VERA VLAJIĆ: The Life in Groups

According to the films that have arrived to this festival, the world could be classified into three groups.

The first group consists of those who go to war, fighting for various reasons, and most commonly for somebody else.

The second group is made of those whose lives and existences are destroyed because of those same wars.

The third one represents those who indifferently watch all this through almighty media, taking care of their own problems that, in comparison to the ones belonging to those in the first and the second groups, seem quite senseless.

Therefore the topic of the Spanish film “Banal“, witty and sarcastic illustration of what I am talking about, could be useful for some skillful tourist organizations that, instead of taking their tourists for safari in exotic places, could offer tourist tours through ruined and destroyed countries and cities, visits to refugee camps and exhausted and starving families.

In overall absurdity of life, maybe this kind of safari could be more fruitful in motivating the consciousness of those whose votes are decisive in their leaders' determination to wage some new wars instead of pursuing antiwar movements.

That way the special programme of Antiwar Films was imposed as well as the programme of Testimonies that belongs to the same milieu. Something on the Neighbours you will find in the eponymous special.

Whether they are feature, animated or documentary, the short films have always been the sphere authors used in order to get closer to the old art of narration.

The Spanish short film offers interesting films whose authors are “New Spanish Female Directors“, as well as the set of films titled “Moment After Moment“.

The Japanese animation will offer the admirers of the animated film the insight in the Asian animation not quite known here.

Forth year in a row the UIP Europe offers Belgrade public 14 films that are candidates for the best short film of the European Film Academy.

Zelimir Zilnik's Jubilee, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award winners Predrag and Mladen Vranesevic will make us remember the best times of the once Yugoslav production of documentary and short films.

This year's national production fits thematically into these three groups I have been talking about at the beginning, and that way it also fits into the world trends.

No matter which of the mentioned groups the films the audience of the 54 th Festival will see belong, I hope they won't leave them indifferent.