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Press Conference July 23rd, 2025

23.07.2025.

32nd European Film Festival Palić – Report from the Press Conference on Day 5 of the Festival

Maja Uzelac: In Zvonko Bogdan's songs, there is an entire iconography of a place and time

At the press conference held on the final day of the 32nd European Film Festival Palić, Wednesday, July 23, the following guests spoke at the Grand Terrace: Miroslav Mogorović, Program Director; Radoslav Zelenović, Festival Director; Ilija Tatić, Executive Producer; the film crew of “Echoes of the Plains” – director Maja Uzelac, screenwriter Ivan Kljajić, producer Siniša Bokan, and director of photography Jovan Milinov; the film crew of “Eighty Plus” – actor Milan Kovačević and actress Vera Hrćan Ostojić; the film crew of “Halftime” – director Josip Bošnjak and protagonists Boban and Andrija Rajović; directors of “Achetype” Andrija Lekić and Igor Toholj; director of “The Dreamers” Vladimir Petrović; and Mirona Radu, curator of the Tender Realities section.

Program Director Miroslav Mogorović thanked the team from the Open University of Subotica, which managed to technically realize the program in just five days, and said he was pleased that the festival had concluded successfully and that the screenings went well.

Festival Director Radoslav Zelenović shared his impressions: "For me, the festival was marked by some truly incredible films. I'm very happy to have seen them here, and to have met someone like Sergei Loznitsa, as well as to have had Svetozar Cvetković with us."

Ilija Tatić, the festival’s Executive Producer, also expressed gratitude to the team at the Open University of Subotica, programmers Nikolaj Nikitin, Julia Sinkevych, and Igor Toholj, Program Director Miroslav Mogorović, and all other collaborators on this year's edition: "I would also like to thank the people from other festivals and film centers who, as in previous years, have always been happy to meet with us, which proves that this festival has many supporters – not only in Serbia, but also across Europe," concluded Tatić.

Maja Uzelac, director of "Echoes of the Plains," which is screening out of competition in the Official Selection, at the closing of the festival, said of the film: "The idea came from screenwriter Ivan Kljajić, who wanted to tell a story inspired by Zvonko Bogdan’s songs – memories and inspirations drawn from ten of them. Building on that, I aimed to take the film to a more universal level. We focused not just on Zvonko himself, but on what lies within the songs – and within them is a whole iconography of a place and time, a story of a disappearing era, the people who shaped it, trades fading away, horses, pigeons…"

Milan Kovačević, lead actor in "Eighty Plus," spoke about working with legendary director Želimir Žilnik: "I can honestly say I’ve never met a more wonderful and kind man. After just one day of filming, I completely lost the fear of doing something wrong. Žilnik helped me a lot. After each take, he would tell me it was great, even though I’m a beginner and an amateur. But he was serious. In the end, not a single scene had to be reshot because of me, and I'm especially proud of that."

Josip Bošnjak, director of the documentary "Halftime", which follows singer Boban Rajović and was shown at the Special Screenings section, said about the creation of the film: " Initially, we planned to make a video about preparations for a concert at Arena Zagreb. At some point, I became inspired by the whole story around Boban Rajović, about his family, about documenting his story properly, and seeing firsthand what things looked like at the height of his career. We're very satisfied with how it turned out."

Andrija Lekić, one of the two directors of "Archetype", screened in the New European Documentary Film section, said: "We decided to make a film about Petar Meseldžija, a prominent painter and cartoonist, but from a personal angle – showing a time in his life when, after the loss of his wife, he tries to rediscover motivation and inspiration by revisiting places of memory. We even drew on the color palette from his paintings and stayed true to it throughout."

Co-director Igor Toholj said about the author's concept: "We wanted to avoid the standard biographical approach in documentary, by immersing ourselves in his world, to get inside his inner experience. Our cinematographer actually lived with him for a while, so that he would become familiar with and become a part of his everyday life, recording everything he considered relevant for the film."

Vladimir Petrović, director of "The Dreamers", shown as part of the FAFA section, used as a starting point for this documentary the discovery that Belgrade had an all-female rock band in the 1960s. "At the level of the whole decade and in the whole world, you could count such cases on one hand. It was a story that simply had to be told," said Petrović.

Mirona Radu, curator of Tender Realities, part of the Special Screenings program, shared her motivation behind the selection: "As a leader of a mentoring program for women in the film industry, I wanted to showcase five short films by Romanian women directors of the younger generation. They are bold, yet intimate in their approach."

The European Film Festival Palić has been 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 29 years, Gorki List has proudly stood alongside the European Film Festival Palić as a long- term partner and supporter of film art that inspires and connects. Believing in the power of authentic expression and meaningful dialogue with audiences, Gorki List will once again, in keeping with tradition, present the Audience Award for Best Film. By listening to the voices of the viewers, Gorki List affirms their role as essential allies of art, which lives on through those who truly appreciate and understand it.