22/05/2025 - We sat down to talk to the executives of the Serbian festival about the 2025 edition, happening amidst extraordinary global and local circumstances

(© Luka Knežević Strika)

Mara Prohaska Marković is an art historian and curator. She has occupied different positions (PR manager, main producer and executive director) at Beldocs over the years. Since 2020, she has been the festival director of the Serbian gathering. Marko Grba Singh is a filmmaker and curator. He first came to Beldocs in 2016, when he presented his mid-length film Abdul and Hamza. The following year, he joined the team as a selector. From 2018 on, he has held the position of artistic director at the festival.

Cineuropa: Regarding the programming of this year's edition of Beldocs (21-27 May), what things did you especially take into consideration?
Marko Grba Singh: When curating this year’s edition, we were deeply aware of the urgency and instability defining our world today. The planet is shifting towards a series of intertwined crises: the resurgence of authoritarianism, accelerating environmental collapse, mass displacement and the psychological toll of digital life. We believe that documentaries have a crucial role not just in documenting these issues, but also in interrogating them and confronting audiences with truths that are often ignored or suppressed. This year’s selection reflects our commitment to cinema as a form of resistance, reflection and awakening. We chose films that demand engagement and action because remaining neutral in times like these is not an option. We always tend to discover young auteurs and emerging talents. Our international competition consists of first, second or third films, so it's a challenge to scout and watch as many debutants as possible.

Did you face any specific challenges, programming- or organisation-wise?
Mara Prohaska Marković: It’s always about the dynamic between our vision and the possibilities shaped by the context. And the context we are working in is volatile. No matter how experienced we are, we strive to listen carefully and anticipate every possible scenario – yet reality still finds a way to surprise us with unexpected challenges. We’ve learned to be resilient, flexible and ready to improvise creatively in the face of each obstacle. Student protests have been ongoing in Serbia for over six months, the largest in both scale and intensity in the country’s history. The social and political crisis has led to the cancellation or postponement of many film festivals, making Beldocs the first to take place under these circumstances. Since Beldocs is dedicated to audience development and nurturing young talent, and because we work closely with young people, it felt only natural to continue our collaboration even in these challenging times. And yes – it has influenced some of our decisions. One of them is welcoming film theorist Pavle Levi, who is curating the Film as Discontent programme at SKC, the space occupied by the students, and is leading the master class Landscapes and People (Towards Instigative Cinema) at the Yugoslav Cinematheque.

And what about the industry section?
MPM: Beldocs Industry Days is less dependent on local upheavals, and more connected to the European and global audiovisual context. Within the European audiovisual ecosystem, Beldocs has been recognised as the main gathering place for international film professionals in the Western Balkans. We’ve developed Beldocs Industry Days into a strong platform for fostering new contacts, collaborations and co-productions among film professionals from the West Balkans, the Baltic countries, post-Soviet and South Caucasus countries, and Western Europe – with Poland as the 2025 Focus Country, alongside guest producers from France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. A wide range of events are taking place within this framework: Balkan Young Talents, Beldocs XR Academy, Beldocs Market, Play.Docs and the Beldocs Pitching Forum, which will host 20 creative teams from across the region. These teams will be joined by leading international producers, programmers, buyers and decision makers.

Where do you currently see Beldocs and its position in the regional, as well as the global, documentary film-festival circuit?
MGS: Starting in 2008 from a very small and modest organisation, with almost no budget, Beldocs fought for its place as one of the leading documentary festivals in the Balkans. We became a hub for regional filmmakers – both those with finished films and those developing new movies in the industry programme. We connected and collaborated with many festivals from Doc Alliance, having successfully organised mutually curated programmes with Doclisboa, Ji.hlava IDFF and Thessaloniki. We facilitated international and regional cultural youth exchanges, one of them being Connecting Futures, with FIDMarseille and Underdox. Beldocs is part of many European festival networks, such as F.A.M.E. – an alliance of 24 European organisations working to address shared challenges, and support democratic and independent storytelling across the continent – and YOUNG4FILM, focused on the development of young audiences.

What are your plans for the future?
MGS: I don’t see the future as being very bright in general, so it's hard to think clearly. The plan is to try to survive, resist and educate people through documentary films.