PROGRAM FOR ESTABLISHING AN INTERNATIONAL ENGAGED FILM FESTIVAL IN MACEDONIA, “OHRID FILM FESTIVAL”, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON 10-15 JUNE 2016 IN THE CITY OF OHRID
Why an international engaged film festival and what would be the benefits of this type of festival? An international engaged film festival would bring the spirit of the times we live in, since engaged films mainly discuss current themes and problems we are facing everyday.
To discuss about an engaged film means to open up questions, to seek answers, to speak about everything that surrounds us and significantly determinate our way of living. An engaged film means to discuss truth, as much as we find it painful.
However, engaged film means an engaged relationship to arts, to the work of arts, which, apart from the film’s artistic qualities, will provide the film an aura which will transcendent the borders of the screen. The engaged film as a certain reflection talks about the society, people, destinies; it opens so many questions that manage to find their way throughout it, regardless of what the film is able to do.
But it really is able to do things. The film, as well as any other work of art, can challenge and send a powerful message if its questions are clearly articulated.
GOALS OF THE FESTIVAL
Our goal is to screen those films that can be rarely seen in the cinemas, with the particular life essence, which might look differently one from another corner of the world, but always the same at the end. In many cases, the engaged film can mean a rage, a comment, a debate; it can mean judgement, search to escape, a sending message and a finding way out to live with all of that. An engaged film means to talk, to face, to discuss, to appeal, to raise those questions that the others do not raise. But, an engaged film means to find out ways and to learn a new path to retell our stories.
The Festival is going to provide different type of films and authors that would transfer own experience through imperative Q&A after the screenings, through the meetings with the audience, especially at the master-classes organized at the Ohrid Film School.
The target of the Festival is to question and to seek the answers. The target is education, opening the borders and horizons, discussions with independent authors, returning to real values and building new ones. Also the target group will be the students of all films schools in Macedonia who will learn and upgrade themselves directly from the experience of the great authors.
To perform the film festival is cultural phenomena with many benefits. The city of Ohrid offers such potential where the beauty and the utility are join, where the fantastic and the artistic are joint with the tradition, culture and history of the country. Well known film school FAMU is established in Ohrid and this going to attract the interest of the students in the region. Our aim is to attract the tourists and to increase the cultural events in the city as there are no regular film screenings there. This attempt is going to allow different approach to the film and film art, especially for the young generations, which is also the Festival target.
PROGRAM OF THE FIRST ENGAGED FILM FESTIVAL
The first edition of the engaged film festival will content several programs, panel discussions, few lectures and master-classes.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM, a selection of films that have potential to attract attention with their language and engagement. These films, through their artistic language, will be able to ‘knit’ the reality and call out reactions, discussions, open up new themes and horizons and will be researching and bringing a different approach. This will be a competitive program where the international jury will present the major awards for the festival’s best and most strikingly engaged film.
NEW VISIONS, will attempt to find a new artistic language in the treatment of the engaged themes. It can be an exceptional junction, which can talk about the borders and breaking of those borders, in regards to the film language. It can also talk about the numerous possibilities of retelling a story; stories that talk about the absurdity, injustice, stories that are always on the other side of what is expected.
PROGRAM OF ENGAGED FILM DEDICATED TO AN ACTUAL THEME. This means selection of movies that will revolve around the most actual yearly theme, which will also serve as a theme for the Panel discussion that this program will initiate.
The engaged film festival “Ohrid Film Festival” will be organized in partnership with the Film Institute – Film Academy in Ohrid and will include FAMU FEST, which will be established this year and will bring the best films from FAMU FEST in Prague, Czech Republic.
STUDENT FILM PROGRAM, which will include short films, animated and documentary films from the European film academies, especially from the region, which will be accompanied with discussions with the professors from these academies, for all films that will be shown.
NEW MACEDONIAN PRODUCTION
HOMAGE OF ONE GREAT MACEDONIAN AUTHOR
PROGRAM DEDICATED TO YOUNG AUTHORS, which will be an educative program and will offer different contents in which young authors will be included, as well as the audience.
The program DEDICATED is projected for special or honorary guests of the festival.