The Golden Mimosa for Best Director went to Nikola Ležaić for How Come It’s All Green Out There?, a coproduction between Serbia, Croatia, and Bulgaria.
Stefan Bošković received the Golden Mimosa for Best Screenplay for Otter (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Kosovo) directed by Srđan Vuletić.
The Golden Mimosa for Best Leading Actor went to Andrija Kuzmanović in Yugo Florida (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria) directed by Vladimir Tagić, while Anica Dobra and Lea Cok shared the Golden Mimosa for Best Leading Actress in Marko Naberšnik’s Whites Wash at Ninety / Belo se pere na devetdeset, a coproduction between Slovenia, Croatia, Italia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro.
The Montenegrin film 15 and a Half by Milivoj Mišo Obradović received the Special Jury Mention, and director Ivan Salatić was presented with the "Živko Nikolić" Award for Special Contribution to Film Expression for Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master, a coproduction between Montenegro, Italy, France, Croatia, and Serbia.
New additions to the festival this year included a selection of TV series, a focus on female directors, and workshops for young filmmakers, all of them organised together with the Film Centre of Montenegro.
A record number of Montenegrin productions have been selected this year. From 11 feature films in the main competition, five were Montenegrin or majority Montenegrin coproductions, and two were Montenegrin minority coproductions.
“In the last 5-6 years, Montenegrin film has been more and more noticed at festivals in the region and Europe, which coincides with the establishment of the Film Centre of Montenegro, which has been continuously co-financing film production for eight years. The results are extremely visible, this year eight films of majority or minority Montenegrin production will be shown in the festival," Aleksandra Božović, Head of the Film Centre of Montenegro, said.
A special segment was dedicated to women filmmakers, at the initiative of the Film Centre of Montenegro and within the framework of the UNICA Foundation for Southeast Europe. The discussions on women filmmakers had Bosnian director Aida Begić as a special guest.
The second edition of the industry event "Montenegro Film Rendezvous" was organised again in cooperation with the Film Centre of Montenegro.
For the first time, representatives of the French CNC attended the rendezvous and signed a bilateral coproduction agreement with the Film Centre of Montenegro.
WINNERS:
Grand Prix Festival Award – Big Golden Mimosa:
DJ Ahmet (North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia)
Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski
Produced by Cinema Futura
Coproduced by Sektor Film, Alter Vision, Backroom Productions, Baš Čelik Film House, 365Films
Supported by the North Macedonia Film Agency, Film Center Serbia, the Czech Film Fund, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Eurimages, the South Eastern Europe Cinema Network (SEE Cinema Network)
Golden Mimosa for Best Director:
Nikola Ležaić for How Come It’s All Green Out There? / Kako je ovde tako zeleno? (Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria)
Directed by Nikola Ležaić
Produced by Qče
Coproduced by Nukleus Film, PremierStudio, Forgrade Studio
Supported by Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Bulgarian National Film Center
Golden Mimosa for Best Screenplay:
Stefan Bošković for Otter / Vidra (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Kosovo)
Directed by Srđan Vuletić
Produced Artikulacija film
Coproduced by Redibis film, Izazov 365, Realstage, Buka production
Supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Ministry of Culture of Italy, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Sarajevo Canton, the Sarajevo Film Foundation, the Kosovo Cinematography Center
Golden Mimosa for Best Leading Actor:
Andrija Kuzmanović in Yugo Florida (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria)
Directed by Vladimir Tagić
Produced by Sense Production
Coproduced by Adriatic Western, Eclectica, Contrast Films
Supported by Film Center Serbia, the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Bulgarian National Film Center, Eurimages, Creative Europe – MEDIA
Golden Mimosa for Best Leading Actress (shared):
Anica Dobra and Lea Cok in Whites Wash at Ninety / Belo se pere na devetdeset (Slovenia, Croatia, Italia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro)
Directed by Marko Naberšnik
Produced by Perfo Production
Coproduced by Biberche, Black Cat Production, Kinorama, Protos Film, Quasar
Supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, Pro plus, FS Viba Film, Film Center Serbia, the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Film Commission Friuli Venezia Gulia (FVG), Eurimages
Special JuryMention:
15 and a Half / 15 i po (Montenegro)
Directed by Milivoj Mišo Obradović
Produced by Giggling Goat Production
Coproduced by Atomic production, the Radio Television of Montenegro
Supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, the City of Podgorica
"Živko Nikolić" Award for Special Contribution to Film Expression:
Director Ivan Salatić for Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master / Otapanje vladara (Montenegro, Italy, France, Croatia, Serbia)
Produced by Meander Film
Coproduced by Nightswim, Bocalupo Films, Dinaridi Film, Non-Aligned Films, the Radio Television of Montenegro
Supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Ministry of Culture of Italy, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Film Center Serbia
