Special guest Lazar Ristovski was awarded the “Kapija Zvornika” for his contribution to the development of festival and film art in Republika Srpska. The award was presented by Zvornik Mayor Zoran Stevanovic while the symbol of the Festival “Filmska klapa” was presented to Dragan Marinkovic, the director of “Leeches”.

This artistic manifestation as a kind of “cultural bridge” connects the cities of East Sarajevo and Zvornik and best realizes the strategy of decentralization of culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture in the Government of Republika Srpska and this concept implies the uniform development of artistic creativity, but also the development of other cultural activities evenly throughout the area of Srpska, both in its urban and rural parts.

Opening the festival, Ristovski emphasized that he is very important because he shows selected films, which makes him significant, quality and good.
“I’ve been to a lot of festivals – small, big, significant, but I can say that every festival is significant, no matter how small it is by the number of films shown or by the number of audiences present,” Ristovski said.

Marinkovic said that the movie “Leeches” was interesting for many reasons, and that the cast consisting of Mirjana Jankovic, Iva Mihalic, Nikola Djuricko and Lazar Ristovski did something extraordinary and superb. According to him, 13 years of the festival means something in the European context.

This year’s festival “Prvi kadar” is held under the motto “Don’t see evil!”, which is inspired by the folk saying, but also by the thematic frames of filmmaking.

Lazar Ristovski is the founder of the festival, whose main organizer is the production company Zillion film. Ravno Selo Film Festival is a festival of debut, student film and film music, aimed primarily at young people in the area. Through its activities, the festival seeks to bring film, as well as filmmakers, closer to them, thus encouraging them to study and create, but also to enrich their viewing experience, and therefore artistic development.

In addition to the municipal leadership, representatives of institutions, organizations, public companies, provincial authorities and national councils, the session was attended by representatives of municipalities and cities of Serbia, as well as fraternal and partner cities from Montenegro, Croatia and Hungary, reports the willow municipal website.

Attendees were greeted by the Mayor of the Municipality of Vrbas, who congratulated the holiday on the inhabitants of all populated places, and then the Mayor took the floor, using the opportunity to introduce the guests to the results and plans for the future.

The Lazar Ristovski Award was given by Milan Glusac.

According to the announcement made today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the “Train Driver’s Diary” – a feature directed by Milos Radovic, is the Serbian candidate for the 89th “Oscar” awards in the in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The “Train Driver’s Diary” won among five domestic productions, having secured the highest score of eight votes, in a secret ballot involving the 14 members of the expert committee of AFUN, conducted in accordance with the Rules of the US Academy and the Regulations of the Film Art & Science Academy of Serbia.

Milos Radovic ‘s film is a comedy- melodrama about innocent murderers and their lives. The main hero is Ilija (Lazar Ristovski), a train driver in his sixties, who holds the inglorious record of having run over 28 people in his professional career. His 19-year-old adopted son Sima (Petar Korac) is preparing to carry on the family tradition. Ilija introduces him to the job and the fact that the deadly accidents are unavoidable.

The film has been made by Zillion Film – the producers being Petar Ristovski and Lazar Ristovski, who also plays the main character in the film alongside Nina Jankovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Jasna Djuricic, Mladen Nelević, Danica Ristovski, Haris Burin, Tihomir Stanic, Pavle Eric…

The Belgrade premiere has taken place on September 14th at the Sava Congress Center, and just a day later the film Novi Sad audience will have the opportunity to view it as well. Subsequently the distributor – Art Vista, will offer the film to audiences in movie theaters throughout Serbia and through a network of mobile cinemas

The “Train Driver’s Diary” has been sold to distributors in a number of countries: Mexico, China, South Korea, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic.

The film has won more than thirty awards in some fifty world festivals.

A CURIOSITY FROM THE LIFE OF TRAIN DRIVERS

The fact is that during their career train drivers inadvertently kill several dozens of people that end up on the tracks either due to carelessness or because they want to commit suicide. Once the brake is activated, a train requires about 700 meters to come to a halt, which is why train drivers are exempted from any responsibility. This feature film is yet another one in a series of projects by Lazar Ristovski and Milos Radovic, stemming from the need to tell the story about the profession of their ancestors.

During his professional career, Ilija Todorovic, played by Lazar Ristovski, has run over 28 people, but the family score is more than 60 – if the victims run over by his father and grandfather are also counted. Ilija’s routine life is turned upside down when he almost runs over a ten-year-old. The boy Sima wanted to commit suicide. Having somehow managed to brake in time, Ilija decides to adopt the boy. Having grown up, Sima decides to become a train driver himself, but Ilija can’t accept his choice as he wants Sima to interrupted the family tradition of running innocent people over.

EXCERPTS FROM THE REVIEWS

The essence of the story is actually based on the issue of choice. Who are the people who drive trains do they have any choice? Do they inevitably accept the burden that their profession carries – alongside the absolute absence of any fear of death. Accepting that the victims are just notches and that their death is just another routine. In fact, the first running over is always the hardest, especially for Sima once he starts driving trains all by himself. Weeks go by but there are no victims in his path. Sima starts to drive more and more slowly – having become nervous, frightened, sleepless… Until Ilija decides to end his adopted son’s despair wearing his Sunday best. The characters in this story turn to each other in the very moments of their dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment. Their existences begin crossing when are rejected and lonely, interrupting their daily routine.

 

The text is completely downloaded from the site: ZillionFilm

The Film Art & Science Academy of Serbia (AFUN) has decided at its recent session, that this year Oleg Novkovic’s film ” Tomorrow Morning “, produced by Zillion Film, will represent Serbia in the contest for the prestigious Academy Award.

“After being screened at numerous film festivals and the awards this film has won nationally and abroad, this nomination crowns the achievements of the movie and constitutes a new opportunity for Serbian cinema. I hope that the Ministry of Culture of Serbia and the City of Belgrade that helped finance this film will now secure sufficient funding to help promote the film in the US and world markets, as they have done before” – said Lazar Ristovski, a member of the cast and the producer of this film.
The producer defines the movie “Tomorrow Morning” – as a story of love and friendship.

THE PLOT

Having lived abroad for twelve years, the protagonist returns to his hometown where he meets again his old love, his friends and parents, as well as himself. They spend four days together and after that their lives will never be the same.

“Tomorrow Morning” won the Grand Prize for Best Film at the 2006 Cottbus Film Festival, and the Silver Palm at the Mostra De Valencia in 2007. A drama about love, profound passions, sensuality, tenderness and, most of all, a story about rediscovering oneself.

Luckless heroes fruitlessly try to reclaim lost time, unrepeatable moments of joy, their former closeness and high expectations.

Based on a screenplay by Milena Markovic, and produced by Zilion Film, Novkovic’s feature will compete for the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The AFUN statement stressed that a record number of 20 films were made in Serbia this year, but that only six were shown in cinemas, which made the significantly narrowed the choice.

AWARDS

After its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary Festival, where it won the “EAST OF THE WEST AWARD /SPECIAL MENTION – Second award”, the movie “Tomorrow Morning” received a number of prestigious national awards: the STATUE OF LIBERTY – Best film at the Sopot Festival, and Herceg Novi Film Festival Golden Mimosas for: Best Film, Best Actress – Nada Sargin, Best Editing – Lazar Predojev and Best Music – Miroslav Mitrasinovic. Invitations to participate in numerous prestigious international festivals followed: Montreal, Alexandria, Copenhagen, Haifa, Turin, Tallinn, New York, Montpellier, the Flanders Festival in Ghent, Thessalonica, Geneva, Marrakech, Locarno, the London Festival, and festivals in Rotterdam and Los Angeles.
This movie remains a true Serbian cinema gem.

The text is completely downloaded from the site: ZillionFilm

“Everything shown in this film really happened”, claims Lazar Ristovski, “but I wanted to raise it a foot above the ground and give it a sense of surreal and poetic. Why? Because today’s audience is so much pressured by the reality of life (especially in Yugoslavia) and needs an embellished picture of the world that relies on romantic enthusiasm, emotions, passion, poetics, honor, chivalry, and the desire to play and show tolerance.”

All the characters in the film – regardless of their social, educational or cultural background – are selfaware and allow themselves to ponder on large issues like life itself, love, survival, existence, death, the endless circle, the passage of life and the imperfect nature of Mankind. They are not afraid to show their true feelings and true colors. The lead character goes one step further: he is not even afraid of death.

“THIS YEAR THE YUGOSLAV CINEMA MADE US A GIFT”

 

Despite the fact that the production has fallen below ten titles, the Yugoslav cinema has made us a gift. After the big success of ” Black Cat, White Cat” by Emir Kusturica (Silver Lion at the 1998 Venice Festival) and Goran Paskaljevic with “Bure Baruta” (best European film in 1998 according to the Association of film critics FIPRESCI) we’ve been presented with “The White Suit” – a film by Lazar Ristovski which he signs as the producer, screenwriter, director and lead actor. Mentioning these names brings about a sense of like-minded people. This is a logical evolution, after the triumph with the role of Crni in Kusturica’s “Underground” (Golden Palm, Cannes 1995) and his striking, memorable role in “Bure Baruta”. Now a mature actor, Ristovski surely belongs to the world’s acting elite and not only in Belgrade – where he is revered like Depardieu in Paris.

Jean Roy

– Thank you for this warm acclaim, for the applause you have given me and my colleagues. This is the 40th year I come to this festival. Thank you for all those years, and for being the most wonderful audience in the world – said Lazar Ristovski.

The cast that took the festival stage included Nebojsa Kundacina, Danica Ristovski, Radovan Rasa Vujovic and the young Ivan Vujic who plays the boy-corporal Momcilo Gavric in the film.

As the evening progressed, the audience saw the film “What a country!” (“Koja je ovo država!”), a Serbian-Croatian production starring Lazar Ristovski as well.

It is worth recalling that two years ago, Lazar Ristovski was presented with the “Pavle Vuisic Award”, which is presented for outstanding contribution to Serbian cinema.

On that occasion Lazar noted: – Being a prophet in your village is ever so difficult, and so is getting recognition from one’s colleagues. Thus when you receive those awards, they are truly the most significant. I am delighted to receive this award, and I thank Pavle Vuisic for having been such a great actor. If it wasn’t for him, this award wouldn’t exist, and I wouldn’t have received it. To me, this award represents a Serbian Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

Lazar Ristovski is the record holder for the number of awards received at the Niš festival. In fact he has won the Grand Prix four times and the Emperor Constantine Award two times, as well as several other awards.

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Here is a review of the most important roles played by Lazar Ristovski.

He has displayed his outstanding thespian skills in „Hajka” (1977), „Svetozar Marković“ (1981), „Igmanski marš“ (1983), „Tako se kalio čelik“ (1988), „Original falsifikata“ (1991), „Tito i ja“ (1992), „Underground“ (1995), „Balkanska pravila“ (1997), „Bure baruta“ (1998), “Belo odelo” (1999), “Bumerang” (2001), „Mali svet“ (2003), „Pad u raj“ (2004), „San zimske noći“ (2004). „Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu“ (2009.), „Dnevnik mašinovođe” (2016) and „Kralj Petar Prvi“ (2018)

Lazar Ristovski has also worked as a director and producer of the feature “The White Suit“, which had its world premiere in Cannes in 2000 within the CRITIC WEEK program. He directed his second film “White Lions”  in 2011.

He has produced 18 feature films.