There are numerous indicators that the conditions have been met for the International Documentary Film Festival UnderhillFest to receive the status of a manifestation of national importance, which will be discussed after this year's edition, it was announced at yesterday's press conference.
From June 7th to June 15th, visitors can see for themselves everything that the festival offers, from good energy, music programs and, above all, quality documentaries, in Podgorica, where the festival will be held for the 14th time, this time at three locations in the main city.
The story of Tito's cameraman from Beran, a witness of turbulent times
Underhill starts tomorrow at 20.30:21 p.m., traditionally on the court of the "Budućnost" Basketball Club in Njegoševo park, and at XNUMX p.m. the film "Non-aligned Newsreels: Scenes from the Labudović Reels" by the director will be shown. Mile Turajlić, the first part of her successful diptych, was announced by the artistic director and selector Vuk Perovic. The film is about Stevan Labudović, Titov to the videographer, and based on his recordings that he made in Algeria, during the war for the liberation of this country from French colonial rule.
"Mila Turajlić is one of the greatest directors of documentary films today and a member of the American Film Academy. We were lucky enough to see her previous two films at the festival and we can see that she makes extremely high-quality films, which at the same time arouse the interest of the audience. Mila is here at the end of a long research made a film diptych. It is the story of Stevan Labudović, a man from our region - from Beran, who was Tito's personal cameraman, a witness to the stormy times, the years when the Non-Aligned Movement was being created, the time when the geopolitical plan of the world image was rapidly changing. That's why this film was screened again in the competition selection of the festival in Amsterdam. The second part of the diptych is the story of Labudovic in Algeria, since he was invited there to help the Algerian revolution in some way in order to show the world the story of that liberation war. In the end, it was successfully done, and after that numerous requests appeared for Yugoslavia, as the leader of the non-aligned, to help the liberation movements in the same or similar way," said Perović.
He added that the second part of the diptych will close this year's Underhill and pointed out that both films can function separately and that it is not necessary to watch one to watch the other.
Both films are in the out-of-competition selection, and were produced by "Poppy Pictures" from Serbia, "Survivance" from France, "Restart" from Croatia and "Kino" from Montenegro. This production is supported by the Film Center of Montenegro.
Films that change (the view of) the world, with the music of iconic local bands
Spokesman of the festival Miroslav Minic he said that a total of 29 films will be shown: nine in the international, seven in the regional and six in the out-of-competition selection, as well as seven films in the "7 Short" program. Music documentaries will be shown in CZK "Ribnica", the program "In focus", as before, in the "Radosav Ljumović" National Library, and the rest on the field in Njegoševo Park.
The complete repertoire, as well as more about the selected works, is also available on the festival's website underhillfest.me.
As part of the music program, the cult Montenegrin band "Gospoda Glembajevi" will perform at the opening at 22.30:XNUMX p.m., followed by a DJ Peđa Radović with a set of music by the unmatchable, while at the closing the atmosphere will be brightened by the Belgrade band "Lira Vega" and a DJ Dejan Vučetić Vuča from the famous composition "Darkwood Dub".
The traditional "Dandelion" prizes will be awarded in the regional and international selection, which will be decided by a jury composed of: Andrei Korovlev (Croatia), Andrijana Stojković (Serbia) and Bojan Stijović (Montenegro). The awards in the "Seven Short" competition will be decided by a jury made up of students of art academies - FDU and FVU and the Faculty of Architecture.
"From June 7th to June 15th, enjoy world-changing motion pictures and footage, epidemics, solar eclipses, unimaginable election races, karaoke nights, out-of-the-ordinary pawn shops, same-sex Buddhist priests, internet identities you didn't even know existed. you have, writers who moved the horizons, unsung musical divas, songs that generations go to protests with and many other unforgettable topics," the organizers announced earlier on their Facebook profile.
The initiative to make Underhill a manifestation of special importance
Secretary of the Culture and Sports Secretariat of the Capital City Ana Medigović she pointed out that UnderhillFest included Podgorica on the European map of important cultural and artistic events and festivals. This is how the conditions were created for the festival to receive the status of a manifestation of special importance, which was initiated by the city administration.
"At the beginning of January of this year, the capital city officially submitted a request to the Ministry of Culture (MCU) of Montenegro with a proposal that the Underhill Festival should receive this label. The city administration, MKU and festival organizers will meet after this edition and make some concrete decisions on the matter, how the festival would get what it deserves," Medigović pointed out and wished for clear skies during the festival days in anticipation of the opening.
Petar Kovačević from the Ministry of Culture agrees that Underhill, with its profile and professionalism, has multiple significance for the city and the country and encourages the audience to think about important topics in society, includes young people and is an example of good practice that should be supported.
"It is necessary for all of us to get more involved in every sense, which MKU is doing," he said and added:
"Support for artistic manifestations and festivals is prescribed by the Law on Culture as well as the National Cultural Development Program. In this sense, our support through the Competition for co-financing projects and programs of public interest in the field of cultural and artistic creativity has been increased by 40 percent this year," he said. is Kovačević at a media conference on the occasion of the launch of Underhill.
Many recognized the values of the festival and provided support
On June 12, 13 and 14, the Center for Women's Rights organizes the program "In Focus" at the "Radosav Ljumović" National Library at 18 p.m. Executive Director of the Center Maja Raičević expressed her satisfaction with the cooperation and promotion of women's creativity and topics related to women's and human rights.
The documentary film school for high school boys and girls "Teen docs" is realized with the support of the company "One" and the Film Center of Montenegro. Every evening after the screenings, there will be discussions about the films, and "One" also enables their livestream via Underhill's profile on social networks.
"This is an opportunity to raise our voice and show how important art is, but also that we know, appreciate and support it. From the very beginning, we recognized the basic values of Underhill, from locality, creativity, professionalism, and that is what connected us." said the executive commercial director of that company Brano Đurović.
He also expressed special gratitude to the organizers for the decision to show the audience video lessons that were created as part of the "Learn, find out and start" project, which the "Ona" company is implementing in cooperation with the Montenegrin Olympic Committee.
Nemanja Boljević from Crnogorska kommercielja banka pointed out that this year they are providing support to Underhill for the first time and that they recognize its continuous progress and importance.
Traditionally, at the opening and closing of Underhill, entry is free for all interested documentary film fans. Meanwhile, the ticket price for all daily screenings is three euros. However, for all students who bring an index, faculty card or booklet, entry to all screenings is free. Also, entry is free for all young people with the European Youth Card - EYCA.
Bonus video:
