12/07/2023 - The Official Selection features 12 European productions, while the Parallels and Encounters competition includes another ten films from Eastern Europe

The 30th edition of the European Film Festival Palić, which will unspool from 15-21 July in various locations across the Serbian frontier towns of Palić and Subotica – including the outdoor Summer Stage in Palić, as well as the Eurocinema, Abazija and Lifka movie theatres – has announced this year’s line-up and the recipients of its honorary Lifka Awards. More than 130 films from all over Europe will be screened in 15 different sections during the pre-festival activities and the actual event, with most of them enjoying their national premiere at Palić.

The Official Selection features a total of 12 titles, including several Berlinale entries, such as Afire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile] by Christian Petzold (2023 Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize), Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Schwentke
film profile] by Robert Schwentke, which world-premiered in the Berlinale Special section, and the Panorama title Inside [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vasilis Katsoupis
film profile] by Vasilis Katsoupis. Also competing at the Serbian gathering, we find various films from the 2023 Cannes selection, including this year’s opening title, Jeanne du Barry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Maïwenn, Club Zero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Hausner
film profile] by Jessica Hausner and The Old Oak [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ken Loach, both of the latter having been presented in competition for the Palme d’Or. Three Thousand Numbered Pieces, the sophomore feature by Hungarian filmmaker Ádám Császi, The Land of Short Sentences [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Denmark’s Hella Joof and Things Unsaid [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eleonora Veninova
film profile], the feature debut by Macedonian helmer Eleonora Veninova, will also be vying for the Golden Tower in Palić. Rounding off the selection, we find Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Margarethe von Trotta
film profile] by German master Margarethe von Trotta and Perfect Days [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by her fellow countryman Wim Wenders, as well as the new film by rising Serbian filmmaker Pavle Vučković, Safety First, all of which will be screened Out of Competition. Tito Rodríguez, the newly appointed director of the Seville European Film Festival, directors Nana Janelidze, Milorad Milinković and Eran Kolirin, together with Daniela Weber, a member of the Berlinale festival team, will make up the official jury for this edition.

The ever-stimulating Parallels and Encounters competition, focused on Eastern European titles, includes Slow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marija Kavtaradze
film profile] by Marija Kavtaradze, which won the Award for Best Direction in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2023; Carbon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Moldovan director Ion Bors, presented in the New Directors section of San Sebastián last year; Citizen Saint [+see also:
film review
interview: Tinatin Kajrishvili
film profile] by Tinatin Kajrishvili, which recently screened in Karlovy Vary’s main competition; Embryo Larva Butterfly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kyros Papavassiliou
film profile] by Kyros Papavassilou, which also screened at the Czech gathering as part of the Proxima selection; Cold as Marble [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Asif Rustamov, which premiered in the Tallinn Black Nights competition, where it received the Best Actor Award for Gurban Ismailov; the Venice 2022 entries Bread and Salt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damian Kocur
film profile] by Damian Kocur (Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti competition) and Ordinary Failures [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristina Grosan
film profile] by Cristina Grosan (world-premiered in the Giornate degli Autori); Do You Love Me? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tonya Noyabrova
film profile] by Tonya Noyabryova, which had its world premiere in the Panorama competition of the Berlinale earlier this year; Power, the sophomore feature by Slovak director Mátyás Prikler, which screened at IFFR (see the news); and Sisters [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the debut film by Latvian director Linda Olte.

During the introductory press conference, the laureates of this year's Aleksandar Lifka Awards for Outstanding Contribution to European Cinema – named after the revered Yugoslavian cinematographer and travelling cinema founder – were also announced. Serbian actor Bogdan Diklić (A Stranger [+see also:
film review
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interview: Bobo Jelcic
film profile]) will receive the gong in the category of domestic creators, while German director Andreas Dresen (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dresen
interview: Meltem Kaptan
film profile], Stopped On Track [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) will be honoured in the foreign-artist category. This year's recipient of the Regional Lifka Award is Macedonian actor Nikola Ristanovski (The Black Pin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Marinovic
film profile]), while the Underground Spirit Award goes to Spanish multimedia artist María Cañas, for her “unique approach to film language and authentic author's poetics built off the mainstream industry”. In addition to the film programme, the Serbian festival will present numerous parallel activities including workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions and concerts. The full programme can be found on the gathering’s official website.