On the eighth day of the 49th International Film Festival - FEST, organized by the Belgrade Festivals Centre - CEBEF, on Friday, May 14, members of the cast and crew of the films ‘Oasis’, ‘Loan Shark’, and ‘The Spring Poem’ spoke at the press conference in the Kombank Hall.
Ivan Ikić, director and screenwriter of the film ‘Oasis’, said on the occasion of the Serbian premiere of this film: ‘This is a film about the need for a man to master his freedom. It is the only thing that was given to all of us at birth, and somehow, we forget that we possess it. However, the film is about other things as well, above all about love, about unhidden emotions that flourish, which we have completely eliminated in today's world and forgotten they existed. We skillfully hide them in our daily performance and build masks, which do not allow those emotions to come out.’ Additionally, Ikić commented on what FEST means to him: ‘In my case, it is something very nostalgic and is related to a period of my life when I was growing up with films. It is an emotion that lasts.’
Nemanja Ćeranić, the director of the film ‘Loan Shark’, spoke about the main character in the film, the loan shark Mundir: ‘It is a rather difficult job, which has taken on a different form today. There is a tradition in that business throughout history, however today it is completely different. He wants to change, yet circumstances do not allow him to do so. He is in the gray zone, and he is trying to get out of it, however he does not succeed.’ Regarding the experience of the world premiere at FEST, the director added: ‘There is no fear, but there is excitement. It is wonderful that we are in the Main Competition Programme, for which we are grateful to FEST.’
Director Natalija Avramović spoke about the experience of working on the film ‘The Spring Poem’, in which she participated as a producer and co-writer: ‘Writing the screenplay was very cathartic, and it freed me from all the emotions I had in the previous period. I knew I needed to make this film as soon as possible, while it was all still alive and real in me. The filming lasted only nine days, in three cities and two countries. The pace was hard, however I believed in this film and the story, and I did everything that was needed to be done with a lot of enthusiasm.’
On Saturday, May 15, the reruns of the films ‘Jazavac pred sudom: With the Badger on Trial’ (Belgrade Youth Centre at 9 a.m.), ‘Loan Shark’ (Kombank Hall at 9 a.m.), ‘Oasis’ (Kombank Hall at 11.30 a.m.), ‘The Spring Poem’ (Belgrade Youth Centre at 11.30 a.m.), short film ‘Spark’ (Kombank Hall at 9 a.m., before the screening of the film ‘Loan Shark’), and ‘The Dawn’ (Cineplexx Galerija Belgrade at 2 p.m.) will be shown.
