Annual Vancouver Serbian Film Fest

The Vancouver New Serbian Film Festival concluded its tenth, jubilee edition, during which four feature films and three documentaries were screened from November 9 to 12.

Before the screening of the first film, a special program was held to mark the festival's tenth anniversary, featuring, among others, the Vancouver choir Cyrilika, made up of settlers from the former Yugoslavia, mostly of Serbian origin.

The festival opened on Thursday, November 9, with guest actor Nikola Kojo, who directed the behind-the-camera comedy "The Herd" ("Stado"). He and producer Biljana Prvanović took questions from the audience after the screening.

On the second day of the festival, the documentary "Albert's Way," directed by Predrag Bambić, and the feature film "A Needle Under the Doorstep" by Ivan Marinović were shown.

On Saturday, November 11, audiences saw the documentary "The Promise" by Željko Mirković and the feature film "First Name: Dobrica, Last Name: Unknown" by Srđa Penezić.

Yesterday, on the final day of the festival, the documentary "Captured Time," directed by Milan Nikodijević, about Petar "Peca" Popović, one of the most prominent connoisseurs of rock music in the former Yugoslavia, was shown, along with this year's Serbian entry in the feature film category for the Academy Awards, "Requiem for Mrs. J.," by Bojan Vuletić.

The festival was closed with a special address by the Ambassador of Serbia to Canada, Mihailo Papazoglu, who is currently on a multi-day working visit to British Columbia.

All films were shown in Serbian, with English subtitles — a festival "tradition" that also draws film enthusiasts of non-Serbian origin, a number of whom attended this non-competitive festival showcase again this year.

The founder of the Vancouver Serbian Film Festival, and the person most responsible for its ten years of existence, Honorary Consul of Serbia in the city and province of British Columbia, Predrag Vladiković, told the Beta news agency that, through a decade of continuity and the quality of the films shown, the Serbian Film Festival has secured a prominent place on the cultural map of the Pacific metropolis.

"The festival screenings were held at the elite VanCity Theatre in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the same venue where films from around the world are shown during the Vancouver International Film Festival, which is also held every year," Vladiković added.