“Fiume o Morte!,” directed by Igor Bezinović, won best film, director and screenplay at the inaugural Adriatic Film and TV Awards. The ceremony took place at Porto Montenegro in Tivat, Montenegro.
Best actress went to Jara Sofija Ostan for her performance in “Kaj ti je deklica,” directed by Urška Djukić. Leon Lučev won best leading actor for his role in “The Working Class Goes to Hell,” directed by Mladen Đorđević.
The Rising Star Award was presented to Lidija Kordić for her performance in “The Working Class Goes to Hell.” The award for debut film went to “Kaj ti je deklica” by Urška Djukić.
In television, the award for best TV series went to “Operation Sabre,” created by Vladimir Tagić and Goran Stanković. The award for leading actress in a series was awarded to Milica Gojković and Dragan Mićanović won the award for leading actor in a series, both for their roles in “Operation Sabre.”
Winners were selected by a professional jury comprising over 550 members of the Adriatic Film and TV Academy, currently being established to bring together professionals from across the Adriatic region. The academy is being founded by members of the Adriatic Region Festival Network: the Sarajevo Film Festival, the festival of Auteur Film in Belgrade and the Zagreb Film Festival.
Mirsad Purivatra, president of the AFA committee, said, “The first edition of the Adriatic Film Awards is everything we have dreamed of and planned for years. We celebrate the creativity of this entire region and hope this will become an additional form of recognition for our directors and actors.”
Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, said, “This is not just an award ceremony. It is a space for ongoing dialogue, knowledge exchange and intergenerational solidarity. A place where experienced filmmakers and producers pave the way for newcomers, where learning and sharing occur and where the entire region is recognized for what it truly is — one of the most vital and creative film spaces in Europe.”
Boris T. Matić, director of the Zagreb Film Festival, said, “Most of the nominated films are the result of co-productions between our countries, and that collaboration is precisely the strength of this project. Together with the academy being established, these awards will help our creatives, authors, and producers connect even further and gain greater visibility on the international market.”
Igor Stanković, director of the Festival of Auteur Film in Belgrade, described the AFA Awards as “a bridge between different poetics – those born in small auteur productions and those already resonating throughout the region.”
“It is precisely this diversity that will become the key identity of the project. I believe that through future co-productions and collaborations, a new era of joint filmmaking will emerge and that the AFA Awards will be the ones to safeguard and promote creative freedom and the courage of artistic expression,” said Stanković.
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