The screening of the feature-length film "After Winter" by Montenegrin director Ivan Bakrač opened the program "Cinema Works Again: Contemporary Montenegrin Film 2017-2023", which the Film Center of Montenegro and the Montenegrin Cinematheque implement in partnership with digitized cinemas and cultural centers.
Films are shown in the auditorium of the Montenegrin Cinematheque "Gojko Kastratović", and the director of the Film Center of Montenegro, Aleksandra Božović, considers the realization of this project very significant, and she does not hide that its realization represents a great day for contemporary Montenegrin cinematography.
"I am sure that the launch and realization of the project "Cinema is working again: Contemporary Montenegrin film 2017-2023" will open the door for a new Montenegrin film and that the domestic audience will get closer to their cinematography in the right way. During the duration of the program, from March 14 to the beginning of June, the productions that the Film Center of Montenegro supported during the previous six years will be shown", noted Božović and pointed out that, in addition to Podgorica, films will also be shown in municipalities that did not have a cinema, but received them thanks to the digitalization program of movie theaters that the Film Center of Montenegro implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Media and local governments.
"In addition, thanks to the traveling cinema of the Film Center of Montenegro, the films will be able to be watched by the audience in all municipalities where the digitization process has not yet been completed. I am sure that after the implementation of this program in all Montenegrin cities, we will have a new audience, which will grow in the future, and that contemporary Montenegrin films will find their way to their viewers," added Božović.
The goal of this program, according to the manager of the program sector of the Montenegrin Cinematheque, Pavle Simović, is the promotion and affirmation of contemporary domestic films to audiences throughout Montenegro.
"Every next Thursday, in the Montenegrin Cinematheque, in the "Gojko Kastratović" hall, the audience will be able to watch films that have been filmed and co-financed in competitions of the Film Center of Montenegro since its establishment in 2017, ending in 2023. These are feature-length and short-length feature films, documentaries, animated films and minority co-productions," explained Simonović.
As a young director and screenwriter, and festival selector, Ivan Bakrač, as he said in the interview after the screening of the film "After the Winter" in the program "The cinema is working again: Contemporary Montenegrin film 2017-2023", he sees great potential and importance.
"This program is very important, and I look at it not only as someone who directs and writes scripts, but also as a festival selector. I also talked a lot with colleagues from the region about why our film stands out compared to the rest of Europe, in terms of cinema attendance when it comes to domestic cinematography. What we and the region have in common is that there was a lack of promotion, for young authors, as well as established ones, to present themselves to the local audience as best as possible. Everyone remains in the shadow of blockbusters and online platforms, and no matter how hard we try, make advertisements, we remain invisible", believes Bakrač and adds that this initiative is also of great importance because of that.
"Films that have premieres in their own country will naturally be shown in larger cities, but this kind of program is important because of smaller places. How many new, Montenegrin films are there that the audience in those cities could not watch until now. In this way, people will be given the opportunity to see all these works, and then to gradually raise the awareness of the audience, to prove to them that there is something to see", said Bakrač.
The main goal of the project is the promotion of Montenegrin cinematography, the connection of cultural institutions, the decentralization of culture and the development of the audience, as well as the creation of a new audience base. This especially applies to municipalities, which have not had cinemas for years, and which, thanks to the project of digitization of cinema halls, which the Film Center of Montenegro is implementing with the Ministry of Culture and Media and local self-governments, have received or will receive new digitized cinema halls.
In mid-April, as part of the program, the Film Center of Montenegro with the Montenegrin Cinematheque and KIC Budo Tomović will organize the Montenegrin premieres of the films "Supermarket" directed by Nemanja Bečanović.
The films will be shown in the halls of cultural centers where the Film Center of Montenegro, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Media, has completed the digitization process - in the municipalities of Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Mojkovac, Nikšić, Kotor, Tivat, Bar, Herceg Novi and Podgorica. In addition, during April and May 2024, thanks to the traveling cinema of the Film Center of Montenegro, screenings will also be held in cities that do not yet have digitized cinema halls - in Rožaj, Gusinje, Petnjica, Andrijevica, Plav, Kolašin, Plužine, Žabljak, Šavnik , Danilovgrad, Zeta, Tuzima, Cetinje and Ulcinj.
From March 14 to June 6, 2024, screenings in Podgorica will be organized every Thursday at 19 p.m. in the small hall of the Montenegrin Cinematheque "Gojko Kastratović". After the screening, talks with the artists who participated in the making of the film will be organized every Thursday at the same place, and the talks will be moderated by journalist Svetlana Višnjić.
Admission to all screenings in the Montenegrin Cinematheque, as well as in all cultural centers where films will be shown, is free.
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