January 05, 2023
The film project “Folk Play”, to be directed by Mirjana KaranoviÄ and produced by This and That Productions, was selected for support at the competition of the French National Center for Film (Centre national de cinema et de l’mage animee – CNC).
The National Center for Film and Moving Images from France announced the results of the plenary sessions held in November 2022, where, as one of five projects from around the world, the film project “Folk Play” from Serbia got support.
Mirjana KaranoviÄ, the film director said: “I feel very proud because a script from our country was chosen among several hundreds from all over the world and which managed to get the support of the most demanding film fund in the world. For me, it is the best proof of the quality of our film project. FOLK PLAY immediately attracted attention with its provocative and emotional story. I am sure that we will make a good and attractive film”.
The producer of the film Snezana van Hauvelingen pointed out that “FOLK PLAY ” is the first film co-production project supported by the CNC as a result of the bilateral agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of France that was signed in 2019 with the aim of improving cultural cooperation between the two countries and promoting Serbian culture and art in the world. “It is very difficult to get support from the Cinema du Monde Fund, and it is an even bigger precedent that this support comes even before support for production in our own country. I hope that Film Center Serbia will also recognize the importance and support the project too” emphasized the film’s producer.
Bojan VuletiÄ, the screenwriter, described the work on the text with the words: “It was a great challenge to adapt the extremely successful drama by Olga DimitrijeviÄ and at one time a theatrical hit, given that until now female characters in Serbian cinematography did not have the space to express all the problems that women deal with in contemporary Serbian society. It is an honor for me that, as a screenwriter, I contributed to the success of this ultimately female project, in which, apart from the main characters, also the main creative authors and producer are all women”.
Playwright Olga DimitrijeviÄ said that she is very glad that the preparations for the film are proceeding successfully. “FOLK PLAYā pushed the limits on the theater stages, in terms of theme and aesthetics. For me, it is important that art and emancipation go hand in hand, so I think it is significant that this way the story, and everything it carries, will reach an even larger number of people,” said DimitrijeviÄ.
“FOLK PLAY ” by Olga DimitrijeviÄ, adapted by screenwriter Bojan VuletiÄ, is a story about freedom and love in a conservative and patriarchal society. At the center of the film is the love story between Anka, a young woman forced by her family to marry, and Branka, a folk singer with whom she falls in love. The project has so far received support for the development of Media Creative Europe and Film Center Serbia, and the French producer is the renowned Elzevir Films production.
Results of the competition of the National Center for Film:
https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/aides-et-financements/resultats-commissions/aide-aux-cinemas-du-monde–resultats-des-commissions-plenieres-des-3-7-et-21-novembre–2022_1864941