FEST (film festival)

Annual film festival in Belgrade, Serbia

FEST

Location| Belgrade, Serbia
Founded| 1971; 54 years ago (1971)
Language| International
Website| www.fest.rs

FEST, also known as Belgrade International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Belgrade, Serbia since 1971.

## History

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FEST was first held in 1971.[1][2] It was the only film festival in socialist countries that attracted big Hollywood stars such as Jack Nicholson, Kirk Douglas, Robert De Niro, Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and famous directors like Miloš Forman, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Sam Peckinpah, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

The festival's significance declined in the 1990s, mostly due to the international embargo FR Yugoslavia was under at the time. In 1993 and 1994, it was not held, and in 1997, it was interrupted in protest against police brutality taking place against student protesters.

In 2007, 98,191 tickets were sold for around 80 films.[3] In 2007, it was opened by actress Catherine Deneuve and in 2009 by actor Ralph Fiennes.

As of 2024[update] it is also referred to as the Belgrade International Film Festival FEST,[4] or FEST – Belgrade International Film Festival.[5] In 2024, the festival took place across seven locations across Belgrade.[4]

## Awards

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A series of awards known as the Belgrade Victor awards are awarded at the festival. These include the Belgrade Victor for Outstanding Contribution to Film Art, Belgrade Victor for Creative Achievement, and the top prize, the Belgrade Victor for Best Film.[6][7] There are also occasional honorary awards known as the Belgrade Victors for Best Contribution to World Cinema.[4]

Other awards include the Nebojša Đukelić Award, Milutin Čolić Award, FEDEORA Award, and an Audience Award.[4]

## B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings

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In 2006, B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings were established as a part of FEST. Program and business focus of B2B are cinematographies of the Europe out of Europe countries. B2B focuses on production, authors and films with the origin geographically in Europe, but still not enough intensely included in European integrative currents, also in countries outside Europe with strong European influence and heritage.[citation needed]

## References

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1. ^ Iordanova, Dina; Graffy, Julian; Wood, Nancy; Taylor, Richard, eds. (2019). The BFI Companion to Eastern European and Russian Cinema. Bloomsbury. pp. 1942–1943\. ISBN 978-1838718497.
2. ^ "Belgrade Film Festival – FEST"[usurped], International Radio of Serbia, (VoiceOfSerbia.org in English) (glassrbije.org in Serbian), February 22, 2013.
3. ^ Beogradski međunarodni filmski festival — FEST 2007 Archived 2018-06-27 at the Wayback Machine.
4. ^ a b c d "Yury Bykov's The Owner scoops the Belgrade Victor". Cineuropa. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
5. ^ "Belgrade International Film Festival 2024". MUBI. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
6. ^ Kostica, Dragana (13 February 2018). "46. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 23.II". STILL IN BELGRADE. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
7. ^ "Belgrade Victor Award for Asghar Farhadi". Cinema Without Borders. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.

## External links

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* FEST film festival official website

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