News

30th European Film Festival Palic ceremonially closed

22.07.2023.

The 30th Palić European Film Festival was closed on Friday, July 21 at the Eurocinema with a solemn ceremony and festival awards to the best European works, as well as the screening of the film "Safety First" by Pavle Vučković.

The international jury of the Parallels and Encounters program assigned Special Mention to Asif Rustamov's film "Cold as Marble", while the film "Citizen Saint" directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili was declared the Best Film in the Parallels and Encounters competition program. The directors of these productions personally received the awards at the Eurocinema.

The FIPRESCI Award for the Best Film of the Official Selection competition program was awarded to the film "Afire" by Christian Petzold. The international jury of the Official Selection awarded Special Mentions to the films "Club Zero" directed by Jessica Hausner and "Inside" directed by Vasilis Katsoupis, who thanked the jury for the award.

Director Ádám Császi, winner of the Palić Tower award for Best Director, for the film "Three Thousand Numbered Pieces", thanked the jury for the award, the Festival for programming the film, as well as the Roma film crew, in a video message. Császi also used the opportunity to send a strong message to the present: "We often wonder what is wrong with the world and why things went wrong. Why is there so much social injustice, discrimination. Why there are wars, and who is to blame. A comforting thought would be that it is the fault of evil people with their own evil reasons. But unfortunately, it's not the evil people who are to blame, but us, who do it to ourselves. Not evil people, gods or fate, but us. Until we realize that we are leading self-centered, closeted lives, nothing will change. I think that's what our film is trying to say about racism. We should start with an admission of guilt. That's a key step."

The winner of the Golden Tower for the best Film in the Official Selection - the main competition program of the Festival is "Afire" by Christian Petzold. On behalf of the film's crew, actor Langston Uibel spoke in a video message: "I just spoke with Christian Petzold, who is in America promoting our film. He is very happy. Thank you for your hospitality. I wish you a wonderful evening and have a drink for me. See you soon!"

Nikolaj Nikitin, programmer of the EFF Palić Official Selection, fellow citizen of this year's laureate from Berlin, received the award on behalf of Kristian Petzold.

At the end of the closing ceremony, Radoslav Zelenović, director of the Palić European Film Festival, addressed the audience: "In this building, 31 years ago, a group of enthusiasts decided to create an international film festival. Our festival has existed for thirty years, and the last 20 it has been European film festival. There are many witnesses here who know how difficult it was in the beginning, how many misunderstandings there were. Fortunately, we didn't give up. Today we are in our prime. I am especially glad that, all these years, we managed to make Subotica and Palić the metropolis of European film. Come to us again, you will always be our dear guests".

This year, the 30th edition of the Palić European Film Festival was held from July 15 to 21 in Palić and Subotica, organized by the Open University Subotica. The Festival was held at several locations, including the unique Summer Stage in Palić, as well as the Eurocinema, Abazija and Lifka cinema theatres. In the Official Selection of the Festival on the Summer Stage, in the cinema Abazija in Palić, as well as at the Eurocinema and Aleksandar Lifka in Subotica, more than 100 films were presented in 11 sections and programs. In addition to the rich film program, the audience could enjoy a number of dynamic accompanying contents - concerts, exhibitions, promotions, workshops, panel discussions and master classes.

The Palić European Film Festival was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, the City of Subotica, the European Union through the Creative Europe MEDIA program, as well as numerous partners and media partners.

Gorky List has been a sponsor and friend of the Palić European Film Festival for more than 20 years, as an indispensable part of our artistic scenography, but also a partner that encourages the engagement of the audience to explore the experiences of the presented film productions through the Gorky List Audience Award. This year, the traditional cooperation was once again extended to the musical part of the Festival program.