Montenegro Film Rendezvous will bring together prominent film authors and professionals, representatives of national film centres, European funds, festivals and leading organisations from the film and audiovisual industry in Herceg Novi.

The international industry programme will connect Montenegrin cinematography with relevant players of the European and regional film scene through masterclasses, workshops, panels and meetings of film professionals, creating space for the development of new projects, coproductions and international cooperation. Montenegrin projects in development and postproduction will be presented through pitching sessions and individual meetings with visiting producers, funds and festival representatives.

Montenegro Film Rendezvous is organised by the Film Centre of Montenegro in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Municipality of Herceg Novi, and JUK Herceg Fest, which is also the producer of the Herceg Novi Film Festival - Montenegro Film Festival. This year's edition is also organised in cooperation with the Embassy of France in Montenegro, the French Institute in Montenegro, the British Council, and the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

FNE: This is the 3rd edition apart from previous years of Montenegro Film Rendezvous. What are the highlights of this year's lineup?

Aleksandra Božović: This year’s edition of Montenegro Film Rendezvous features a wide range of programmes. As every year, we begin with a segment dedicated to Montenegrin cinema, where Montenegrin filmmakers will have an opportunity to present their projects at various stages of development: from projects in preproduction to those in postproduction, as well as completed films awaiting their world premieres at festivals.

Once again, our guests come from across the European and international film industry, and I believe they will enjoy the opportunity to discover not only Montenegrin projects, but also the New African Voices programme, which we are presenting this year with the support of the French Embassy in Montenegro and the French Institute. The programme will showcase projects from the African continent. In this way, Montenegro Film Rendezvous and the Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival will join the small number of European festivals opening their doors to new voices and forms of cinematic expression emerging from Africa.

The second part of the Montenegro Film Rendezvous programme, organised this year with the support of the French Embassy and the British Council, will focus on the development of women’s filmmaking. Female filmmakers from the Western Balkans, Armenia and Moldova will have an opportunity to develop their projects with French experts, while acting talents from the Western Balkans will also have an opportunity to work with UK experts as part of the Reacting as a Star programme.

FNE: As the Head of the Film Centre of Montenegro and the President of the Festival’s Board, why do you think an event like this is important for the Montenegrin film?

Aleksandra Božović: As Director of the Film Centre of Montenegro and President of the Board of the Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival, I believe an event like this is extremely important because it gives us an opportunity, in one place, not only to present films produced in Montenegro and regional coproductions, but also to showcase what the youngest national cinema in the region has to offer through projects at various stages of development to guests from the European and international film industry.

As a result, these small-scale industry days dedicated to the development of Montenegrin cinema are attracting increasing attention from European and international film professionals year after year.

FNE: How important are coproductions and regional coproductions for Montenegro?

Aleksandra Božović: Collaboration based on coproductions and regional coproductions is extremely important for the development of Montenegrin cinema, and a festival such as the Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival, which received FIAPF accreditation this year, is a place where we demonstrate just how important regional coproductions are. At the same time, through Montenegro Film Rendezvous, we present Montenegrin projects supported through various Film Centre of Montenegro funding schemes to potential regional, European and international coproducers.

For the first time this year, in addition to the support of the BFI, which is collaborating with Montenegro Film Rendezvous for the second consecutive year, we will also welcome UK producers who will come to discover Montenegrin cinema. We are also collaborating with the European Producers Club, which has invited its members to attend. This year, we will host five established producers from European countries, who will have an opportunity to discover Montenegrin projects, and we hope this will lead to successful collaborations in the future.

This year, Montenegro also became part of the RE-ACT programme, and for the first time we are hosting a RE-ACT EAVE workshop, where Montenegrin producers will participate alongside production companies from the partner countries of Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia, strengthening the capacities of their production companies.

FNE: What message or core takeaway do you hope international decision-makers leave Herceg Novi with after this year's Montenegro Film Rendezvous?

Aleksandra Božović: I believe that, once again this year, directors of film centres, as well as representatives of European and international film festivals, sales agents and distributors, will leave with a positive impression of our industry days. Our experience so far has shown that Montenegro Film Rendezvous increasingly speaks for itself from one year to the next. Every year, alongside new guests who come on the recommendation of those who have already attended, we also welcome back returning guests who are happy to contribute to the development of Montenegrin cinema by becoming more familiar with it. This, in turn, helps films from Montenegro gain an increasingly prominent presence on the European and international film scene.

FNE: How do you see the development of Montenegro Film Rendezvous in the next few years?

Aleksandra Božović: In the years ahead, I see us becoming a place that people will be genuinely happy to visit and make time for during the summer, as Montenegro Film Rendezvous takes place every year in the final week of August. I hope they will keep returning to Herceg Novi to discover Montenegrin projects, and that in this way we will become a meeting point not only for regional, European and international cinema, but also, as demonstrated by our new New African Voices programme, a meeting point between European cinema and cinema from other continents, as well as a place where new coproductions can emerge on the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.