Audience award
19.07.2026.
33rd European Film Festival Palić – Report from the Press Conference on Day 2 of the Festival
Kornél Mundruczó: You Have to Be Brave to Discover New Territories Within the Seventh Art
This year's recipient of the Aleksandar Lifka Award in the category of international filmmakers, director Kornél Mundruczó, together with members of the festival team – executive producer Ilija Tatić, festival director Radoslav Zelenović, programme director Miroslav Mogorović, Official Selection programmer Nikolaj Nikitin, Parallels and Encounters programmer Julia Sinkevych, documentary programme selector Igor Toholj, actress Anne Ratte-Polle from “Oh, This Unspeakable Void,“ director of the film "Jason's Box" Michael Strassburger, and the crew of "Duplicate" – director Marko Glušič, screenwriter Boris Lukman, and actress Anđela Janković – spoke at the press conference held at the Grand Terrace on the second day of the 33rd European Film Festival Palić, Sunday, July 19.
Director Kornél Mundruczó, this year's recipient of the Aleksandar Lifka Award in the category of international filmmakers, said of the recognition: "I feel very honored. In a way, the European Film Festival Palić and I grew up together. My second film was part of an omnibus produced by Miroslav Mogorović and Nikolaj Nikitin, who have been running this festival for many years. I have come here several times and have always been very happy to present my films to Serbian audiences."
Mundruczó added that awards such as this one are empowering. "For me, their significance lies in the reminder that you have to be brave in order to discover new aspects and new territories within the seventh art. In one way or another, all my films strive to find a unique theme, as well as a special path – a journey towards something that you have not experienced before. European cinema possesses the intellectual strength and heritage necessary to discover original stories. For all of this, I am truly honored and could not be more grateful."
Ilija Tatić, executive producer of the European Film Festival Palić, commented on the opening of the festival’s 33rd edition: "The festival lasts five days, but in terms of content it remains very close to previous editions, primarily regarding the number of films, programme sections, and many of the accompanying activities that have become a hallmark of this festival. We are very satisfied with the way this edition has been prepared."
Programme director Miroslav Mogorović spoke about the challenge of aligning the festival's cooperation with the Creative Europe MEDIA programme with the available budget and the shortened festival schedule. "I hope that in future editions we will return to the framework we were accustomed to, one that eases the organisational burden and allows more adequate time for the positioning, promotion, and presentation of the films we bring to the audience," said Mogorović.
Festival director Radoslav Zelenović pointed out that the festival will celebrate a major jubilee in just a few years – its 35th anniversary – and emphasized the importance of support from all institutional levels. "As far as I am concerned, the message of this year's festival is: Help us become even better. And we have already been good."
Nikolaj Nikitin, programmer of the Official Selection, explained that this year’s programme is united by a theme to which many filmmakers return in difficult times across Europe: the family.
Julia Sinkevych, programmer of the Parallels and Encounters competition program, built on Nikitin's observation, noting that the family remains a central focus for many contemporary filmmakers. "At the same time, historical traumas and the traces they leave on people's lives remain an inexhaustible source of powerful film stories," said Sinkevych.
Igor Toholj, programmer of Eco Dox and New European Documentary Film, noted that this year marks eighteen years since Eco Dox was established as a programme section in Palić, adding that the European Film Festival is "perhaps the only festival in the region that has maintained a continuous selection of environmentally themed films for such a long period."
Anne Ratte-Polle, who stars in “Oh, This Unspeakable Void“ screened at the festival opening, spoke about her role, which is closely connected to her own profession. "Acting is, to a large extent, something you can only do through what you feel, what you recognize within yourself, in your inner world, or what you observe around you. That is why it is important to know who you are – your desires, but also your abilities and your strengths. I believe this is important not only for actors, but for everyone," the German actress said.
Marko Glušič, director of "Duplicate," which was screened as a Special Screening at the Abazija Cinema, pointed out that the creative team spent a long time developing the film’s visual approach. " Together, through a shared imagination and collective solutions, we tried to create something that would represent an objective image of reality as perceived by our protagonist at a particular moment. We sought to intervene as little as possible in post- production, and everything was filmed on location."
On the third day of the festival, Monday, July 20, "The Miserable Mother" by Susanne Heinrich (Germany) will be screened in the Official Selection at the Summer Stage in Palić at 9 p.m., followed by “Mo Papa” by Eeva Mägi (Estonia) at 11 p.m. In the Parallels and Encounters programme at the Abazija Cinema, “Ulya” by Viesturs Kairišs will be screened at 6 p.m., followed by “Tell Me What You Feel” by Łukasz Ronduda at 8 p.m.
The European Film Festival Palić is 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 sponsors.
For more than two decades, Gorki List has been a valued partner of the European Film Festival Palić, serving both as an integral part of its visual identity and as the sponsor of the Gorki List Audience Award, which encourages audiences to engage more deeply with the films presented at the festival.
