FEATURE FILM SELECTION 2022
ALBANIA
ZOUNDS - Gentian Gjikopulli
Project Type:Experimental, Feature Genres:Drama Runtime:1 hour 18 minutes Completion Date:May 15, 2020 Country of Origin:Albania Country of Filming:Albania Gentian Gjikopulli - Director Gentian Gjikopulli - Writer Adrian Ruci - Producer Spiro Nino - Producer Cast: Kastriot Shehi, Helga Mustafaraj, Sonila Hyseni, Rexhina Ibro,Isli Dauti, Françeska Çoniku On the stage of a Concert Hall a Female PIANO PLAYER is performing on a grand piano; only the acoustic, muted sounds of piano hammers are heard and not the normal keyboard sound. On a Call Centre Aula, over 200 seated call operators are framed, communicating with headsets and microphone put on, a messy amalgam of phrases, sentences or chats are heard simultaneously, increasing this robotic, confusing and depressing way of communication, leading on a climax after which comes…a short break from that work that shows us the FEMALE OPERATOR kissing and hugging passionately with her BOYFRIEND; no word to say, not a single sound is heard until…an alarming, brutal buzzer makes her back to the harmful noisy work of the Call Center... |
GREECE
MEDEA - Dimitri Athanitis
Project Type:Feature Runtime:1 hour 22 minutes Completion Date:January 5, 2022 Country of Origin:Greece Country of Filming:Greece Dimitri Athanitis - Director Dimitri Athanitis - Writer Dimitri Athanitis - Producer Cast: Alexandra Kazazou Medea and Jason are living as refuges at Corinthos when Jason abandons Medea to marry king Kreon's daughter. After that, Medea is ordered to leave the city at once with her two children, on penalty of death. |
HUNGARY
EARLY WEDDING - Csaba Vekes
Project Type:Feature Runtime:1 hour 15 minutes Completion Date:May 1, 2021 Country of Origin:Hungary Country of Filming:Hungary Csaba Vekes - Director Tamás Olt - Director László Gönye - Writer Zsolt Kathy - Writer Csaba Vékes - Writer Tamás Olt - Writer Péter Roskó - Producer Cast: Csaba Fándly, Beatrix Trill, Klára Német, Róbert Koltai The film is about a father’s heroic struggle and inner journey, over the course of which he realizes he cannot save his daughter from everything. When death finally appears at her side in the figure of a gallant groom, he comes to understand that resisting a greater power is futile. Our hero makes peace with his fate and with his loss. |
KOSOVO
TROUBLED SKY - Anton Nrecaj
Project Type:Feature Runtime:1 hour 36 minutes Completion Date:March 4, 2020 Country of Origin:Kosovo Country of Filming:Kosovo Language:Albanian Anton Nrecaj - Director Anton Nrecaj - Writer Adriatik Kelmendi - Producer Cast: Jeton Gorani, Arta Muçaj A well-known psychiatrist (Robert) came to a conclusion that this life is unworthy and that nothing really matters. He tries to convince his family to let him go, but he faces a vast confrontation from them, which brings them to a conflict and devastation. Even though everything seems to be perfect around Robert: career, great house in the outskirts, house in the mountains, beautiful wife, two healthy kids - his lack of understanding to this world makes everything look valueless . Troubled Sky is a drama about existentialism relied on shoulders of a man, who always had doubts about futility of this life. |
MACEDONIA
STELA - Stojan Vujičić
2020 Languages: Macedonian / German ( English subtitles) Duration: 91 minutes Genres: Drama / Family Countries of Production: Republic of Macedonia / Serbia / Germany Director - Stojan Vujičić Producer - Ognen Antov Screenwriter - Eva Kamčevska "Stella" is a story about a dog - a sharpshooter, a child and a grandfather. Sounds idyllic, but it is not… After child Nikola tries to commit suicide due to "bullying" at school, it seems that no one will be able to reach him. Stops any verbal communication. Sharplaninka Stella is the only one who does not ask for anything from him, does not ask questions, does not ask for answers. Its existence is enough and she is happy with its proximity. The child will begin to identify with her, so his voice can only be heard when he barks. The grandfather, who escaped from the people to live alone on the sheepfold, will reluctantly accept Nikola to become a family during this adventure, fleeing from his real family. Unbeknownst to them, they will get closer to what they are fleeing from, but now they will be able to move on with their lives or leave the other side of eternity peacefully. |
MOLDOVA
JUST RETIRED - Radu Dumitru Zaporojan
Project Type:Feature Genres:Adventure, Comedy, Drama Runtime:58 minutes Completion Date:July 16, 2021 Country of Origin:Moldova, Republic of Language:English, Romanian Radu Dumitru Zaporojan - Director Radu Dumitru Zaporojan - Writer Virgiliu Margineanu - Producer Cast: Petru Hadarca, Catalina Nichitin, Igor Babiac Andrei, recently retired, decides to go abroad to work. He is about to discover that his new workplace won’t be an easy one. |
MONTENEGRO
AFTER THE WINTER - Ivan Bakrač
2021 Length: 101 min Ivan Bakrač - Writer and Director Dušan Grubin - DOP Nataša Pantić - Editor Alen Sinakuz and Nenad Sinkauz - Music Ivan Đurović, Snežana Nikčević - Producers Nikolina Vučetić Zečević, Maja Ilić, Damir Terešak, Guillaume de Seille - Coproducers Cast: Momčilo Otašević, Ana Vučković, Petar Burić, Maja Šuša, Ivona Kustudić Five small town Montenegrin childhood friends still cherish their friendship, despite being scattered all across former Yugoslavia. Over the course of one year, after a series of life-defining events, they are forced to transform their careless, escapist youth into maturity. When the winter is over, each of them will have to build their own new world. |
THE ELEGY OF LAUREL - Dušan Kasalica
Genre: Fiction 2021 Runtime: 90 min. Production: Meander Film, Non-Aligned Films Dušan Kasalica -Director and Writer Jelena Angelovski - Producer Igor Djordjevic - DoP Jelena Maksimovic - Editor Jakov Munizaba - Sound Cast: Frano Lasic, Savina Gersak, Draginja Voganjac, Nikolina Bogdanovic, Lidija Kordic Filip, a sophisticated university professor, goes with his wife to a spa on the coast. After a few of days spent in the comfy and monotonous ambiance of the hotel, their seemingly ideal marriage is over. Filip is left by his wife. Everything seems to indicate that his life is collapsing, but Filip, refined and armed with confidence, faces each new circumstance with unusual ease. Deep in the forest, a new fantasy world will break him down, but also give him a chance for a new beginning. |
ROMANIA
NO REST FOR THE OLD LADY - Andrei Gruzsniczki
Project Type:Feature Genres:Drama Runtime:1 hour 39 minutes Completion Date:January 1, 2021 Country of Origin:Romania Country of Filming:Romania Andrei Gruzsniczki - Director Andrei Gruzsniczki - Writer Andreea Dumitrescu - Producer Oana Giurgiu - Producer Anamaria Antoci - Producer Cast: Mircea Andreescu, Valer Dellakeza This is the story of Emil, the man who doesn't believe in ghosts, of his best friend, Titi, and of Smaranda, the late wife of Emil. She is now six feet under and ready for judgment day. After her 40-day memorial service, days pass by, and Emil realizes that Titi looks like his life is over. He wants to brighten him up, but nothing helps. That's because soon after the memorial service, Smaranda moves into Titi's house and starts haunting him. Well, now, why this? That's quite a story, but Titi has a hard time telling it. |
TONI & FRIENDS - Ion Indolean
Project Type:Feature Genres:Drama Runtime:1 hour 33 minutes Completion Date:October 13, 2020 Country of Origin:Romania Country of Filming:Romania Ion Indolean - Director Ion Indolean - Writer Adrian Carlugea - Writer Horatiu Curutiu - Producer Cast: Ilinca Harnut, Emil Mandanac, Catalina Moga, Alexandru Ion, Gabriel Sandu A film crew with not much of experience tries to find and shoot a documentary about Toni Oniga, star or neighborhood legend. |
SERBIA
BULLETS OVER MARSEILLE - Gordan Matić
Runtime:1 hour 24 minutes Completion Date:August 5, 2021 Country of Origin:Serbia Country of Filming:Serbia Language:Serbian Gordan Matić - Director Gordan Matić - Writer Vladimir Andrić - Writer Gordan Matić - Producer Dusan Ivanović - Producer Cast: Vladimir Aleksić, Svetozar Cvetković, Strahinja Blazić, Djordje Djoković, Nikola Surbanović The film is based on a transcript from the trial assassins on the french Minister Louis Barthue and King Alexandar of Yugoslavia in Marseille 9. October 1934. The thesis of the film is that WWII start that day in Marseille and the first victim was the two European greatest peacemaker of that time. |
SOUTH WIND, SPEED UP - Miloš Avramović
Premiere: November 2, 2021 Duration: 127 minutes Original languages: Serbian, Bulgarian, English Genre: thriller, action, drama Milos Avramović - Director Milos Avramović, Petar Mihajlović - Writers Milos Avramović - Producer Aleksandar Randjelović - Music Lazar Radić - Cinematography Lazar Predojev - Film Editing Dusan Radoičić Production Design Jelena Djordjević - Costume Design Cast: Miloš Biković, Miodrag Radonjić, Predrag Miki Manojlović, Aleksandar Berček, Jovana Stojiljković, Luka Grbić, Marian Valev, Zachary Baharov, Mak Marinov, Anastasia Everall, Assen Blatechki, Nenad Heraković, Mladen Sovilj South Wind - SPEED UP is a continuation of the saga of Petar Marash who uses all the advantages of his newly acquired status of “the untouchable leader of the Serbian underground” protected by the state itself. Wanting to expand his business and become legal, Marash invests illegally acquired money in legal businesses. While looking for a favorable opportunity, he goes to eastern Serbia with his faithful Baća on an assignment. There, he finds news that will force him to change plans immediately. Lives on the line, games played by the rules of international drug cartels, and a large number of spectacular action scenes - these are just some details that await us in Speed Up. |
SPECIAL SCREENING MARKING THE EUROPA PRIMA 2022 AWARD FOR DRAGAN BJELOGRLIĆ
TOMA - Dragan Bjelogrlić
(OUT OF COMPETITION) Directed by: Dragan Bjelogrlić Movie duration: 140 min. Country / Year: Serbia 2020/2021. Genre: biographical Actors: Milan Marić, Tamara Dragičević, Petar Benčina, Andrija Kuzmanović, Sanja Marković, Paulina Manov, Milan Kolak, in the role of mother - Mirjana Karanović Screenplay: Nikola Pejaković, Zoran Lisinac, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Maja Todorović Director of photography: Goran Volarević Editing: Milena Predić Music: Zeljko Joksimovic Producer: Dragan Bjelogrlić and Željko Joksimović The film "Toma" is an impressionist portrait of Toma Zdravković, showing his very beginnings, as well as the peak of fame, his love that inspired him composing some of the greatest hits, as well as the relationship with many friends he had in the artistic milieu of Yugoslavia. |
TURKEY
AGA - Mevlüt Taşcı
Project Type:Feature Runtime:1 hour 40 minutes Completion Date:November 1, 2021 Country of Origin:Turkey Country of Filming:Turkey Language:Turkish Mevlüt Taşcı - Director Dilek Colak - Writer Savas Saylan - Writer Mevlüt Taşcı - Producer Cast: Taner Cindoruk , Selim Tufan, Halil Ozbekar Salim, Veysel and Senol are three brothers living in a country house. Their father had died a few years ago. Their mother is confined to bed due to a severe disease. Salim and Veysel are working together as shepherds. Senol is a high school student, but he had to drop out from school due to his elder brother Salim’s decision. He’s obliged to look after his mother, and do all the housework. |
ALI'S NATURE - Levent Cetin
Project Type:Feature Runtime:1 hour 27 minutes Completion Date:July 17, 2020 Country of Origin:Turkey Country of Filming:Turkey Language:Turkish Levent Cetin - Director Ozgur Seyben - Writer Levent Cetin - Writer Canol Balkaya - Producer Levent Cetin - Producer Cast: Ozan Ayhan, Algi Eke, Ahmet Melih Yilmaz, Mehmet Usta In a village where tradition and modernity; material and spiritual goes hand in hand, Ali is the last representative of the tradition in which the fish is regarded highly sacred, and when they die, they are buried with prayers in a special cemetery allocated for them. Ali and his wife Meryem has only one problem, not being able to have a child. The young couple tries out both traditional and modern methods to be able to conceive. Kazım, another villager who has been treasure hunting during the nights disturbs Ali every now and then due to Kazım’s interest in Meryem that dates back to their younger age. Musa, a fresh university graduate, accompanies Kazım in his dream of finding the treasure. While the tension between Meryem and Ali grows bigger, Kazım and Musa ruin the fish cemetery in their search for treasure. |