FILM STORIES CIRCLE THROUGH THE VILLAGE
Ravno Selo Film Festival, an International Festival of debut or sophomore films, will take place this year from June 27 to June 30. The festival is oriented towards young people and represents an international festival for directors of debut or sophomore films. This year’s main festival program will feature 12 feature films, selected by guest curator Dragan Jeličić.
In honor of this year’s event, Lazar Ristovski, founder and director of the Ravno Selo Film Festival, emphasized: „All these years while the festival was ongoing, I have been working towards the construction of a new Cultural Center, which unfortunately burned down seven years ago. This year, we celebrate not only the opening of the new Cultural Center but also the seventh Ravno Selo Film Festival. Our festival is established in honor of the youth, hence it is called a debutant festival, for debut and sophomore films by young authors. We have a selection of student films, as well as short documentaries by young authors. So, everything is dedicated to young people. Our audience mostly consists of young individuals.“ At the end, Lazar Ristovski added: „I invite all those who love film, as well as good entertainment at music concerts after the screenings, to come to Ravno Selo on June 27th when our festival begins, which will last for four days. So, come, because film stories circle through the village.“
The main festival program will open on Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. with the screening of the film „Pokidan“ directed by Suzana Purković, based on the motifs of the autobiography „Ovo sam ja“ by singer Aca Lukas.
On Friday, June 28, four films are scheduled for screening. At 5 p.m., the film „Horoz Dovusu“ by Turkish-Iranian director Majid Panahi, about a once successful Turkish war photographer whose life is in chaos two years after escaping from ISIS prison in Mosul. At 7 p.m., the audience will have the opportunity to watch „Excursion“ by Bosnian-Herzegovinian director Una Gunjak, about a teenager from Sarajevo who gets entangled in her own lies after claiming during a game of „truth or dare“ that she had her first sexual experiences. Action movie „The Last Shooter“ by Darko Nikolić, with Nenad Jezdić in the lead role, is on the program at 9 p.m., while the program of the first day of the festival closes at 11 p.m. with the American film „Past Lives“ directed by Celine Song, whose story follows two very close childhood friends who separate after one of them leaves the country.
On the third day of the festival, Saturday, June 29, the audience will be able to watch the film „Mammalia“ by Romanian director Sebastian Mihăilescu, at 5 p.m., in which the main character discovers a world of strange rituals and disturbing communities, while the boundaries between reality and the surreal blur. At 7 p.m., the American film „A Thousand and One“ directed by A.V. is on the program. Rockwell, in which we follow the disaffected and single Inez, who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from a foster family. In the film „Holy Family“ by the Croatian director Vlatka Vorkapić (9 p.m.), wage earner Jana falls into the traps of lies, dark lust, traditionalism and deviant piety in the rural environment. The program of the third day of the festival closes at 11 p.m. with the British film „Polite Society“ directed by Nida Manzoor, whose main character Riya Khan believes that she must save her older sister Lena from her upcoming marriage.
At 7 p.m., the American film „A Thousand and One“ directed by A.V. Rockwell will be screened, following the dissatisfied and free-spirited Inez who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from a foster family. In the film „Holy Family“ by Croatian director Vlatka Vorkapić (9 p.m.), a day laborer Jana falls into the traps of lies, dark desires, traditionalism, and deviant piety in a rural environment. The program for the third day of the festival will close at 11 p.m. with the British film „Chosen Circle“ directed by Nida Manzur, whose main character Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from an impending marriage.
On the last day of the festival, Sunday, June 30, the Ravno Selo Film Festival audience will be able to watch three films. From 5 p.m., Diana Ringo’s „1984“ is on the program, a Finnish-Russian sci-fi film that offers a fresh look at the famous novel of the same name by George Orwell. The film „Only when I Laugh“ by Vanja Juranić, about a housewife in a seemingly idyllic marriage on the Adriatic coast, is on the program at 7:15 p.m., while the festival closes at 9 p.m. with the cinema hit „Nedelja“ by Nemanja Ćeranić and Miloš Radunović, about the famous folk singer Džej Ramadanovski.
The festival is held with the support of the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the City of Vrbas, and the production company Zillion film.