Subversive Serbia to Debut at Fantasia 2010

At this early stage the festival can announce only an initial trio of titles: Srdjan Spasojevic’s A SERBIAN FILM (Srpski Film), which is about to have its world premiere at SXSW, Mladen Djordjevic’s Raindance hit THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG (Zivot i smrt porno bande) and, making its long awaited Montreal debut, Uros Stojanovic’s TEARS FOR SALE (Carlston za ognjenku), an adored selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, co-written by A SERBIAN FILM screenwriter Aleksandar Radivojevic.

Fantasia is also working with journalist Dejan Ognjanovic in association with the Belgrade Cinematheque to curate a parallel series to be announced shortly.

“The voices emerging from the new wave of independent Serbian cinema are some of the rawest and most daring of any we’ve ever encountered,” said Fantasia co-director Mitch Davis. “This is smart, confrontational filmmaking with astounding elements of shock, armed with the intelligence and the urgency to back it up. In particular, SERBIAN FILM and PORNO GANG are, to my mind, the CLOCKWORK ORANGEs of our generation. They push boundaries in ways that cinema rarely has the courage to do, and they’re two of the most transgressive films I’ve ever seen. We can’t wait to see them come to life in front of an audience here.“

SERBIAN FILM producer Nikola Pantelic issued the following statement: ”To us, Canada is a very special place because it is the homeland of one of our favorite filmmakers, whose work greatly inspired us – David Cronenberg. We’re honored to participate in Fantasia – a place where a majority of our favorite recent films were screened. Montreal Fantasia is one of the few places left on this earth where artistic freedom and unorthodox cinema thinking still mean something. Mitch Davis is one of the rare people who has reacted to our film in exactly the right way. Fantasia has made a Mecca for gutsy and vital cinema today. For A Serbian Film, things have come full circle.”