Category: NEWS

August 13th 2025

The Sarajevo Film Festival will be holding a pre-festival screening of “Hanka”, a film directed by Slavko Vorkapić on August 14th at 8:30 p.m. at the Ljetno Kino Coca-Cola in Sarajevo. This feature by Vorkapić, which has been digitally restored, is based on a screenplay adapted from the eponymous drama by the Bosnian Jewish author Isak Samokovlija.  “Hanka” represents the only Yugoslav feature to be directed by Vorkapić; it was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.

Kinopravda Institute is currently in the process of editing Petrić’s book about the life and work of Slavko Vorkapić. Vorkapić acquired renown in Hollywood for his mastery of dynamic visual montage. Upon his return to Yugoslavia during the 1950’s, he taught as a professor at the Belgrade Film and Theater Academy (the predecessor of today’s Faculty of Dramatic Arts). Stay tuned for more information on Petrić’s book about Vorkapić in the coming months.

July 16th 2025

The Château de Montsoreau – Museum of Contemporary Art is currently holding the exhibition The Mirror Effect, a group exhibition featuring the works of over 50 contemporary artists from around the world. Housing one of the largest collections of works by the English conceptual art group Art & Language, the Château brought together this international group of artists for The Mirror Effect to explore how the collective exerted its influence on contemporary artistic practices. The exhibition, which opened on July 11th, has been described by its curator, Lara Pan as “an intuitive ode to the collective.”

Among the artists whose works are being exhibited is Igor Simić (b. 1988) with The Thinker in the Supermarket (2013). In this short, 7 minute video, Simić muses on the commodification of nature and its bounties, of ideas, of people and the detrimental consequences that proceed from this phenomenon. For more information about works by Igor Simić in our roster, please check our distribution catalogue. All inquiries about rental and distribution should be sent to → [email protected].

June 30th 2025

Anthology Film Archives, a center for the preservation, study and exhibition of film art in New York, has announced the six-part series Interceptions: Yugoslavia in the Image World, which will endeavor to interrogate the cinematic legacy of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through the lens of “the image world”. Presented from July 18 to July 21, the series will cover a broad gamut of genres and styles that flourished in Yugoslavia and its successor states. The program revisits Harvard Film Archive’s program Yugoslav Junction, which was held in November 2024.

The work of Vlada Petrić has been included in the third program of this series, “The Animated Unconscious,” with Light Play: A Tribute to Moholy-Nagy. Based on László Moholy-Nagy’s 1930 kinetic piece Light Modulator, Petrić applied Dziga Vertov’s novel theories of the interval and montage to reinterpret the work, creating a psychedelic and unparalleled jewel of cine-pyrotechnics that centers light and motion as the main carriers of the film’s meaning.

This rarely-screened gem of experimental film, completed in 1988, is available for preview as a digital file through the Kinopravda Institute distribution program. The 16mm print is held at Harvard Film Archive. For more information on works by Vlada Petrić and for inquiries about rentals, please contact us at → [email protected]

June 4th 2025

The films of acclaimed director Želimir Žilnik offer poignant social commentary, often utilizing a documentary style to illuminate real-life situations. Among his notable works are “Tito Among the Serbs for the Second Time” (1994), which provocatively imagines the return of Tito to engage with contemporary Serbs, and “Black Film” (1971), a direct confrontation with the issue of homelessness as Žilnik invites homeless individuals into his own living space. Another significant piece, “Inventory” (1975), delves into the lives of foreign “guest workers” in Munich, capturing their experiences and challenges. A screening of these works was held on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025, at 7:00 PM, at Cinema Zawya, located at 15 Emad El Deen St, Downtown Cairo – Egypt.

Žilnik’s cinematic approach consistently tackles pressing societal issues, including the plight of the homeless, the intricate experiences of migrant workers, and critical reflections on political figures and the evolving landscape of society. Through these works, he provides a raw and unfiltered perspective, cementing his reputation as a filmmaker dedicated to exploring the human condition within its socio-political context. The recent screening offered an opportunity for audiences to engage with his impactful and thought-provoking films. A special selection of his films commissioned by major arts institutions can be found in our distribution catalog. All inquiries about rentals should be directed to → [email protected]

May 2nd 2025

The conclusion of the 25th edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden was marked by legendary filmmaker Želimir Žilnik receiving the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award in the fiction feature category for his film Eighty Plus. The FIPRESCI jury, consisting of Hugo Emmerzael, Jenni Zylka and Marko Stojiljković selected Žilnik’s film for the “disarming deliberate naivety of its non-professional actors, its subversion of [our] expectations about ageing, and layered social commentary.”

Žilnik, a director who has gained fame for his pioneering hybrid filmmaking practice and his sustained inquiry into society and culture in Southeast Europe, recently joined the distribution roster of Kinopravda Institute. A special selection of his films commissioned by major arts institutions can be found in our distribution catalog. All inquiries about rentals should be directed to → [email protected] 

April 15th 2025

Doplgenger, the artist duo consisting of Isidora Ilić and Boško Prostran, will be participating in the 38th edition of the European Media Arts Festival in Osnabrück, which is open from 23-27 April 2025. The festival’s theme for this year’s edition is “Witnessing Witnessing”. Artists from around the world will display works which testify to the festival’s message that witnessing is not just about recording events, but also about the influence that power and responsibility have on shaping the way that historical narratives are presented.

Doplgenger will be showing their installation Record of the Termite Landscape (2024) as part of the festival exhibition at Kunsthalle Osnabrück. The two-channel video installation juxtaposes footage of miners in Socialist Yugoslavia with ideas about the hidden representation of mining in a capitalist context. To rent this and other moving images works by the artist duo please contact us at → [email protected]

March 11 2025

Today, on 11 March, we commemorate the 97th anniversary of the birth of our patron and inspiration Professor Vladimir “Vlada” Petrić. Born on this day in 1928 in Prnjavor, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he was fascinated by the phenomenon of film from an early age. After graduating from the national film school in Belgrade, he was appointed to the position of associate professor of film history at the Academy of Theater, Film, Radio and Television in Belgrade in 1959. The receipt of a Fulbright Scholarship opened up a pathway for him to continue his academic pursuits in the United States.

In 1973, he defended his doctoral dissertation on Soviet revolutionary film in the United States, obtaining the first ever doctoral degree awarded in the field of film theory in the US. On the occasion of his 97th birthday, we are proud to announce that this historic dissertation will soon become available to the public as part of our initiative to publish the complete works of Vlada Petrić. Additional information is forthcoming.

February 17 2025

We are excited to announce that works by the acclaimed filmmaker Želimir Žilnik have become part of our distribution roster. Known for his socially engaged cinema, Žilnik’s films offer compelling insights into contemporary social realities.

A master of blending documentary and fiction, Žilnik often features non-professional actors in his cinematic creations, giving voice to lived experiences. The films by Žilnik which we have on offer for distribution were specially commissioned by renowned art institutions, two of which – Kunsthalle Wien and Centre Pompidou – have hosted career retrospectives dedicated to the artist.

Adding to his impressive body of work, Žilnik’s newest film was premiered at the prestigious Berlinale Film Festival on 14 February. This most recent exploration of contemporary social issues promises to continue his legacy of impactful and thought-provoking cinema.

For more about the artist’s works in our program, check out our distribution page. If you want to bring Žilnik’s unique cinematic vision to your audience, you can contact us here for distribution inquiries → [email protected]

February 7 2025

We are thrilled to welcome Igor Bošnjak to our distribution program. His moving image art offers a powerful perspective on the Balkans, cutting through distorted narratives surrounding history, migration, surveillance, and the relationship between image and time.

From 2006 to 2016, Bošnjak founded and curated the namaTRE.ba biennial project. Since 2009, he has lived and worked in Trebinje, where he is a professor and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts. His work has been exhibited at numerous venues both in the Balkans and internationally, including the Whitechapel Gallery (London), Kunsthalle Wien, the Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina (Novi Sad), and the Museum of Contemporary Art RS (Banja Luka), among others.

To learn more about the artist’s video works available through our distribution program, please visit our distribution page. For inquiries about his work, please contact us at → [email protected].

December 13 2024

Kinopravda Institute is proud to announce that it is a program partner at this year’s virtual edition of Media City Film Festival.

Media City Film Festival (MCFF), established in 1994, is a globally influential organization dedicated to the advancement of artists’ cinema, moving image culture, and contemporary art from Canada and around the world, with important commitments to BIPOC and marginalized creators. Recognized as an award-winning international leader in the creation, reception, exhibition, and dissemination of film and digital art, MCFF seeks to advance artists whose practices are experimental in form, genre, content, and aesthetics.

The 27th edition of Media City Film Festival presents more than 70 films and digital artworks with nearly 50 world premieres over the course of its online celebration: December 9–30, 2024.

Audiences will experience new films, digital restorations, and historical masterpieces from legendary, award-winning, and emerging artists including Artavazd Péléchian, Ja’Tovia Gary, Mona Hatoum, Kamal Aljafari, Richard Serra, Jocelyne Saab, Madeleine Hunt–Ehrlich, Toshio Matsumoto, Sharon Lockhart, Mustafa Abu Ali, Skip Norman, Rose Lowder, Akram Zaatari, Sky Hopinka, Harun Farocki, Little Egypt Collective, Kevin Jerome Everson, Suneil Sanzgiri, and dozens more.
All screenings and events are free in global open access at → www.mediacityfilmfestival.com