The 16^th edition of the Kustendorf Film and Music Festival will be held this year in its usual physical location of Mećavnik (aka Kustendorf), Mokra Gora, Serbia, from 25-29 January. The festival is returning to the ski resort that was originally built as a set for Emir Kusturica’s Life Is a Miracle, inviting emerging talents from all over the world to meet and converse with acclaimed festival guests. All of this is happening under this year’s slogan of “Art Above All”.

The competition programme consists of 14 short films, selected from among the 374 submissions, which are extremely varied. They are Affricate by Anna Gyimesi (Hungary), Attention All Passengers by Marek Moučka (Slovakia), Breeze by Hamidreza Ghasemi (Iran), Cassette by Timur Murodov (Uzbekistan), Electric Boogie by Valeria Kuznetsova (Russia), Fitness Jim by Ognjen Isailović (Serbia), Lamblike by Jovan Dimoski (Serbia), Letter to a Pig by Tal Kantor (Israel), More Than Living by Aleksandra Lazarovski (Serbia), Motherland by Hila Elena Royzenman (Israel), On Xerxes’ Throne by Evi Kalogiropoulou (Greece), Rites by Damián Vondrášek (Czech Republic), Snow in September by Dulmaa Purev-Ochir (Mongolia) and Talponi by Vanja Victor Kabir Tognola (Switzerland).

The selected films will be competing for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Egg Awards, and the winners will be decided upon by the international jury, comprising Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli, Serbian actor Slavko Štimac and Israeli producer, director and screenwriter David Noy. The "Vilko Filač" Award will be decided on by director of photography Vladan Radović and camera professor, visual-effects expert and visual artist Ivan Šijak.

As for the Contemporary Tendencies section, this will feature the films Chiara [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Susanna Nicchiarelli
scheda film] by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/France), Dry [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Paolo Virzì (Italy), Plan 75 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Chie Hayakawa
scheda film] by Chie Hayakawa (Japan/France/Philippines) and Tinnitus by Gregorio Graziosi (Brazil), with all of the aforementioned directors attending the festival as guests. This particular selection is rounded off by Triangle of Sadness [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ruben Östlund
intervista: Ruben Östlund
scheda film] by Ruben Östlund (Sweden/Germany/France/Turkey/Greece/Denmark/UK/USA). The gathering’s "Tree of Life" Award will be bestowed upon Dušan Kovačević, whose cult comedy Balkan Spy will be shown as part of the Retrospective of the Giants programme.

Furthermore, in the Novi Autori section, which showcases debut features, the selection includes The Beheading of St John the Baptist [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Siniša Cvetić (Serbia), Costa Brava, Lebanon [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Mounia Akl (Lebanon/France/Spain/Sweden/Denmark/Norway/Qatar) and Whether the Weather Is Fine [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Carlo Francisco Manatad (Philippines/France/Singapore/Indonesia/Germany/Qatar). Finally, as part of the Kustendorf Presents series, Call of God [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Kim Ki-duk (Estonia/Lithuania/Kyrgyzstan) and the documentary Pasolini - Chronology of a Political Crime by Paolo Fiore Angelini (Italy) will get an airing.

The 16^th Kustendorf is organised by production company Rasta International, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and Mećavnik grada.