04/12/2019 - Serbian filmmaker Marko Djordjević's feature debut has made a splash, beating big festival favourites to the main prize; Oliver Laxe won Best Director for Fire Will Come

l-r: Maja Novaković, Marko Djordjević and Stefan Djordjević with their awards (© Tanja Drobnjak)

The 25th Belgrade Festival of Auteur Film (22-30 November) has wrapped with the upset victory of My Morning Laughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Serbian debutant Marko Djordjević. The highly original, belated coming-of-age drama about a 28-year-old man struggling with his sexuality world-premiered to standing ovations from the audience and went on to pick up the €5,000 "Aleksandar Saša Petrović" Grand Prix in the main competition.

Oliver Laxe picked up the Best Director Award for Fire Will Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] as well as the "Vlada Petrić" Award for the Most Cinematic Sequence.

A Special Mention went to Jonás Trueba for The August Virgin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile], and Maurizio Braucci and Pietro Marcello bagged the newly established "Gordan Mihić" Award for Best Screenplay for Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile].

The main competition also included hits such as Beanpole [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], A White, White Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile], A Tale of Three Sisters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
interview: Emin Alper
film profile], From Tomorrow on, I Will [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Cat in the Wall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
film profile], Our Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cesar Diaz
film profile] and Present Perfect, as well as another Serbian debut feature, Maša Nešković's Asymmetry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. 

In the Brave Balkans section, Stefan Djordjević's Heart of Sarajevo winner The Last Image of Father (Serbia/Croatia/Greece) picked up Best Film, and Maja Novaković's Then Comes the Evening (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Serbia) received a Special Mention.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Main competition

"Aleksandar Saša Petrović" Grand Prix
My Morning Laughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Marko Djordjević (Serbia)

Best Director
Oliver Laxe - Fire Will Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] (Spain/France/Luxembourg)

"Gordan Mihić" Best Screenplay Award
Maurizio Braucci, Pietro Marcello - Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile] (Italy/France/Germany)

"Vlada Petrić" Award for the Most Cinematic Sequence
Fire Will Come - Oliver Laxe

Brave Balkans

Best Film
The Last Image of Father - Stefan Djordjević (Serbia/Croatia/Greece)

Special Mention
Then Comes the Evening - Maja Novaković (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Serbia)