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The fifth edition of the Galicia Film Festival has ended, which this year attracted many film lovers, directors, actors and enthusiasts of the seventh art.
Held in Galnik, the festival offers a unique experience of open-air screenings, debates, workshops and parties that celebrate creativity and cinema. The festival celebrates the talent and creativity of its participants, and everyone present has the opportunity to enjoy films that leave a lasting impression.
The jury, composed of Gjorgi Jolevski, Tamara Kotevska, Martin Ivanov and Jean Dakar, unanimously selected the winners of the 5th GFF, namely:
Special Prizes:
Best Actor Couple: Eric K. Bulianna and Florence Blaine Mbaye for “Making Babies,” directed by Eric K. Bulianna from Canada.
Young Actor Award: Gordon Rocks for his performance in The Lemon Tree, directed by Rachel Walden, USA.
Major awards:
Best Cinematography: Sebastian Weber’s “Unheard of,” directed by Turkey’s Ramazan Kilic.
Best Screenplay Award: Rachel Walden, “The Lemon Tree” directed by Rachel Walden of the United States.
Best Director Award: Eric K. Bulliana for the film “Making Babies”, from Canada.
Best Actor: Xavier Rivard-Dessy for “Kings,” directed by Canadian director Olivier Coté.
Best Actress: Ulyana Zolkina for the Ukrainian film “Blueberry Summer” directed by Masha Kondakova.
Audience Award: Fasten Your Seat Belts, directed by Mikhail Morskov and Vitaly Dudka of Russia.
Best Animated Film: “The Pond” by Alexandra Miott and Jean-Sébastien Hamel of Canada.
Best Documentary Award: “One Thousand and One Nights”, directed by Croatian director Rhea Rajcic.
Best Feature Film Award: “A Short Journey” by Erenik Beqiri from Albania.
The Best Film Award at the 5th Galinić Film Festival: “Unheard” directed by Turkey’s Ramazan Kilic.
A lot could be said about Gjorgi Jolevski and his career in theatre and cinema, but in Galinić we also met him in his capacity as a member of the festival jury. He enjoyed the mountain air and took advantage of the early morning coolness to fly to the agreed location to talk about the fifth edition of the festival, which is about to end. Ahead of him and his colleagues lies a big decision – the selection of the winning films and actors. As Galinić unfolds before us, we begin to delve into questions about cinema and festivals, creativity and the urge to explore and create.
When you were invited to serve on the jury for the 5th Galicia Film Festival, what did you know about the festival?
I have to admit that I didn’t have much information, it’s a relatively young festival, very specific. I was very proud to be invited to join the jury of a festival for the first time. I’ve been on many juries in the field of theater arts and abroad… I didn’t have much information, so I started researching to find out what it was all about. I knew that this festival existed before, that it was a short film festival, but what kind of works, who the guests were… I also had some knowledge last year, but not too much, I would say.
What does GFF hope to do for Galicnik and the Macedonian film industry?
From what I have seen so far and from the days I have been a guest at the festival and Galinik, I must admit that I am amazed, first of all, by the choices made by the festival selector, Marko Crnogorski, and by the extraordinary organization under the leadership of Jana Paunovska. Both of them have promoted this format in an amazing way, an unusual format for short films – there are two film festivals in Macedonia, this is one of them – but this festival is held in Galinik, at a critical moment in Macedonian history, the Macedonian language, Macedonian art, culture… the hometown of one of our most important revivalists, Gjorđija Pulevski, a place touched by God.
In this whole context, having a capsule in one place – I can’t call it a village or a city – is extremely important and this festival can only help to promote Galician and Macedonian cinema on the world film festival map.
Because the works participating in the festival are of excellent quality, there are many films that have been screened in major festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Montreal, India… I am very happy to host Galiniq at such a festival, and I think it is necessary for the country and the entire film industry to support this festival so that it can be better promoted and developed, of course.
In that direction, how important do you think it is to build this ecosystem around festivals, because festivals are more than just those few festivals. It’s building a culture, revitalizing parts of Macedonia like Galinnik, not only gathering the film industry, but also bringing art and culture closer to local residents who may not have any other contact with art and cultural events for most of the year?
Of course… like this festival is left to itself, it has no support… a whole infrastructure needs to be built, for ecotourism, I see there are tourists from abroad for horseback riding tours, but all of this has to be connected and popularized somehow. I was pleasantly surprised that there were so many spectators during these few days, I thought there would be a few filmmakers and that was it. But no! This amphitheater in Upia was packed with excellent people.
What also amazes me is the solidarity – the festival unites the entire young creative film force, who in Galinić exchange ideas with one another with unprecedented joy and enthusiasm, agree on new projects, they discuss the future of cinema, they discuss the future of art.
There is also a workshop led by our famous playwright Dejan Dukovski, where young screenwriters finish their scripts and prepare them for filming. In addition, some scenes that were produced in this workshop last year have already started filming, so it is not just a presentation of films from outside and Macedonian cinema, but an attempt to do as much as possible, more specifically the works here are being produced or promoted, with the goal of achieving results and appearing at major world festivals.
You said that the synergy that happens between creatives and film and art lovers is very important, so how important do you think it is to have these festivals, especially short film festivals, in more remote places, because the whole world is attracted to festivals and can be in one place again? Let the energy flow here, let the conversation flow here, because in bigger places, especially in Skopje, festivals happen to be scattered – audiences and guests – and there is no creative synergy.
When you see the productions of this festival, its beauty lies first of all – under the open sky, it is really a special magic. You breathe the clean air of Galichnik, you see the constellations, you are completely connected with the universe, when you watch the film the stars fall, the wind blows, it cools down, the body regenerates, the synergy of the cycles during the projection is truly unforgettable.
Whether before or after the screening, socializing and communication continue, and it’s all a cycle of energy that exists and spreads from the screen to the audience, thinking about the beautiful energy that the audience itself possesses.
If this festival takes place in Skopje, it will not be the same festival, I think it is this period, August 2 – Ilinden, Galnik, Macedonian traditions, international guests, great young creatives, I would say an alternative Macedonia of film art, who will stage great works in the next 20-30 years, and we will have the opportunity to focus on the awards that Macedonian artists will screen and receive at great festivals.
You mentioned that Trnogorski carefully selected more than 800 films to make the final selection. What do you think of the aesthetic he wanted to capture for us with his selection this year?
Indeed, Marko Crnogorski made a brilliant choice, and you can see that he made it with great love. From the 800 films that were present at the festival, he chose about 25 films from different parts of the world, I would say from almost all continents. Different energies, different themes, but mostly art films, and every day a different mix of films that correspond to each other, but every day a different feeling of treatment of topics with universal ideas, originating from the local. Problems of certain cultures. There are films from Canada, Turkey, the Middle East, Indonesia, European films, American-Mexican films, films from the region… You can see from the problems they deal with and from the ideas themselves that the world is not exactly a nice place to live. I would say that every 20-30 years the world goes through a certain crisis that young artists feel. Now, of course, if they don’t find the problem, if they don’t try to remind the public and those who have to make changes, changes need to be made to protect humanity, to protect the planet, to protect the spirit of people, and that’s what this festival is about. So yes, what Marko offers us are art films of high aesthetic quality that raise questions about the direction in which humanity is going.
I would say that these themes might be best captured through short films and the like.
Short films are an extraordinary form of expression. We started talking about this yesterday, some people like to read novels, some people like to read short stories, some people like poetry, some people like haiku… All forms exist, and this is very important, because every form exists. People choose the form that suits them best. That short form of expression – the short film – is really perfect, because in fifteen minutes you can tell a story that is concentrated and confined to a particular frame, but that confined frame actually opens up the freedom of expression because it is more concentrated. And focused on the topic you want to talk about. So in one evening we probably watched seven or eight films, and in the time there was only one feature film and one theme, so that we saw more authors, more cultures, more stories, so our body and mind were somehow satisfied. I am very happy and satisfied to get used to this rhythm. In addition to this, I shot several short films last year. I used to make mainly feature films, but these short films are a very wonderful form.
This year is already the fifth edition of the Galicia Film Festival. As you said, in this context and with so little support, this small celebration is a real feat, especially organizing it in such a place where logistical challenges are obvious. Where are you watching the tenth anniversary celebration?
So I hope it will develop on many levels. First of all, it will join the association of large festivals, with equal treatment for films; increase the number of visitors; yes, the guests come, because this year really great guests came, names like Sara Klimoska, Igor Angelovski, Dejan Dukovski, Gjorgi Unkovski, Vardan Tozia, Sara Sandeva, Naum Doksevski, Srdjan Janakiević are here… Very good artists, people of a beautiful group, but I hope in 10 years to see big names from world cinema, and I think this will be a great joy for the audience, theatergoers and filmmakers, and also for the residents of Galicia who live in this beautiful place in the summer.
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