At this year's market of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the Film Center of Montenegro presented current Montenegrin cinematography within the SEE Pavilion, together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia.
The representatives of the Film Center presented to the visitors of the Montenegrin stand film projects from Montenegro that are in various stages of production, and pointed out the potential and capacities of the country as a film destination that may be of interest to foreign co-producers, production companies and other interested parties.
In Cannes, within the Marche du Film market, the director's new feature film "Obraz" was shown Nikola Vukčević, according to the script Ana Vujadinović i Meline Pota Koljević, in production Milorad Radenović (Galileo production Montenegro).
"It was a long way to tell this story. Dignity and honor are the fundamental values of many societies, and - no matter how these stories seem to be told - I am sure that they should be constantly told for the sake of the general interest", says Nikola Vukčević, director of the film "Obraz".
Producer Milorad Radenović points out: "We believe that everyone who took part in the realization and recording of this film and was our partner and support in the past seven years, will feel the satisfaction of being part of this project that affirms the greatest values that are being lost before our eyes , and which should always be reminded. These two closed screenings in Cannes are a good way for the further international opening of our film".
"Obraz" is a production of the companies Galileo production Montenegro and Cinnamon film Belgrade, in co-production with Progressive films Montenegro, RTVCG, with the support of CEKUM, the city of Bar, as well as the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro (2017).
The crew of the film "Obraz" is international: Edon Rizvanoli, Nikola Ristanovski, Igor Benčina, Alban Ujkaj, Selman Jusifi and Xhejlane Terbunja, and Montenegrin actors: Aleksandar Radulović, Ana Vučković, Zef Bato Dedivanović, Branimir Popović and children: Elez Adžović, Vuk Bulajić, Hana Pavlović, Merisa Adžović.
Also this year, numerous meetings were held with partners and new collaborators on projects that are planned and prepared for the next period, and representatives of the Center took part in numerous panels, seminars, sessions and industry events for international networking.
An agreement on cooperation between the Film Center of Montenegro and the National Center for Cinematography of Armenia was also signed, and it was signed by the directors of the centers, Aleksandra Božović i Shushanik Mirzakhanyan. The agreement envisages bilateral cooperation in the field of mutual promotion of the cinematography of the two countries and the implementation of networking activities of film professionals in order to support new co-productions.
Aleksandra Božović, director of the Film Center, together with the associates for international cooperation and promotion, held numerous meetings with film professionals from all over the world, among which meetings with representatives of European film funds and organizations are of particular importance, for the purpose of better networking, exchange of experiences and cooperation. This resulted in new plans for this and the next year, which refer to the launch of programs and the improvement of existing forms of cooperation with partners from Europe and the world.
General sessions of networks and organizations of which the Film Center of Montenegro is a member - EFAD (European Film Agency Directors association) and EFP (European Film Promotion) were also held, as well as meetings and presentations (EUFCN, EWA, Creative Europe MEDIA...).
For the purpose of promotion, the Film Center presented two catalogs at the market: "Montenegro - Film Destination" which indicates the potential for filming in Montenegro and "Montenegrin Cinema 2023" which provides an overview of current film projects in various stages of realization. Through its virtual pavilion, the Film Center also promoted the FilmInMontenegro.me web platform developed as part of the CIRCE project, financed by the Interreg IPA CBC Italy - Albania - Montenegro program.
This year, the Cannes International Film Festival takes place from May 16 to 27.
The festival was opened by the love drama "Jeanne du Barry" directed by Maïwenn, with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Swedish director Reuben Ostlund, who won the Palme d'Or twice for the films "The Square" and "The Triangle of Sorrow", is the president of the jury of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Montenegro has been present at the film market in Cannes since 2011.
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