Golden Corn Award for Best Debut Director Goes to Marko Novaković for the film „Accomplices“
The 9th Ravno Selo Film Festival, an international festival dedicated to first and second feature films, concluded with the official awards ceremony followed by the screening of Accomplices, directed by Marko Novaković. Over the course of four days, the festival welcomed filmmakers, guests from Serbia and abroad, emerging talents and audiences to Ravno Selo. A total of 29 films were screened across three competition programmes. The festival programme also featured the official reopening of the renovated House of Culture, a film music concert, an art colony, a comic book workshop, film workshops for young participants, and numerous accompanying events.
The Main Competition Programme, featuring 12 films, including five national premieres, was evaluated by an international jury chaired by Glauce Valdini, Director of the Italian Film Institute. The other jury members were director Dejan Zečević and director and screenwriter Đorđe Milosavljević.
The Golden Corn for Best Director, accompanied by a €1,500 cash prize, was awarded to Marko Novaković for film „Accomplices“. The Golden Corn for Best Film of the 9th Ravno Selo Film Festival was awarded to the film „Bird Boy“, directed by Savely Osadchyi.
The Golden Corn for Best Actor, accompanied by a €1,000 cash prize sponsored by GORKI LIST, was presented to Ubeimar Rios for his performance in „The Poet“, directed by Simón Mesa Soto.
The Audience Award for the Best Film, accompanied by a €500 cash prize, was presented to „DJ Ahmet“, directed by Georgi M. Unkovski. The Audience Jury was chaired by Sanja Mićić, representative of Telekom Srbija, with Mira Gvozdenac, retired professor, and Olivera Pantović, Principal of the „Branko Radičević“ Primary School in Ravno Selo, serving as jury members.
In the documentary competition „Short 100 Minutes“, which this year featured films from Mexico, Canada, Poland, India, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Belgium, Lithuania and Russia. Golden Corn for Best Documentary Film, together with a €500 cash prize, went to the film „Only If the Baby Cries“ by Indian director Shadab Farooq. The winner was selected by a single-member jury chaired by Giuseppe Panebianco, Artistic Director of the i-Fest International Film Festival.
The First Meter Award for Best Student Film, accompanied by a €500 cash prize, was presented to „They Will Love Me Now“ by Nikulás Tumi Hlynsson, a student at FAMU Film Academy in Prague. A Special Mention in the same category was awarded to Petr Vlček for his film „Fathers“.
As part of the closing ceremony, the audience also watched the short films created by local schoolchildren during the Filmić workshop in Ravno Selo, under the mentorship of Petar Pešut.
Lazar Ristovski, founder and festival director, said during the closing ceremony: „I am happy that next year we will celebrate the festival’s first major milestone – the 10th Ravno Selo Film Festival. This year’s edition was truly special, thanks to the large number of guests from abroad and across the region, as well as the video messages of support and congratulations we received from filmmakers and award winners from around the world. All of this came together to create a remarkable success and a shared sense of emotion. I believe this year’s festival has been our finest and most emotional edition to date.“
The festival was supported by the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, the Film Center Serbia, the Municipality of Vrbas, the Vrbas Cultural Centre, the Vrbas Centre for Physical Culture, and the Local Community of Ravno Selo. The festival’s general sponsor is Telekom Srbija.
Over the course of four days, the Ravno Selo Film Festival once again demonstrated that cinema can serve as a powerful platform for bringing communities together, encouraging dialogue, and fostering new cultural connections.
