Podgorica – The fourth edition of the Fast Forward Human Rights Film Festival, organisedby the NGO Centre for Civic Education (CCE), will be held at the Montenegrin National Theatre (CNP), from 17 until 20December. The festival openswith a multiple award-winning documentary film “The act of killing,” directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and producedby the iconic German director Warner Herzog. The film “Blue is the warmest color”, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival,will be presented at the closing event.
The Programme Coordinator and Director of the “Fast Forward Human RightsFilm Festival” Nikola Đonović was interviewed by Pobjeda regarding this year’s selection, expectations and special guest appearances at the festival.
Special guests
Đonović pointed out that the CCE is currently negotiating regarding special appearances at the festival. He explained that the changesare going to be madeuntil the very last moment, sincethese are“major creations, whose authors and representatives are visiting numerous festivals.”
-It is most likely that the festival will be visited by the author of the film “A stranger” Bobo Jelčić and the actor in the new film by Danis Tanović “An episode in the life of an iron picker” Nazif Mujić. Potential guests are also the director of the documentary film “Albert’s way” Predrag Bambić, the screenwriter of the film “Halimas’s path” Feđa Isović and the director of the film “When I was a boy I was a girl,” Ivana Todorović. Of course, as the date of the festival approaches, our plans will experience some changes, but we hope to provide at least four of these planned guest appearances – said Đonović.
In addition to the film programme, another novelty is planned. The CCE will organize two panel discussions, where film enthusiasts will have the opportunity to meet with authors and participants who took part in the implementation of the presented films.
Accredited achievements
Đonović explained that the audience in Podgorica will have the opportunity to see the feature and documentary achievements whichshowed the importance of protecting and promoting human rights in the best way.
– TheFestival will be opened with a groundbreaking film that pushed the boundaries of documentary filmmaking, “The act of killing”,which has already received numerous awards… Several films will be presented that have marked this year when it comes to the promotion of human rights andwon numerous prestigious awards. The films will be presentedas they are presented around the world,which is rather rarely seen by our citizens – said Đonović.
Expectations
Đonović reminded that the festival “Fast Forward” started without excessive ambition, but great interest and attendance and reactions of the audience have in certain manner committed CCE to work on further improvement of the festival, even though it is not a non-governmental organizationprimarily devoted to arts. He expects good attendance also this year.
– I expect great response from the audience andinterest primarily withinyoung people to learn about human rights in this manner. Moreover, I expect the interest of Montenegrin artists and movie enthusiasts to see the modern views of documentary and feature film. These are films that carry a strong message, as well as speak about universal values and encourage us to think about what we alone can do more, better, more… – emphasized Đonović.
The festival “Fast Forward” is organized by the CCE in partnership with the Montenegrin National Theatre,the International Documentary Film Festival “Beldocs”, RTV Montenegro and web-portal Vijesti, with the support of the Embassy of Canada. The event is supported by the “Compania de Vinos”, “Montepano” and “DHL Montenegro”. A detailed programme of the festival will be available next week on the official website www.ubrzaj.me.
Ten films on the repertoire
There will be ten films presented during the four-day festival. On Tuesday, 17thDecember, the film “The act of killing” directed by Joshua Oppenheimerwill be presented. On Wednesday, 18thDecember, the repertoire will include the “Albert’s way”, directed by Predrag Bambić, “A stranger” by Bobo Jelčić and the “Halima’s path” by Arsen Anton Ostojić. On Thursday, 19thDecember, “More than Honey” directed by Markus Imhof, will be screened, followed by “Gulabi Gang” by Nishtha Jain and “An episode in the life of an iron picker” by Danis Tanović. On the last day of the festival, on Friday, 20thDecember, the repertoire will include “When I was a boy, I was a girl,” by Ivana Todorović, “Pussy Riot – Punk Prayer” directed by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin and the winner ofthe Golden Palme “Blue is the warmest color” by Abdellatif Kechiche. Admission to all screenings is free of charge.
M.I