The 30th edition of the European Film Festival Palić, which will unspool from 15-21 July in various locations across the Serbian frontier towns of Palić and Subotica – including the outdoor Summer Stage in Palić, as well as the Eurocinema, Abazija and Lifka movie theatres – has announced this year’s line-up and the recipients of its honorary Lifka Awards. More than 130 films from all over Europe will be screened in 15 different sections during the pre-festival activities and the actual event, with most of them enjoying their national premiere at Palić.

The Official Selection features a total of 12 titles, including several Berlinale entries, such as Afire [+lire aussi :
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interview : Christian Petzold
fiche film] by Christian Petzold (2023 Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize), Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes [+lire aussi :
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interview : Robert Schwentke
fiche film] by Robert Schwentke, which world-premiered in the Berlinale Special section, and the Panorama title Inside [+lire aussi :
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interview : Vasilis Katsoupis
fiche film] by Vasilis Katsoupis. Also competing at the Serbian gathering, we find various films from the 2023 Cannes selection, including this year’s opening title, Jeanne du Barry [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Maïwenn, Club Zero [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jessica Hausner
fiche film] by Jessica Hausner and The Old Oak [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Ken Loach, both of the latter having been presented in competition for the Palme d’Or. Three Thousand Numbered Pieces, the sophomore feature by Hungarian filmmaker Ádám Császi, The Land of Short Sentences [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Denmark’s Hella Joof and Things Unsaid [+lire aussi :
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interview : Eleonora Veninova
fiche film], the feature debut by Macedonian helmer Eleonora Veninova, will also be vying for the Golden Tower in Palić. Rounding off the selection, we find Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert [+lire aussi :
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interview : Margarethe von Trotta
fiche film] by German master Margarethe von Trotta and Perfect Days [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by her fellow countryman Wim Wenders, as well as the new film by rising Serbian filmmaker Pavle Vučković, Safety First, all of which will be screened Out of Competition. Tito Rodríguez, the newly appointed director of the Seville European Film Festival, directors Nana Janelidze, Milorad Milinković and Eran Kolirin, together with Daniela Weber, a member of the Berlinale festival team, will make up the official jury for this edition.

The ever-stimulating Parallels and Encounters competition, focused on Eastern European titles, includes Slow [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marija Kavtaradze
fiche film] by Marija Kavtaradze, which won the Award for Best Direction in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2023; Carbon [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Moldovan director Ion Bors, presented in the New Directors section of San Sebastián last year; Citizen Saint [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tinatin Kajrishvili
fiche film] by Tinatin Kajrishvili, which recently screened in Karlovy Vary’s main competition; Embryo Larva Butterfly [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kyros Papavassiliou
fiche film] by Kyros Papavassilou, which also screened at the Czech gathering as part of the Proxima selection; Cold as Marble [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Asif Rustamov, which premiered in the Tallinn Black Nights competition, where it received the Best Actor Award for Gurban Ismailov; the Venice 2022 entries Bread and Salt [+lire aussi :
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interview : Damian Kocur
fiche film] by Damian Kocur (Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti competition) and Ordinary Failures [+lire aussi :
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interview : Cristina Grosan
fiche film] by Cristina Grosan (world-premiered in the Giornate degli Autori); Do You Love Me? [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tonya Noyabrova
fiche film] by Tonya Noyabryova, which had its world premiere in the Panorama competition of the Berlinale earlier this year; Power [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], the sophomore feature by Slovak director Mátyás Prikler, which screened at IFFR (see the news); and Sisters [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], the debut film by Latvian director Linda Olte.

During the introductory press conference, the laureates of this year's Aleksandar Lifka Awards for Outstanding Contribution to European Cinema – named after the revered Yugoslavian cinematographer and travelling cinema founder – were also announced. Serbian actor Bogdan Diklić (A Stranger [+lire aussi :
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interview : Bobo Jelcic
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interview : Andreas Dresen
interview : Meltem Kaptan
fiche film], Stopped On Track [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]) will be honoured in the foreign-artist category. This year's recipient of the Regional Lifka Award is Macedonian actor Nikola Ristanovski (The Black Pin [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ivan Marinovic
fiche film]), while the Underground Spirit Award goes to Spanish multimedia artist María Cañas, for her “unique approach to film language and authentic author's poetics built off the mainstream industry”. In addition to the film programme, the Serbian festival will present numerous parallel activities including workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions and concerts. The full programme can be found on the gathering’s official website.