37th Nis Film Festival 2002

Nis ­ Naissus in ancient times ­ where Emperor Claudius defeated the Goths in 269, where Constantine the Great was born circa 280, where the Tower of the Skulls bears silent testimony to 900 Serbs who revolted against the Turks in 1809, where the Festival of Acting Performances in Yugoslav Cinema was founded in 1966. Picture 5,000 in the outdoor arena at the Old Roman Fortress at the 37th Nis Film Festival (22-27 August 2002), and you know why Serb cinema has survived hard times in the 1990s ­ they made films the public wanted to see. This year, festival director Dragan Bjelogrlic, a popular actor, opened the doors to foreign guests, organized an actors’ workshop, programmed a competition for student films, and invited previous festival winners to an »Evening of Outstanding Personalites« at the »Amerikanac« Restaurant.

        Programmer Nenad Dukic screened quality art and commercial fare: 11 Serbian features from the past two seasons, 3 international hits, 7 student films. Vuk Kostic was voted the Grand Prix Naisa ­ Best Festival Performance for roles in A Little Night Music and Absolute Hundred. Gordan Kicic won the Emperor Constantine Prize ­ Best Actor and Vlasta Velisavlevic Best Supporting Actor for roles in A Little Night Music. Paulina Manov received the Empress Theodora Prize ­ Best Actress for her role in Absolute Hundred. And Milena Dravic won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boomerang. Mostly young talent!

        Young directors also led the way. In Dejan Zecevic’s A Little Night Music, a British-style comedy, the setting is a morgue. In Srdjan Golubovic’s thriller Absolute Hundred a young man challenges drug-traffic. in Dragan Marinkovic’s Boomerang losers hang around a Belgrade bar. In Djordje Milosavlevic’s Ringer Raja brothers from opposite backgrounds switch identities to win a heart. And for her title role in Zdravko Sotra’s Zona Zamfirova, a costume drama, Katarina Radivojevic was awarded Best Debutante. This light fare about a beauty who turns a provincial town upside down drew over 1,000,000 admissions, making it one of the most successful Serb/Yugoslav films of all time. Zona Zamfirova was shot in Nis at the site of the Old Roman Fortress.

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