FEST OPENS WITH PREMIERE OF “GOLDEN RATIO 42 - CHILDREN OF KOZARA”

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 2 /SRNA/ – The international film festival FEST opened tonight in Belgrade with the premiere of “Golden Ratio 42 – Children of Kozara”, directed by Croatian filmmaker Lordan Zafranović, depicting the suffering of Serb children in the Jasenovac concentration camp run by the Ustasha in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ during the Second World War.

The premiere of the approximately four-hour-long film was held in the Blue Hall. The film is scheduled to be screened in Banja Luka tomorrow, as previously announced by President Milorad Dodik. Opening the festival before a packed audience at the Sava Centre, Zafranović thanked his colleagues and said that the film was dedicated to everyone who was brutally killed. “We must remember and honour them, and ask their forgiveness on behalf of those who committed these crimes,” Zafranović said. FEST Artistic Director Dragan Jeličić welcomed the audience and presented the festival programme. Letters from directors Emir Kusturica and Nikita Mikhalkov were also read. Mikhalkov described the film as an important historical and artistic work, particularly for the Serb people and the Slavic world. In his letter, Kusturica cited that Lordan had paid tribute to the Serb people in the most magnificent way. Among those in attendance were figures from Serbia’s public and cultural life, including Serbia’s Foreign Minister in caretaking capacity Marko Đurić, Bishop Jovan of Pakrac, academician Matija Bećković, and representatives of diplomatic missions. FEST will run until October 11, with more than 100 films from over 50 national film industries scheduled to be screened. The film “Golden Ratio 42 – Children of Kozara,” produced by TS Media, is based on a 1986 screenplay by Arsen Diklić and Zafranović. The film is set during the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1941, when, under the sponsorship of Nazi Germany, the quisling Independent State of Croatia was established, within which Jasenovac was created as a death camp where men, women and children were killed. Through interwoven perspectives of victims and perpetrators, Zafranović explores the anatomy of evil, portraying Serbs, Jews, Roma and Croatian anti-fascists as victims of eight Ustaha killers. One of the killers briefly rebels but ultimately becomes a victim of the evil he serves. To portray the events of the summer of 1942 as authentically as possible, complex sets were constructed at several locations in Serbia. The sets were designed by Milenko Jeremić, one of Serbia’s most prominent production designers, who had previously worked with Zafranović on the film “Occupation in 26 Pictures.” The film’s creative and acting team, led by Zafranović, consists of more than 100 actors and over 60 professionals from across the region, including Miki Manojlović, Aleksej Bjelogrlić, Milan Marić, Katarina Radivojević, Rene Bitorajac and Leon Lučev. Zafranović is the recipient of the Belgrade Victor Award for outstanding contribution to cinema, presented at the 51st FEST.