Sara Stijović Award "BDC Discoveries - DOC Leipzig"

Filmmakers from Montenegro participated in the 18th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival "Beldocs", which was held from May 21 to 25 in Belgrade.

Sara Stijović received the "BDC Discoveries - DOC Leipzig" award for the documentary film "The 13th fish" ("The 2025th fish") produced by "Tiny Sofa". The award enables participation in the co-production market of the documentary film festival "DOK Leipzig". The project was selected for the BDC Discoveries 2024 program, which is aimed at documentary projects in development with international potential. The program operates with the support of the MEDIA sub-program of Creative Europe. The project "The XNUMXth fish" passed the first of three workshop modules that were organized as part of the "Beldocs" festival in Belgrade, and the next two will be organized in Sofia and Leipzig at the documentary film festival "DOC Leipzig". The project was supported by the Film Center of Montenegro in the competition for co-financing the production of feature-length documentary films for XNUMX.

The Film Center of Montenegro Award for the best "pitch" was presented by the Director of FCCG Aleksandra Bozovic, the Armenian project "My Name Is Enough" directed by Marine Arzumanova i Years Grigorjan. The film follows Ashken, a mother of two in an Armenian village, who is expecting a child. The village uses traditional methods to predict the sex of the unborn baby while waiting for the ultrasound results. The film explores the gender imbalance in the village through a story about pregnancy and cultural traditions that favor male offspring. The award is given by a jury composed of film industry representatives in the “Beldocs in Development” selection.

Documentary film "Nothing for you to change" by the director George Vojvodić was presented in the selection of the program "Docs in Progress". The film follows Luka from Podgorica who lives with his parents. His older brother films him for a year and tries to motivate him to become independent. The film's producer is A million VucelicThe project is being produced by the companies "Protos Film" and "Bitter Frames" from Podgorica and the Serbian co-producer "Biberche Productions". The film was previously supported by the Film Center of Montenegro and the Film Center of Serbia.

Anja Scepanovic, a student at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje, participated in the "Balkan Young Talents" program. The program is organized by the "Beldocs" and "AJB DOC" festivals for young filmmakers from the region. Šćepanović will shoot a ten-minute documentary film with mentoring support during the summer, and the film will be screened at the next edition of the "Beldocs" festival. The "Balkan Young Talents" program includes two three-day workshops, in Belgrade and Sarajevo. Participants go through lectures, discussions and mentoring.