Serbian film presents …

04/09/2006

Despite the years of political and economic crisis, the glitter of Hollywood has yet to capture the imagination of the common man in Serbia. According to box office figures, Serbs continue their love affair with Serbian film, in spite of occasional low budget belly flops.

By Georgi Mitev-Shantek for Southeast European Times -- 04/09/06

The film industry is growing, according to box office figures. [Getty Images]

Last year, the highest grossing film at the box office in Serbia was the Serbian "Mi nismo andjeli 2" (We are not angels 2). The light comedy about an aging man-about-town, who realises that his daughter has come of age and is ready to date boys, beat out all foreign films for attendance with 660,000 filmgoers, even though a pirated divX copy of the film hit the streets soon after its theatre release.

The series of films, starting with "Mi nismo andjeli" (We are not angels) in 1992, was a career boost for Serbian director Srdjan Dragojević. The third film has just begun production.

Next in line as far as domestic films go, is "Ivkova slava" (Ivko's family feast) -- a comedy about the Serbian mentality. Seven times as many people saw the film than saw the third Harry Potter film.

This year's domestic trump card is "Šejtanov ratnik" (Sheitan's warrior) -- a movie directed and written by Stevan Filipović with co-writer Miroslav Momčilović. Box office attendance is not expected to match that of the "angels" films, as the movie is a horror comedy about "exorcising evil spirits". Domestic filmgoers prefer classic comedies.

"Mi nismo andjeli" (We are not angels), and its sequel, were a career boost for Serbian director Srdjan Dragojević. [Wikipedia]

One of the biggest co-operative films between the former-Yugoslav republics this year is "Karaula" (Watchtower). The film, directed by Croatian Rajko Grlić, is based on a novel by Ante Tomic, who is also Croatian. The plot follows a group of youths on military service in 1987 that end up isolated at a watchtower on the Yugoslav border between Macedonia and Albania. The screenplay, also penned by Tomic, portrays a past without hatred with a glimmer of nostalgia. The film cast includes Croat Toni Gojanović, Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Sergej Trifunović, BiH's Emir Hadžihafisbegović, Croatia's Bogdan Diklić and Macedonia's Verica Nedeska Trajkova.

Regional co-operation in films gives all the countries involved a sense of ownership -- filmgoers view the film as domestic, driving up box office numbers across the board.

The Film Centre of Serbia (FCS) is working hard to get the Serbian film industry out of a situation in which filmmaking is reduced to the enthusiasm of the film crew and individual initiative. The centre invites filmmakers to apply for co-financing of their movies each year. Five films are chosen, and this year's applicant pool included 42 films. Due to limited financing, movie budgets in Serbia are low. The centre's total budget is 1.25m euros.

"Sedam ipo" (Seven and a half) was shown at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival. [Photo courtesy of Georgi Mitev-Shantek]

FCS also works to promote Serbian film abroad. This year's Sarajevo Film Festival warmly welcomed "Sedam ipo" (Seven and a half), which was written and directed by "angels" co-writer Momčilović. The film also won four Zlatna mimoza (Golden mimosa) awards at the Herceg Novi Film Festival in Montenegro. Seven stories detailing the everyday lives of the citizens of Belgrade and their dealings with the seven deadly sins are depicted in this dark comedy.

Other Serb produced films have been screened at the Cannes festival and other international venues. According to reports and feedback, significant contacts have been made at these events with producers from the UK, the US and Holland.

Foreign producers are interested in shooting films in Serbia because there is a long tradition of movie making, well-trained low cost staff and numerous beautiful locations, FCS director Djordje Milićević says. What is missing are tax breaks such as the ones in nearby Romania -- where last year, movie co-productions earned the country in excess of 150m euros.

Serbian cinematography is among the oldest in Europe. The Yugoslav Film Library is officially rated as the third most important film institution, recently celebrating 110 years of film in Serbia. The first Serbian film -- and in the Balkans -- was shown at the now famous Belgrade café Zlatni krst on 6 June 1896 -- less than six months after the first public demonstration of "moving pictures" in Paris.

A fast-growing industry, films, directors and actors are grabbing the hearts and attention of fans not only in their own country, but beyond.