The awards ceremony in the Competition Programs Serbian Film and Frontiers was held on 2 March 2018 at Sava Center. Lordan Zafranović was the Serbian Film Jury’s president, and other members of the Jury were Alen Sinkauz, Miloš Timotijević, Katarina Radivojević and Damjan Kozole.
Belgrade Victor Award for Best Film in Serbian Film Competition Program was awarded unanimously to the film “Ederlezi Rising. “Genre-wise this is an innovative and bold step forward in Serbian film, precisely executed, consistently and professionally led from the beginning till the end, and the Jury considers it the most complete film.” The creative producer of the film Aleksandar Protić received the Award and he expressed his gratitude to the Film Center Serbia for its support and understanding of the endeavor. “This is above all the award given in recognition of a great amount of love, energy, time and belief that it is possible to make such a film in Serbia,” Protić said upon accepting the Award.
The Jury Award was presented to the director Kosta Ristić for his debut feature “Bandits in Search of Mom.” “This is the film which is characterized by the documentary form, unpretentious concept, excellent work with the non-professional actors, and which provokes sincere emotions,” it was written in the Jury’s explanation. Ristić took the opportunity to say thank you to the entire film crew.
Best Director Award was presented to Lazar Bodroža (“Ederlezi Rising”) who, according to the Jury, “showed the ability to implement the concept of the futuristic film throughout and at the same time, alongside visual spectacle, to tackle on the true mystery of a relationship between a woman and a man.” Bodroža said thank you to his family and to the entire film crew and he added that he had received greatest award four days earlier, when the film had its premiere at FEST in front of the packed audience.
Đorđe Milosavljević was presented the Best Script Award for “The Offenders.” The producer of the film Nikolina Vučetić Zečević received the Award on his behalf. The Jury stressed out that: “in ‘The Offenders’ Milosavljević analyses in an intriguing way how chaos influences our lives, while opening, in a more general context, the relevant issues of the young generations and their perspectives.”
Sebastian Kavazza was chosen Best Actor, and the producer Jonathan English received the award on his behalf. The Jury’s explanation said that “Sebastian Kavazza used restrained but strong acting skills to embody the archetypal male Milutin and to create the character of the mystical but appealing antihero.”
His partner in the film Jessica Stojadinovic Stoya won Best Actress Award. “Using minimalistic resources and following closely the director’s vision Stoya has not only succeeded in portraying the character of Nimani, but she has upgraded it with her precise acting expression, personality and charisma,” according to the Jury explanation. Stoya received the award herself and she said in her acceptance speech: “To win such an award is a wonderful thing, and to receive it in Belgrade is an absolute highlight.”
Kristijan Garip won Best Debut Award because, according to the Jury, “he carries the film in a simple and subtle way with his skill, charm and charisma.” Young Garip said a brief and loud “Thank you!” while accepting the award.
Special Award for Best Cinematography was awarded to Miladin Čolaković for his work on the film “The Offenders.” The Jury explained its decision: “Using the photography in a narrow format, Miladin Čolaković has created the claustrophobic dystopia and he has highlighted the architecture as one of the key characters in this film.” While accepting the award Čolaković thanked the film director Dejan Zečević who enabled him to work on this film.
Documentary film “Hitler’s Hollywood” (“Hitlers Hollywood”) directed by Rüdiger Suchsland won Best Film Award in the Frontiers Competition Program. “Above all, this is a eulogy to the filmophilia and to the infatuation with the possibilities of the film art, despite everything and everyone,” Jury explained, and the director received the award in person, expressing his satisfaction that so many people had seen his film at FEST.
The Special Award in this competition selection also went to the documentary film “Devil’s Freedom” (“La Libertad del Diablo”) directed by Everardo González. The Jury members were Feti Dautović, Zoran Janković and Đorđe Bajić.
The Jury of “Milutin Čolić” Award for Best Serbian Film, presented by “Politika” daily, consisting of Goran Paskaljević, Dubravka Lakić and Bojan Vuletić, awarded unanimously Kosta Ristić’s film “Bandits in Search of Mom.” During his acceptance speech, Ristić used the opportunity to draw attention to the sad fact that the young protagonists of the film had lost their home between the filming and the premiere, so he invited the authorities to try and solve that problem.
The Jury of the Critics’ Award “Nebojša Đukelić” for Best Regional Film, the members of which were Gordana Restović, Dragan Jeličić and Nerina T. Kocjančić, awarded the film “Comic Sans” directed by Nevio Marasović. They also awarded Special Prize to the film “The Basics of Killing” (“Družinica”) directed by Jan Cvitkovič. Marasović received the award in person and he said that he was very happy that his film “Comic Sans” would be premiered at FEST immediately after the awards ceremony.
