10/16/2024
Filmmakers have once again been developing an open and innovative cross-border film landscape in Nova Gorica and Gorizia.
From 8 to 13 October 2024, the conurbation of both Gorizias hosted the traditional film festival entitled Tribute to a Vision. Despite the minimal geographical distance between the two cities, their culture and richness are immensely different. The festival was hosted at various venues on both sides of the border, creating a unique opportunity for direct dialogue and cooperation among cultural institutions, filmmakers and viewers. The creators of the festival firmly believe that film and audiovisual media serve as a powerful tool for understanding and exploring society and its changes over time, as well as help connecting different cultures, both those from immediate vicinity and those from more distant places.
The festival, a part of GO! 2025 official programme, also features a Darko Bratina Award, named after the founder of Kinoatelje. This year’s main award was presented to Nicolas Philibert, French director and one of the leading world documentarians. This award acknowledges his film opus, as well as his soft, yet thorough approach to documenting various social topics and paradigms of the modern world.
In the spirit of enlargement, connected to ECoC GO! 2025, and in the desire to invite prolific authors to our region, this year’s novelty is the Visioners sector. Among others, this sector featured Gregor Božič, the author of the Atlas of Forgotten Orchards ECoC project. His short entitled The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent was awarded the Palme d’Or Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
A special attention was paid to films dealing with the most burning topics, such as war and its consequences. The Afterwar film by the Danish director Birgitte Staermose touched the hearts of the viewers, featuring segments from the after-war Pristina, where children were selling peanuts and cigarettes to survive.
Photo: Jure Batagelj, Jakob Koncut
