Organised by the Film Centre of Montenegro, this year’s Rendezvous expanded from three to seven days. Alongside presentations of Montenegrin and international film projects in development, the programme featured masterclasses, case studies, international meetings, discussions on coproductions and funding opportunities, as well as workshops dedicated to developing new projects and nurturing talent.

The programme brought together more than 120 film professionals from over 30 countries, while 15 Montenegrin film projects at various stages of development were presented to an international industry audience.

Aleksandra Božović, Director of the Film Centre of Montenegro and President of the Council of the Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival, highlighted that one of the key objectives of Montenegro Rendezvous is to connect Montenegrin filmmakers with experts from the European and international film industries.

“We believe that all the projects we have supported, and the filmmakers behind them, have potential. What validates everything we are doing is the fact that our friends and colleagues, as well as representatives of the European and international film industries, recognise that potential in projects by Montenegrin filmmakers. They come, they return year after year, and their numbers continue to grow,” Božović said.

A central segment of the programme was the presentation of Montenegrin film projects in development. Film professionals from Montenegro and abroad were introduced to Fires / Požari by director Nina Tratnik, Happines Is Just a Blue Couch Away / Pu spas za svenas by Andrija Mugoša, Comedown / Sobe by  Pavle Simonović, Echo / Odjek by Ivica Vidanović, Embryo / Plod by Maša Šarović, and Balkan Maestro, by Altinaj Petrović Njegoš and François Fleury. The projects were presented through pitching sessions, followed by a series of one-to-one meetings on the final day, giving filmmakers and producers the opportunity to connect with festival selectors, representatives of national film funds, sales agents and fellow producers.

One concrete example of the value such encounters offer local producers is Marko Jaćimović’s film Echo / Odjek, which was presented while still in development. Jaćimović had also participated in previous editions of the Rendezvous with other projects.

“For us as producers in Montenegro, this really means a great deal because it gives us an opportunity to present our projects to potential international collaborators practically on our home ground,” Jaćimović said. He noted that presenting projects at numerous international film markets is demanding and requires considerable resources, making the opportunity to meet European and international film professionals directly particularly valuable.

The Montenegro Film Rendezvous programme also featured screenings of three Montenegrin documentary films in the final stages of post-production: Montenegro Star: The Semple of Janko Nilovic / Montenegro Star: Sempl Janka Nilovića directed by Nikola Vukčević, The Real Admiral / Kontraadmiral  by Mladen Ivanović, and About a Brother / Film o bratu, directed by Đorđe Vojvodić.

The international scope of Montenegro Film Rendezvous was further expanded in 2026 with the New African Voices programme, dedicated to showcasing film projects, films and filmmakers from Francophone North African countries. The programme was delivered in partnership with the French Embassy and the French Institute in Montenegro, as well as the International Organisation of La Francophonie - OIF. The programme welcomed Tunisian director Erige Sehiri, whose film Under the Fig Trees was screened as part of the Herceg Novi Film Festival, as well as Cameroonian director and producer Cyrielle Raingou. The programme also featured screenings of Everybody Loves Touda and Congo Boy.

Among the participants from Africa was Jules Dieng, producer of the film Fighters. The film is currently in postproduction, making his participation in the programme an opportunity to identify potential partners among film professionals from a wide range of countries.

“People here come from many different countries, so this is a good opportunity for us to try to find someone who might support the project and come on board. It is very difficult for African filmmakers and producers to find partners around the world. I think people still do not have enough confidence in the kind of cinema we are capable of making. Even when we present something strong and contemporary on paper, there is still a certain degree of doubt,” Dieng said.

Another major component of this year’s Rendezvous was a series of masterclasses led by internationally recognised filmmakers, alongside a case study dedicated to the Montenegrin feature documentary To Hold a Mountain / Planina, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and The Heart of Sarajevo in the documentary competition.

Manuel Alberto Claro, one of Europe’s most acclaimed cinematographers, whose latest film Home / Dom, directed by Marijana Janković, opened the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival, led a masterclass dedicated to cinematography and visual storytelling. A long-time collaborator of Lars von Trier, Claro shared his experience and reflections on cinematic visual language, working with directors and the process of creating images for film.

“Being a cinematographer means becoming part of a project alongside a great many other people. You can be brilliant, but if you don’t enable the people you work with to shine, the project will be bad. You have to allow everyone to shine, and it is ultimately about balance and aligning different energies,” Claro said.

British sound editor Nina Hartstone, who won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for Bohemian Rhapsody, led a masterclass focusing on sound design and the working process behind contemporary film productions. One of her key messages to participants was that filmmakers should begin thinking about sound much earlier in the filmmaking process, rather than leaving it until the final stages of production.

“I hope people will become interested in sound and understand how important it is to storytelling. Perhaps they will start thinking about sound a little earlier in the process, during preproduction and production itself, rather than leaving everything until the end,” Hartstone said.

A masterclass by Asghar Farhadi, a two-time Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, was moderated by Vuk Perović. Farhadi discussed his approach as a filmmaker, his experience of working across different languages and cultures, and the relationship between image, sound and story in the filmmaking process. Speaking about his latest film, Parallel Tales, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, he also reflected on how he incorporated the influence of Krzysztof Kieślowski into his own cinematic language.

“This project gave me an opportunity to explore the relationship between image and sound and the way these elements complement one another in the creation of a film. I found inspiration in Kieślowski and his approach to cinema, but I wanted to connect those elements with my own style as a filmmaker. In the end, the film became a meeting of those two worlds: a tribute to the cinema that inspired me and an expression of my own cinematic language,” said Farhadi.

Montenegro Film Rendezvous also hosted a case study dedicated to the documentary To Hold a Mountain / Planina, presented by directors Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić. The Film Centre of Montenegro was the first national film institution to support the project. Tutorov said that, as filmmakers, they had never drawn a distinction between local and global cinema, or between documentary and fiction, but had approached To Hold a Mountain / Planina as a cinematic project from the outset.

“We don’t think about film in terms of local versus global, or even documentary versus fiction. Film is film. That is the only clear definition. What interested us was nurturing the film’s own language,” Tutorov said.

Glomazić noted that they could not have anticipated the success the film would go on to achieve. Following screenings at a range of festivals, he said, it became clear that the film was able to transcend cultural barriers, with its emotions and reflections resonating with audiences in different parts of the world.

A new segment of the programme, Montenegro Film Rendezvous Plus, featured a series of specialised workshops for Montenegrin and regional filmmakers and emerging talent, delivered with the support of the Film Centre’s international partners.

The ReActing+ workshop, a new module of the ReActing as a Star programme dedicated to talented actors from the region, was organised with the support of the British Council. The Female Filmmakers workshop, focused on emerging female directors from the Western Balkans, Moldova and Armenia, was held in partnership with the Embassy of France and the French Institute in Montenegro.

The EAVE on Demand RE-ACT workshop, also held as part of this year’s programme, focused on strengthening producers’ capacities and fostering the sustainability of production companies. The MEDIA TV Series Event also provided a platform for the development of television projects. The programme was organised as a joint initiative of the Creative Europe MEDIA Desks of Montenegro, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia, and featured a panel on regional coproduction, a masterclass and a case study.

Particular attention was given to opportunities for coproduction and cooperation between national film funds. Tamara Tatishvili, Director of the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, presented the fund’s work and opportunities, while Dita Rietuma, Director of the National Film Centre of Latvia (https://www.nkc.gov.lv/en), and Edith Sepp, Director of the Estonian Film Institute (https://filmi.ee/en/), presented opportunities for cooperation with the Baltic countries.

The seven-day format of Montenegro Film Rendezvous represents more than an extension of the programme’s duration; it also reflects its expanding role. Herceg Novi is increasingly positioning itself as a place where Montenegrin cinema is presented to the world and where local filmmakers meet international film professionals to develop projects, exchange knowledge and forge new partnerships. It is precisely this combination of authenticity and openness to the world that remains the core value of Montenegro Film Rendezvous: enabling Montenegrin cinema to retain its distinctive voice, while building the connections that allow that voice to reach audiences and the film industry beyond the country’s borders.