Vancouver Serbian Film Festival March 12 – March 15

Ginger. Photo courtesy Vancouver Serbian Film Festival.

Some of the latest cinema from the Balkans comes to the 6th annual Vancouver Serbian Film Festival. The Festival runs March 12 to March 15, 2013 at Collingwood Cinemas, 3215 Kingsway.

This year’s highlights include a drama about the aftermath of a suicide and two documentaries – one about one of the greatest basketball players to ever come out of Europe, the other about a film with an unlikely popularity in China.

Death of a Man in the Balkans – In this winner for best drama at the Panorama of European Cinema Festival, a lonely composer commits suicide in his apartment. The gunshot alarms the tenants in the adjacent flats. Neighbor Aca is the first to arrive on the scene and, as the first witness, he decides to wait for the police. But the cops are stuck in traffic. So the neighbors pass the time as best they can, and eventually a wide variety of characters involved in the “case” make their way into the apartment. (March 12, 8 p.m., followed by QA with actress Natasa Ninkovic)

Scene in Death of a Man in the Balkans. Photo courtesy Vancouver Serbian Film Festival.

Ginger: More Than a Game – He might not be a household name in North America, but at one time Radivoj Korac was the best basketball player in the world. A member of FIBA Hall of Fame in Madrid, top scorer of the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, Olympic Silver medalist in Mexico 1968, two times Silver medalist in the World Championships, the athlete came to a tragic end too young in a car crash on the outskirts of Sarajevo. This documentary includes interviews with legends of Yugoslav basketball, his teammates from Petrarca Padua, his rivals from Spain, and many others. (March 13, 7 p.m.)

Ginger. Photo courtesy Vancouver Serbian Film Festival.

Walter – This documentary tells two parallel stories. One is a portrait of legendary Yugoslav war hero Vladimir Peric Valter, mostly known as a leader of the underground resistance, who was killed on the day of Sarajevo’s liberation, April 6, 1945. The other is a portrait of Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, a legendary Serbian actor who made 330 films in 55 years-long career. The most popular role he ever played was of Valter in Valter Defends Sarajevo (1972). The movie was probably seen by more people than any other movie in history – thanks to its extreme popularity in China. (March 15, 7:30 p.m., followed by QA with director Andrej Acin)

Tickets $16.50 or $55 for passes, online or at the door.

More info at www.vsfilmfest.com

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2013/03/11/vancouver-serbian-film-festival-march-12-march-15/