A Sunday in the Country 2013 Serbia

Close to the Serbian-Hungarian border and home of the European Film Festival Palić, the resort town of Palić was the venue of the EFA Initiative A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. Before the backdrop of a beautiful landscape and in an atmosphere of passion for European cinema, thirteen directors from Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg,The Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland and UK gathered for a weekend of encounters and exchange. They met with EFA Members Jim Sheridan (director, Ireland), Nikolaj Nikitin (director of SOFA – School of Film Agents, Germany) and Miroslav Mogorovic (producer, Serbia). Joining the group was expert Christophe Leparc, managing director of the “Quinzaine des Réalisateurs” at the Cannes Film Festival. The troop was hosted by EFA Member and director Stefan Arsenijević at the “Majkin Salas” (Majkin Farm), a peaceful oasis surrounded by acres of land with luxuriant vegetation, a pond and a horse breeding house.

Throughout the weekend, they attended the European Film Festival Palić closing ceremony and watched Jim Sheridan’s film MY LEFT FOOT, they explored the city of Subotica with its magnificent architecture and sailed on the beautiful Palić Lake. Under the passionate supervision of “chef” Igor Skala, they also had the chance to prepare and taste delicious local food directly on the lakeshore. The screenings of each other’s films led to very intense discussions, to the point that other activities were called off… After a last dinner, accompanied by the Tamburica Orchestra, the night developed in a late and “ad hoc” karaoke session.

Once the encounter was over, the very same week, a bunch of enthusiastic participants who hadn’t left Serbia met again in Belgrade for a first reunion, and later on in Berlin – which shows a lot about the strength of the connections this EFA Initiative is able to create…

Both extremely intense and absolutely relaxed, “A Sunday in the Country” manages the hardest thing: to put in one house 12 complete strangers, all of them film directors, who, three days later, become close friends. One of the best, craziest and most inspiring projects I’ve ever participated.
– Stefan Arsenijević –

Great place, great food, great people and great films. But the best was the feeling to become part of a bigger (film) family. What a beautiful way to spend the weekend. Thank you EFA!
 – Gabriel Gauchet –

This short trip to Palić has been much more than a simple “Sunday in the Country”! I leave this wonderful resort with a suitcase filled with the landscape and the architecture of Serbia … the incredible taste of food…hours and hours of films … emotions… engaged discussions… poetry. I bring back with me the great affection of Marion and Nikola, who have brought all of us in this crazy adventure, the vivacity and the sharp gaze of Jim, who has been for us an attentive guide… and what is more important, the creativity, the dreams and the result of extremely hard work by Jenneke, Cathy, Senka, Gabriel, Jan, Oggj, Valerie, Felix, Dane, Goran, Florian and Astra… My only concern is that with so many things in my suitcase, I don’t know how much extra-charge I will have to pay at the check-in! Arrivederci Palić!
– Andrea Iannetta –

“A Sunday in the Country”: all the advantages of a family meeting without the disadvantages! The “A Sunday in the Country” is an incredible experience you let me live. It was like a new family meeting but without all the problems of a family. As a kind of “uncle” and “Peeping Tom” (I assume I could be uncle Tom now…), I feel a lot of gratitude to you: first, I want to congratulate you for the choice of Jim Sheridan as the godfather, he’s so generous, it was so easy to talk about cinema and anything else with him that I think he brought a lot to all the directors for their future. Thanks to have given me the opportunity to be on his side. Second, congratulations for the choice of the panel of the young directors: so much talent in such a little square! For me it is an incredible opportunity to follow them in their future works, and, as far as I can read in all the correspondences between all of them, you, the team of EFA, can be proud of having succeeded in creating such a family!
– Christophe Leparc –

The weekend in Palić is one to remember for a long time. Firstly, I was astonished by the beautiful countryside surrounding: nature, horses, specific architecture and warmth. The place was filled with great people who welcomed us with their special kind of Serbian hospitality, their great food and drinks, their songs and dances. I shared long discussions about the films with the participants and the experts. It was great to see so many films and to share our love for cinema. I hope I will stay in touch with everybody!
– Astra Zoldnere –

PARTICIPANTS:
Jenneke Boeijink, The Netherlands
Cathy Brady, Ireland
Senka Domanović, Serbia
Gabriel Gauchet, UK
Jan-Ole Gerster, Germany
Ognjen Glavonić, Serbia
Valerie Gudenus, Switzerland
Andrea Iannetta, Italy
Félix Koch, Luxembourg
Dane Komljen, Serbia
Goran Mihailov, Romania
Florian Pochlatko, Austria
Astra Zoldnere, Latvia

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY- MEMBERS & EXPERTS:
Stefan Arsenijević, director, Serbia
Christophe Leparc, managing director Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, France
Nikolaj Nikitin, founder & director SOFA – School of Film Agents, Germany
Miroslav Mogorovic, producer, Art & Popcorn, Serbia
Jim Sheridan, director, Ireland & Fran Sheridan

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY – SECRETARIAT:
Marion Döring, Director
Nikola Joetze, Event Management & TV Sales

IN CO-OPERATION WITH:
Art & Popcorn
European Film Festival Palić

SUPPORTED BY:
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
Ministry of Culture and Information of Serbia