Great success and great participation of artists, professionals, operators, spectators and enthusiasts for the ninth edition of the Italian-Serbian Film Festival held in Belgrade last September 19-23, organized by Excellence International in cooperation with Kinoteca Jugoslava and directed by Gabriella Carlucci.Born out of the growing desire for cultural, artistic and cinematographic exchange between Italy and Serbia, the Festival – in the wake of the Italy-Serbia film co-production agreement signed in Belgrade on March 21, 2023 and entered into force as of August 4, 2024 – aims precisely at fostering meetings between producers from the two countries to stimulate international co-productions, thus ensuring a much wider audience and greater distribution guarantees for the film projects made.
In presenting the festival, in fact, the Italian Ambassador to Serbia, Luca Gori, emphasized that “the Italian-Serbian Film Festival, is an event that has long contributed to promoting cultural exchange between Rome and Belgrade, even more so today in light of the recent entry into force of the film co-production agreement between Italy and Serbia.” The event, promoted by a major advertising campaign through a dedicated TV channel, web promotions and thematic posters that gave visibility to the scheduled events at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and at the Kalemegdan Fortress, a symbolic place of the city of Belgrade, was attended by Sergio Castellitto representing Italian cinema and starring in the film “Dante” which opened the film festival that was also attended by Nikola Selaković, Serbian Minister of Culture, Crown Prince Alexander II Karađorđevic and Crown Princess Catherine both very dedicated to cultural and humanitarian activities.
Also attending was Pietro Castellitto whose film “Aeneas,” which he wrote, directed and starred in, was screened. The Festival is also proposed as a tool for promoting tourism of Belpaese thanks to activities carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism both in the spaces dedicated to the film festival and in public spaces such as the Kalemegdan Fortress, Republic Square and Kneza Mihaila – the main pedestrian street in downtown Belgrade – where LED big screens were installed for projection, both day and night, and chairs to allow the public crowding these public spaces to enjoy the videos and explanations of the best Italian products. In addition, the Italian Ministry of Tourism’s video, “Open to Meraviglia,” preceded each screening.
Finally, in order to promote the excellence of Made in Italy, tasting evenings were organized to discover wine and food excellence and the corresponding territories of origin precisely with the aim of developing food and wine tourism. A special mention deserves the Italian Night Food Show, but also the Business Forum – in its first edition – which allowed the meeting between supply and demand also in view of Belgrade 2027, the cultural event that is held every 5 years and that in 2027 will be hosted by Belgrade on the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All.” All that remains is to look forward to September 2025 for the tenth edition of the Festival, which, on the occasion of its important anniversary, will hold many big news.
