DATE: 27. February 2015. – 08. March 2015.
VENUE: Belgrade, throughout the city
Belgrade International Film Festival, called FEST, is an annual film festival held in Belgrade, Serbia since 1971. It was the only film festival in socialist countries that attracted big Hollywood stars such as Jack Nicholson, Kirk Douglas, Robert De Niro, Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and famous directors like Miloš Forman, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Sam Peckinpah, Pier Paolo Pasolini etc. The festival’s significance declined in the 1990s, mostly due to the international embargo FR Yugoslavia was under at the time. In 1993 and 1994, it was not even held and in 1997 it was interrupted in protest against police brutality taking place against student protesters. However, FEST still attracts a large number of movie buffs.
The Belgrade International Film Festival takes place at venues throughout the city, including the Sava Centre, Belgrade Cultural Centre, Dom Omladine and the Yugoslav Archive. The festival features an eclectic mix of films, both old and new, big-budget and indie, from around the globe. A special FEST award honors the best European film from a non-EU country.
Since its inception, FEST has always had its main program, along with a few accompanying ones, whose quality often exceeded the expectations put in the name „accompanying“. There were also many „accompanying“ publications, exhibitions and symposiums held during the Festival. Nevertheless, the central event always was and remains the main program, followed by the competition program “Europe out of Europe”, which has been in existence for the last couple of years.
To date, FEST boasts four million visitors and almost 4000 relevant international films, which have had their Yugoslav/Serbian and often regional premiere on the Festival!
Although FEST was created more than 40 years ago, it continues to fulfill its cultural and educational role with the same energy in extending the horizons of all film fans.
More details on www.fest.rs