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Svetlana Bojković: I was lucky to be a contemporary of great actors and great directors

14.09.2020.

On the second day of the Palić European Film Festival, on Sunday, September 13, PERSIAN LESSONS by Ukrainian director Vladimir Perelman and VALAN by Hungarian director Bela Bagota were screened in the Main Competition Program. Parallels and Encounters program presented films DESPAIR by Latvian director Karlis Lesins, THE FIRST BRIDGE by Laila Pakalnina from Latvia, SERVANTS by Slovak director Ivan Ostrochovskiy and the Austrian film ROYAL BLUE by Dinko Draganović. Exhibition "Svetlana Bojković - the art of acting or the search for the truth" was opened in the Gallery of the Open University Subotica in the presence of Svetlana Bojković and the author of the exhibition Zoran Maksimović, and in Abazija Cinema in Palić exhibition The Greats of Serbian Acting, authored by Dragan Despot Đorđević.

At the press conference, Nenad Dukić, the selector of the Main Competition Program, referred to the film PERSIAN LESSONS, which continued the main competition program on the second evening: "In my opinion, it is one of the best films of this year’s European production. It was not talked about very much, but it gives a good impression at the beginning of the festival." Dukić especially pointed out the Russian film DAU. NATASHA as one of the most interesting achievements from this year's main program: "It is a very difficult film, new and interesting from the beginning til the end. It was filmed in 24 hours in real time and without cuts. I guess it will tickle interest and deserves to be seen. It is one of the new things in European cinema, created in the last 20 years."

Neil Young, selector of the Young Spirit of Europe program, pointed out that there are a lot of young directors in this selection at the beginning of their careers, but also that older directors can be young in spirit. "We are not looking at the birth certificate, but we are looking for artistic quality. By its nature, this program is more oriented towards experimental film, adventure film, music video. We are always looking for fresh energy in the approach." Speaking about the program Parallels and Encounters, which was jointly selected by Miroslav Mogorović, Neil Young said: "Often directors from this selection become authors of high reputation, and enter the competition for the Golden Tower award. This year, I would like to point out two films - the experimental documentary FREM about Antarctica, as well as the Polish animated film KILL IT, AND LEAVE THE TOWN, which was shown at the Berlinale with great success.

On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition "Svetlana Bojković - the art of acting or the search for truth", our acting legend Svetlana Bojković said: "Looking at these photos, I think about how much I grew and matured in a much more precious and beautiful time than today. These photos testify that, because I was lucky to be a contemporary of great actors and great directors who, unfortunately, are not among us today. I'm not talking only about those who left us, because we are very lucky that Mira Banjac is here with us today in full life energy, which opened this exhibition for the first time on Sterija's Pozorje. Whenever I have a dilemma in the theater where I still work, I always call one of them for advice. I know what they would say, because they are all embedded in my personality and my life.

Maja Novaković, the director of THEN COMES THE EVENING, screened in the Eco Dox program, also spoke at the press conference on the third day of the Palić European Film Festival. This film recently won the award for best photography at Nevada City Film Festival. Maja Novaković said about the inspiration for the documentary about the life of two grandmothers, who live in isolation on the hills of Eastern Bosnia: "I relied on the visualization of images I remember from my childhood. These grandmothers are similar to those with whom I looked after the sheep as a child. The hill in the movie is very close to my village, and I know its everyday life. Their life is actually beautiful. These simple and small things around us we should pay more attention to”.

Aleksandrija Ajduković, the director of the IBARSKA HIGHWAY, shown in the Young Spirit of Europe program, said: "Since 2007, I have been doing photo research of people who live next to the Ibarska highway or move there for work. I made a double insight - moving along the road, and off the road. The emphasis of the film is on the human aspect, but also on the so-called crime scene because the highway is very dangerous ".

On the fourth day of the festival, on Tuesday, September 15, in the EuroCinem cinema,film HOPE by Norwegian director Marie Sødahl will be shown in the Main Competition Program at 8 pm, while the Polish-Swedish film SWEAT by Magnus Von Horn will be shown at 10 pm. In Parallels and Encounters program, at 19:30 in Abazija Cinema, the repertoire includes THE FORGOTTEN by Ukrainian director Daria Onishchenko and FREM by Slovak director Viera Chakaniova at 21:30.