them: choosing from almost 600 submitted works that will enter the official competition selection. In all, 101 films have been selected that will compete for the following awards: Grand Prix of the Martovski Festival, awards for the best film (by category), film industry awards (for the best direction, screenplay, camera, editing, animation and sound design/music score).

Members of the 70th Martovski Festival jury, which will decide on the awards, will be: Joško Marušić, film director, screenwriter, animator, cartoonist and professor (Croatia), as the President of the jury; Želimir Gvardiol, film director, screenwriter and producer (Serbia); Narcisa Darijević Marković, film and television director, screenwriter and professor (Serbia); Aleš Pavlin, film and television producer and professor (Slovenia) and Pjer Žalica, film and television director, screenwriter and professor (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Besides the competition program, the Martovski Festival will have a traditionally abundant exhibition film program presented as International Panorama, Regional Panorama and National panorama, as well as Q&A sessions with the auteurs and film book promotions. The 75th anniversary of VFC Zastava Film, which has been with the Martovski Festival since the beginning and whose auteurs and films have received the most significant Festival awards, will also be marked.

The opening ceremony will feature the exclusive regional premiere of the feature-length documentary On the Adamant (Sur l'Adamant) by French director Nicolas Philibert, who recently won the Golden Bear for the best film at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

The regional premiere of the feature-length documentary 1991 Adio Yugo-Film, Adio Yugo-Festival, Adio Yugoslavia... See You in the Next War, by the famous actor Igor Galo from Croatia, will precede the panel discussion Martovski Festival - between the Yugoslav past and the post-Yugoslav future. The Martovski Festival world premieres will include My Branko Doesn't Lie about Branko Ćopić, by Branko Lazić and Living the Beatles by Nebojša Grabež. The audience will have the opportunity to watch the world premieres of renowned authors from Serbia and the region: Caricature Adventures by Vera Vlajić, Days of Dreams by Momir Matović, Invincible Mind by Zoran Amar..., as well as selections from European and regional festivals short and documentary films, but also the Austrian Film Award for Short Film nominees and winners.

As always, we scheduled a number of expert programmes and panel discussions for professionals and students, meetings and Q&A sessions with Festival guests, master classes, book promotions and other supporting programmes.

Traditionally, the Martovski Festival is the meeting point for national and international filmmakers, producers, distributors and festival directors, reporters, critics, students, and professionals. It is the promotion spot of the documentary, animated, short and experimental film, a platform for inspiration and developing new ideas, as well as the chance for the local audience to see exciting, carefully picked latest films they cannot see through regular cinema channels.

Tickets are available at 400 RSD for the Main Hall and 300 RSD for the Americana Hall, while film academy students, as always, will have free entrance with a valid index.

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The Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival is a permanent event of cultural importance for the City of Belgrade.

Festival Patrons are the City of Belgrade, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Film Center Serbia.

Festival management: Belgrade Youth Center

The Festival is supported by: Yugoslav Film Archive, Austrian Cultural Forum, Zastava Film, Filmske Novosi, French institute in Belgrade, DPC, Living Pictures, Tourist organization of Belgrade, Tourist organization of Serbia.

www.martovski.rs / www.domomladine.org