FELIKS PAŠIĆ :: WHAT WILL THE FESTIVAL LOOK LIKE THIS YEAR?

This year, about 120 films entered the Festival, and the last year there were 230, which means that there are 100 films less now. However, this does not mean that the production has been halved but, it seems to me, that the entering criteria have been made stricter.

On the other hand, the restrictions in the rules according to which the television documentary programmes cannot participate in case that they have already been broadcasted, have reduced that type of offer: although, being a television critic and watching this type of programmes more or less regularly, I have found out some attempts of “ smuggling ” . There was even a case of trying to register already broadcasted programme under a different name.

Problem is, this year as well, with what is called the television documentary. It is in fact, a television programme that has standards, time and structure different than those of a documentary film. We are facing again the dilemma what belongs at this Festival? Should there be a manifestation or a festival where the television programmes of different genres would compete, among which documentary programmes as well, as they in principle do not meet the requirements of what we understand as a documentary film.

Someone has asked me if in the selection some films are singled out, as well. I would not like to prejudice the jury ' s decisions, but I believe that in the selection of the documentary films there are two, three, or maybe four good films, maybe even excellent ones, just like last year; the core of that selection are the films made by the students of the Belgrade Faculty of Drama Arts. This speaks well about this school, and of course, about these young authors.

I don ' t know what the international selection is like, but as we were very strict, we will not disgrace ourselves in front of the strangers, and we might even keep step with those films.

Unfortunately, the production of the animation films is, just like last year, very thin, I don ' t know if we have managed to single out four or five films. It is not the production that would remind us of the best days of former “ Belgrade School of Cartoon Films ” , not to mention the school such as the Zagreb School of Animation.

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