The 11th edition of the Dzada Film Fest has opened, the program for September 1st and 2nd has been canceled

Be brave, be different, find your signature, said the Croatian director and screenwriter Danilo Šerbedžija opening last night the 11th edition of the International Debut Film Festival Džada Film Fest, on Svetozara Markovića Street in Podgorica, in front of around 400 guests in the audience.

Due to the Day of Mourning, the organizers announced that the program for today and tomorrow has been canceled. The revised program of the 11th edition of the Dzada Film Fest will be announced soon, they added.

"As a sign of respect for the three tragically deceased citizens of Montenegro, and on the occasion of the declaration of the Day of Mourning on September 1st and 2nd, the programs of the Jada Film Fest planned for these two days will not be held. At this moment, when the grief of our community is greater than the film and the festival, we want to be together in silence and solidarity," Jada said.

Last night, Šerbedžija emphasized that he was particularly pleased to have fulfilled his long-standing wish to come to the Džada Film Fest, and that festivals like this have a special significance in the world we live in today.

"Independent, smaller budget films have a very difficult time breaking through and often lose the marketing race to big films, so festivals like this remain a niche for film freedom, creation, auteur and different films," he said.

He specifically addressed this year's authors, emphasizing that they are all winners, because sometimes it is more important to be chosen than to win.

On behalf of the organizers, she welcomed the audience Nina Lončar who emphasized that this year's program is also of very high quality, and invited everyone to come to the Džada Film Fest and enjoy the films at numerous locations in Podgorica. The selector of the debut feature film director Nemanja Bečanović and selector of short feature film director Bojan Stijovic, They confirmed that the audience will enjoy great films because the selection is noteworthy, considering the breadth of the festival selection, which brings films from different parts of the world from Peru to South Korea and opens up a space for getting to know film cultures and perspectives that are often distant from our everyday experience.

"Dzada Film Fest has, over more than a decade of existence, confirmed its place in the cultural and film life of the Capital and Montenegro," he said. Ognjen Damjanović on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and added that previous years have confirmed the festival's ability to follow contemporary trends in cinematography.

Dzada has long been more than a film festival for Podgorica, said the Assistant Secretary for Culture of the Capital City. Seada Krnic, adding that through Dzad Podgorica is becoming increasingly recognizable on the map of European film festivals.

The Chargé d'Affaires of the Polish Embassy also addressed the attendees. Bartosz Marcinkowski, new director of the French Institute Klemon Fernandes and on behalf of the general sponsor Adriatic Banka Vanja Krstajic.

The opening featured the films "Divan dan" by Katarina Bulajić and "Koke" by Igor Jelinović.