Award to Svetlana & Zoran Popovic
So well deserved… I thought when it was announced yesterday that my dear Belgrade friends Svetlana and Zoran Popovic were to be recipients of an award, a new one set up in the memory of the critic Nebojša Popović, who died in 2015, a prominent film critic at RTS and a programmer at the Belgrade Cultural Center theatre. The motivation for the award to the couple, who has been running a film school, Kvadrat, since 1990 and the festival Magnificent7 since 2005, goes like this:
“The award “Nebojša Popović” goes to SVETLANA i ZORAN POPOVIĆ for their devoted work on promoting and critically observing film and culture – for their dedication, pertinacity and uncompromisingness in all projects they have started and still are engaged in.”
“The award is established by prominent Serbian institutions such as: Serbian Film Center, National TV Broadcasting Company, Yugoslav Film Archive, Authors Film Festival, Beldocs Film Festival and the members of Nebojša Popović family. This is the first time that the award is given and the decision by the jury of three members is made unanimously. The award will be given on January 11th in the Theater “Belgrade Cultural Center” where Nebojša Popovič was the programmer. The task for the winners will be to make the selection for a one day film program at the Center.”
I could add lots of words to this, including the warm hospitality that I, my wife and the filmmakers, who have attended the festival for 12 years have been met with. See you in February for M7 number 13 – and thanks to Nevena Djonlic for helping with translation of texts. And if you want to see the two in a television clip go to 12.43 of
Photo: The couple on stage at Magnificent7 festival.