Over seven festival days, audiences can look forward to a rich film programme under the slogan “All the Colours of Film”: the latest regional films, a selection of the finest titles in European cinema, documentaries from around the world, student films, premieres of new TV series from the region, as well as a programme dedicated to film professionals – Montenegro Film Rendezvous.

This year’s recipient of the “Milan Žmukić” Award for outstanding contribution to film art, acting legend Bogdan Diklić, will officially open the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival. The opening will be preceded by a red-carpet ceremony in the town’s main square, where the audience will have an opportunity to welcome numerous guests from the worlds of film, culture and public life. The opening programme will be hosted by actors Miloš Pejović and Marija Bergam.

On the first festival evening, the Danish film Home, directed by Montenegro-born director and actress Marijana Janković, will be screened out of competition at the Kanli Kula fortress. It is an emotional journey in search of a place, a space or a relationship that we can call home.

The Festival will close with To Hold a Mountain by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, a visually impressive and emotionally powerful film that brought Montenegrin cinema a historic international success – the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Best International Documentary at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Ten Feature Films Competing for the Golden Mimosa:

The Feature Film Competition, selected by journalist and film critic Vuk Perović, presents ten new films by authors from Slovenia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and Montenegro. This year’s selection brings together diverse authorial poetics and films made in almost every part of the region, as well as filmmakers who closely observe the contemporary world, its fractures, fears and need for belonging.

Two Slovenian films are in competition for the awards – Hidden People by Miha Hočevar, a story of an unusual friendship that changes the lives of its protagonists, and Everything That’s Wrong with You by Urška Menart, a film about closeness that emerges where we least expect it.

From Serbia come 3 Weeks After by Miroslav Terzić, following its success at the Karlovy Vary and Pula festivals, No Fairy Dust by Maja Miloš, a provocative contemporary anti-fairy tale that refuses to compromise, and Our Father by Goran Stanković, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Three films also come from North Macedonia – Mother by Teona Strugar Mitevska, following last year’s premiere in Venice, 17 by Kosara Mitić, screened at the Berlinale, and Skateboarding Is Not for Girls by Dina Duma, which arrives in Herceg Novi from Tribeca and tells the story of girls who find freedom through skateboarding and believe in a better future.

The selection is completed by the Croatian film Honey Bunny by Igor Jelinović, winner of four Golden Arenas, including Best Film at the Pula Film Festival, and Montenegro’s Black Trumpet, directed by Bojan Stijović, a powerful drama about an individual’s conflict with their environment, family relationships and patriarchal patterns, which premiered at the renowned Bishkek festival.

The best films in this programme will be selected by a jury comprising Alissa Simon, Elena Kristodoulidou, Sebastian Cavazza, Ljiljana Blagojević and Draško Dragutin Đurov.

Five Festival Venues:

The programme of the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival offers much more than the main competition selection at Kanli Kula.

The Documentary Film Selection of the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival will present 26 films by authors from around the world that creatively reflect on the contemporary moment. The programme in the courtyard of the Ivo Andrić House will open on Sunday, 23 August, and over five evenings will present 24 films competing for the Golden Mimosa and two films out of competition. The programme selector is distinguished director Vladimir Perović, while the awards will be decided by an international jury comprising Pegah Ahangarani, Geregin Zakoyan, Rada Šešić, Miloš Jaćimović and Nikola Marković.

At Mića Pavlović Square, under the open sky, audiences can see 30 student films from academies in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Ljubljana, Skopje and Cetinje. The Student Film Programme selector is young director Sara Stijović, while the awards will be decided by a jury comprising Branka Pujić Jovanović, Armin Behrem i Ernesto Kolarić.

The programme dedicated to regional TV series, entitled Herceg Novi – Series, introduced last year, offers audiences an exclusive preview of productions yet to have their television premieres. The programme features one episode each from the series Rock Me Gently, Pupin, The Home Resort and The Vault, accompanied by conversations with authors, actors, producers and directors. The programme editor is writer, playwright and screenwriter Stefan Bošković.

At the Forte Mare fortress, audiences can look forward to European films from the Adriatic Region Festival Network programme, as well as films from the new New African Voices programme, which for the first time brings a selection of contemporary films from the African continent to Montenegrin audiences. The festival week will also be complemented by numerous conversations with filmmakers, book and publication launches and other accompanying programmes.

Herceg Novi Once Again Brings the Film Industry Together:

A special emphasis of this year’s edition will be on the development and networking of film professionals through a rich industry programme implemented by the Film Centre of Montenegro in partnership with the Festival.

During the seven festival days, the third edition of Montenegro Film Rendezvous will be held, a platform bringing together filmmakers, producers and decision-makers from the region, Europe and the world in order to develop Montenegrin projects, establish partnerships and create new financing opportunities.

With the support of the Embassy of France and the French Institute in Montenegro, the programme will include the Female Filmmakers workshop, intended for female directors and producers developing international co-productions. In cooperation with the International Organisation of La Francophonie (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, OIF), the New African Voices programme will also be presented, giving audiences an opportunity to discover projects in development as well as films by prominent directors and producers from Francophone countries.

The industry programme will also include the ReActing+ Regional Acting Workshop, a new module of the ReActing as a Star programme, with the support of the British Council, as well as the EAVE on Demand RE-ACT workshop within the RE-ACT programme, which Montenegro joined this year.

Participants can also look forward to Creative Europe – MEDIA panels, masterclasses and an Info Day dedicated to the development of television series.

The patrons of the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival are the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro and the Municipality of Herceg Novi, while the executive producer is the Herceg-fest Public Cultural Institution and the partner is the Film Centre of Montenegro.

All information about the programme, films and guests is available at filmfestival.me, as well as on the Festival’s official Instagram and Facebook pages.

This year’s festival programme was presented at a press conference held on Friday, 7 August at the Ivo Andrić House in Herceg Novi. Speakers at the press conference were: President of the Council Aleksandra Božović, Feature Film Programme selector Vuk Perović, Documentary Film Programme selector Vladimir Perović, Student Film Programme selector Sara Stijović.