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31st European Film Festival Palić – July 20 – 26, 2024

18.06.2024.

The 31^st European Film Festival Palić will be held from July 20 to 26, 2024, in Palić and Subotica. At this year’s festival, the audience will have the opportunity to watch more than 140 films in 17 selections, and over a hundred film professionals from the country and abroad, who will be staying in Palić, will participate in the festival program.

This year's laureate of the Underground Spirit Award is Mika Tanila, a film director and visual artist from Helsinki. His projects often explore the interaction between man and machine. Tanila's experimental films have been screened at international film festivals and special events such as Berlinale, TIFF Toronto, IFFR Rotterdam, CPH, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Midnight Sun Film Festival, IDFA Amsterdam and Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen.

Regarding the award that he will be presented with at the European Film Festival Palić, Mika Tanila said: "I am happy to have received the news about the Underground Spirit Award at the 31st European Film Festival Palić. For me, the word underground represents a specific mental state, which essentially correlates with adventure, curiosity and a happy free style. This applies to all forms of art, be it music, visual arts, literature or film. I am deeply honored to be the one to receive this treasured award this time. Your short focus on my film works is very emotional for me. Thank you very much!"

Mika Tanila's audio-visual installations and collage works have been exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (2017), Aichi Triennale (2013), Kassel Documenta (2012), Shanghai Biennale (2006), Berlin Biennale (2004) and Manifesta 4 in Frankfurt (2002). He has had solo exhibitions at Padiglione de l'Esprit Nouveau in Bologna (2020), Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki (2013–14), the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2013), TENT, Rotterdam (2013), Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2008), Dazibao, Montreal (2007) and Migrosmuseum, Zurich (2005).

Tanila is one of the founders of the film production company Testifilmi, which is run by artists.

As part of the pre-festival program, which starts on July 6, films will be screened across five categories, and the audience can watch up to seven films each from the Best of Europe and Europe4Kids programs, as well as the Homage Program dedicated to the winners of the "Aleksandar Lifka" Award, while the Cinema on the Square program will be presented on the large outdoor screen in the center of Subotica. Also, film screenings will be held at Plaža Bar in Palić as part of the Cinema on the Beach selection.

More than 100 films will be shown in the official program of the festival on the Summer Stage, in the Abazija cinema in Palić, as well as in the cinemas Eurocinema and Aleksandar Lifka in Subotica. There will be 12 selections and programs: Official selection, Parallels and encounters, Young spirit of Europe, Galicia in focus, New Hungarian film, New European documentary film, Eco dox, Homage to the winner of the Underground Spirit award, EFA Shorts, Selection of films from the Zsigmond Vilmos festival, a selection of student films, showcasing two festivals (a domestic and a foreign one), as well as several films as part of special screenings.

In addition to the film program, all visitors to Palić can expect a rich accompanying program this year as well. An exhibition dedicated to a legend of the Serbian theater, Bata Živojinović, will be set up in the gallery of the Open University of Subotica, and on each evening during the festival there will be concerts in the garden of the Abazija cinema. In the professional part of the festival several events will be organized: an international film criticism workshop with participants from nine countries, a panel discussion on the position of women in the film industry, as well as an arthouse celluloid cinematography workshop led by the Spanish artist Carla Andrade. The program will also feature an exhibition of portrait caricatures, book promotions and panel discussions.

The Palić European Film Festival has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, the City of Subotica, the European Union through the Creative Europe MEDIA program, as well as numerous friends and media partners.

Gorky List has been a sponsor and supporter of the Palić European Film Festival for more than 20 years, both as an indispensable part of our artistic scenography and a partner that encourages the audience to delve into the experiences of the showcased films through the Gorky List Audience Award.