04 March 2019 - The first International Film Festival “Uhvati Film Montenegro” (English: “Seize the Film” Montenegro) will be held on March 5 and 6 in Kotor. The opening ceremony of the Festival, film screenings and the discussions are planned for Tuesday, March 5 at 4 pm (at Cinema Boka) and March 6 at 12 pm (at the Solidarity Gallery in the Old Town of Kotor).
As the director of the festival Aleksandra Božović explained for TVCG, film festival Seize the Film is part of the regional network Film festival Seize This Day With Me/Seize the film, which has been held for the past 16 years in Novi Sad, Rijeka and Banja Luka, and this year it comes to Montenegro.
According to its organisers, the Film Festival Seize this Day with Me - Seize the Film includes screenings of foreign and domestic films on the topic of the lives, activities and achievements of people with disabilities and the following programs: film workshops, forums/discussions with the filmmakers and actors who appear the films, a seminar for journalists and students of journalism, exhibitions, performances, etc… in which people with disabilities participate.
16 films from 13 countries (among which are Japan, Italy, Argentina, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Russia, Germany, Serbia) will be screened at the Festival in Kotor and they are selected from the program of the Novi Sad Festival 2018.
The festival features 16 films about people with different types of disabilities, different age, social, national, gender structures. It is this diversity that gives a broader picture of the situation of persons with disabilities, so it is possible to notice differences in approach and position, but also similarities.
The first International Film Festival Seize the Film Montenegro will be opened with the Japanese short film "Wheelchair dancer".
"The film projections are preceded by a panel discussion on the participation of persons with disabilities in culture, on institutions’ accessibility in regards to people with disabilities, but also on content, as well as how people with disabilities are displayed in movies and in the media," Božovic explained. The panel discussion will be organized in Kotor on March 5, starting at 12 pm in the Solidarity Gallery in the Old Town of Kotor.
"Guests of the festival and panelists will be representatives of the public sector, media houses, artists, representatives of non-governmental associations both from the country and from abroad," said Božovic.
As explained by the festival organisers, the goals of the Festival are: “informing the public about the lives, activities, positions, and accomplishments of people with disabilities, recognizing one’s own identity and potential, facilitating a better understanding and acceptance of differences, and influencing the media to more adequately follow activities and events in which people with disabilities participate”.
The Film Festival has, is in its 16 years of existence, attracted the attention of numerous media outlets, and, as a topic, it has had an everyday presence in both printed and electronic media.
The festival is organized by the non-governmental Art Association 365 in partnership with Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro and supported by the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro and the Municipality of Kotor. The festival is supported by the Cultural Centre Nikola Đurković Kotor, the Cultural Centre Novi Sad, as well as the partner organizations from the region AS Parnas Novi Sad, Spirit Rijeka Association and HO Partner Banja Luka.
