Other? Europe Film Programme / Seize the Film
Film programme of the final arch Other? Europe ‘Seize the Film’ will bring us a diverse and extraordinary programme. It will be held at the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad from 12 to 16 October.
Along with the screenings of 29 brilliant outlook-changing short films, Seize the Film brings us performances by two incredible international artists – Erwin Aljukić from Germany and Kenta Kambara from Japan, as well as the expert conference ‘From Non-Discrimination to Audience Development’ where the opening speaker is Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the European Film Academy.
The 20th edition of the Seize the Film festival is this year’s most accessible regional film festival.
For the first time, a film festival is accessible to people with physical disabilities, the deaf, and the blind. The films have closed captions in Serbian, and for the first time in the history of film festivals in Serbia, the films come with audio description and dubbing in Serbian.
All spoken segments are translated into Serbian sign language, and the events take place in a physically accessible space – the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad cinema.
We are building a new city with Erwin Aljukić
The festival officially opens in the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad cinema on Wednesday, 12 October at 6 p.m. German actor Erwin Aljukić awaits us on the stage, with the performance ‘We Will Build a New City’ live on stage, and then he will discuss with us the importance of art and social activism. Erwin is an actor, performer, activist and member of the European Film Academy. He is known for various film achievements (the series Marienhof, and the film Wo ist Fred and Kollegen). Erwin is one of the public advocates for the rights of actors with disabilities and gay artists in Germany, and he is also a member of the European Film Academy. In addition to the great Erwin, the audience will also enjoy last year’s award-winning film Orchestra Los Bengalas.
Matthijs Woulter Knol, the director of the European Film Academy, will open the 20th Seize the Film, and on 13 October, he will speak at the conference ‘From Non-Discrimination to Audience Development’.
The conference will provide answers to the questions of which elements of accessibility must be fulfilled to influence the development of the audience, how to budget them, what the benefits of an accessible festival are, as well as how can we influence the public and decision-makers to allocate more attention and funds to the accessibility of film festivals.
As part of the conference, a round table discussion on the topic ‘Overcoming the Challenges Set by Film and Festival Producers in Achieving Accessibility’ is planned, during which the attendees will present their experiences, and the obstacles they encounter in their work, ask questions and look for solutions. The special speaker at the conference will be Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the European Film Academy.
Outlook-Changing Films
On the same day after the conference, from 6 p.m. in the cinema of the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad, screenings of 29 films from 18 countries of the world will be shown as part of the competition programme of the festival. The films are different artistically, thematically and genre-wise, but they all carry a strong message. They show us the importance of empathy, solidarity and friendship, and radiate care for themselves and others. They point to the responsibility of all of us to build new cities for everyone, and they ask for solutions and changes. They radiate love.
A detailed schedule of the film programme, as well as plot summaries, are available at this link.
After the screenings, there will be targeted discussions every day. We will explain, discuss and exchange impressions. We will learn, and critically examine ourselves, others and the world around us. We will break down stereotypes and prejudices and change our outlooks. Our guests include Erwin Aljukić, Milica Veljković, Siniša Tucić, Helga Paškvan, Milica Lazarević and Kenta Kambara.
Seize the Film closes off with the performance of Kenta Kambara.
After the film screenings, on 16 October, we will enjoy the movie Kuden&Kenta Kambara in which Kenta is the main actor, followed by his performance The Sun. Kenta is a Japanese performer who, with his art, wants to influence the change of the public’s perspective towards people with disabilities. He performed at the closing of the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016 and the opening of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Seize the Film is the only regional film festival on the theme of disability. For 20 years, it has been successfully held in Novi Sad and organised by KAO Parnas. Since 2011 it is also being held in Rijeka, under the organisation of Spirit Association, and since 2017 in Banja Luka as well, under the leadership of the humanitarian organisation Partner, and in Kotor helped by ART 365 from Podgorica.
Photo: M. Tomić