NIJEME ŽENE Tamar Kay prikazuje rat iz dječije perspektive. I dok možda još uvijek ne možemo definisati jedinstveni glas nove generacije, možemo ustanoviti da ovaj zbor različitih glasova većinski čine žene, njih čak jedanaest. Svi filmovi u ovogodišnjoj selekciji i tematski i stilski su različiti i pokazuju različite pristupe koliko shvatanju samog filma, toliko i shvatanju života i svijeta uopšte. Većina autora bavi se mladima i njihovim problemima, njihovim strahovima i željama, ali svaki od njih radi to na jedinstven i sebi svojstven način. Da je njihov pristup prepoznat kao relevantan, svjedoči i prisustvo nekih od filmova na velikim filmskim festivalima. U njihovim rediteljskim namjerama dostojno ih prati i nova generacija glumaca, scenarista, direktora fotografije i drugih kreativnih saradnika. Sigurni smo da će sa ovim autorima budućnost regionalne kinematografije biti kvalitetna i uzbudljiva. E As a festival on a mission to discover new talents, the Sarajevo Film Festival has long been screened student films in its various competition and non-competition sections. In order to promote filmmakers who are at the beginning of their careers, we introduce a brand-new section: Competition Programme– Student Film, dedicated solely to these young auteurs. There is no doubt that this decision was justified, considering that we received 260 submissions for the new section. The final competition line-up includes 13 films, while three further films produced by students of the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem will be screened out of competition. Student directors have a unique creative freedom because they do not have to worry about funding or distribution, nor about the format or duration of their films. They tell their stories with unbridled enthusiasm, proving that youngsters can articulate their reality and show their imagination and creativity in a mature and relevant way. Entering the film festival circuit is an added bonus for them, but it also gives them their first taste of the reality that awaits them once they complete their education and begin their professional careers.
The student film line-up is dominated by works of fiction, as it includes 10narrative works, most of which were produced as graduation films.
Inga Kukobat of the Banja Luka Arts Academy, is a carefully directed tale of loneliness and the anticipation of death.
The selection includes some medium-length films that indicate their author’s readiness to delve into more complex and complicated film projects. One such film is LJUBLJANA – MÜNCHEN 15:27 / LJUBLJANA – MUNICH 15:27, by Katarina Morano, a student at the Academy for Film and Television in Ljubljana. A melancholic portrayal of the fear of major life changes, Morano’s film was previously screened in the Future Frame section at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Hungary contributed the three animated films in our line-up, which are characterised by exquisite visual identity and animation techniques, but primarily by the directors’ imagination and ingenuity. Moholy-Nagy University is represented by Judith Wunder’s KÖTELÉK/ BOND and Anne Katalin Lovrity’s VULKÁNSZIGET/ VOLCANO ISLAND, which premiered in the Generation Kplus section at the Berlinale, while Metropolitan University is represented by Noémi Barkóczi’s humorous animated SECOND HAND.
ČISTOĆA / CLEAN by Neven Samardžić, a film student at the Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts, explores the problem of drug addiction in contemporary Sarajevo, while LÁTHATATLANUL / INVISIBLY, a selection of the Cinéfondation section at the Cannes Film Festival by University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest student Áron Szentpéteri, offers an interesting insight into the life of its blind protagonist.
Two shorts and one documentary produced by students of the Jerusalem-based Sam Spiegel Film&Television School will screen out of competition. The shorts are Or Sinai’s ANNA, about a woman who tries to gain control of her life, which was the 2016 winner of the First Prize of the Cinéfondation Selection at Cannes, and Boaz Frankel’s 212, about the night staff at an old people’s home, who perceive death as just another work assignment. The out-of-competition programme is rounded off by Tamar Kay’s documentary BEIT HA’ILEMET / THE MUTE’S HOUSE, which presents war as seen through the eyes of a child.
While remaining faithful to the short film format, Film Academy in Vienna students Jennis Lenz and Clare Stern also show maturity in their respective films WANNABE and MATHIAS. Both films focus on young people, but while the first looks at the ways in which youth use social networks to enhance their self-esteem, the second examines the social and personal impact of gender transition. Nikica Zdunić from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb offers another coming-of-age story13+. The Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade is represented by Katarina Koljević’s graduation film ŽIVOT TRAJE TRI DANA / LIFE LASTS THREE DAYS and Jelena Gavrilović’s Master’s degree film project NOBODY HERE, which premiered in competition at the Festival del Film Locarno. Both directors subtly make use of their intimate family films to explore issues related to class divisions and inequality. One of the two documentary films in the competition is also the work of a student of the Belgrade Faculty, Dušan Zornić. His documentary LJUBAV / LOVE is a simple and effective portrayal of a teenage porn actor growing up in rural Serbia. SATSEVA / SERVING GOD, by
While it might be too early for us to identify the unique voice of the new generation of filmmakers, we can say with certainty that most – in fact 11 of them – are women. The selected filmmakers differ in style and in their choice of stories, but also in their approach to filmmaking and their understanding of the world and life in general. However, most of them focus on young people and their problems, fears and desires. The relevance of their approach is confirmed by the acceptance of their films into some of world’s leading film festivals. These directors are accompanied in their work by a new generation of actors, screenwriters, cinematographers and other creative talents. We have no doubt these filmmakers herald an exciting and excellent future for regional cinema. Asja Krsmanović Selektorica / Programmer
COMPETITION PROGRAMME – STUDENT FILM l 23. Sarajevo Film Festival 49