The second edition of the Telekom UnderhillFest, an international documentary film festival, showed that the audiences in Montenegro have a special interest in the unique world of creative documentary films. “I believe that the audiences of this year’s and last year’s UnderhillFest feel the beauty and the simplicity in this kind of film, which is a different form of narration and emotion than that of a classic documentary or feature film, which cannot be compared with creative documentaries,” said Anđelka Nenezić, the director of UnderhillFest, in an interview for Southeast Europe: People and Culture.

The festival was named UnderhillFest because it is the literal translation Montenegro’s capital Podgorica into English. The festival was founded by the producers Anđelka Nenezić and Sanja Jovanović.

“Podgorica now has an important and original film festival. The festival has its audiences and partners with whom we need to continue working for the future editions of UnderhillFest. We shall strive to give them even more reasons to continue collaborating with us,” Sanja Jovanović told Southeast Europe: People and Culture. She pointed out that UnderhillFest is an alternative and independent festival both in view of its programme and its production concept.

 
Twenty different works were shown at this open air festival held at the end of May. Cinema Komunisto, one of the most acclaimed films in the region, opened the event at the Small Sports Stadium, in front of more than three hundred viewers. The film proved to be so popular that there was an additional standing room for another 100 members of audience for the entire 100 minute long film. Mila Turajlić, the director of the film, then declared the festival open.

 
Oliver Sertić, a member of the Restart organisation and a producer from Croatia, was a member of the jury. He told Southeast Europe: People and Culture that UnderhillFest was a great experience for him, “Mostly because it is held in a country where few important documentaries have been produced in the past twenty years and of which we in Croatia know very little, especially when it comes to culture. I was also pleasantly surprised by the superb young team in charge of the organisation of the festival, particularly due to the independent nature of the films.” 

Besides Oliver Sertić, the other jury members were the Montenegrin theatre director Petar Pejaković and Marija Džidževa, a director from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, whose film Look at the Life through My Eyes had won the main award of the first UnderhillFest. The Latvian film Family Instinct won the best foreign film award and the Romanian film The World according to Ion B won the award for the best film in the region. Cinema Komunisto won the special jury award as well as the audience award.

 “All of us on the organisational committee believe that this year’s festival has attracted a lot of attention among the general and expert audiences, as well as among the media both from Montenegro and surrounding countries. What makes us really proud is this year’s festival programme, both with regard to the film and the music section, and also the number of visitors. I have to say that I found the atmosphere in the open air cinema under an awning made of grape and kiwi vines truly fascinating. The cinema is located in the city centre and the audience sat watching films until one o’clock in the morning,” said Anđelka Nenezić.

During the festival, Marija Džidževa and another director Dimitar Anakijev from Slovenia also gave presentations. “The educational programme with workshops and lectures worked to raise people’s awareness of the importance and power of documentary films. Firsthand advice given by professional documentary filmmakers on the creative, organisational and financial side of making documentaries was especially valuable,” said Sanja Jovanović. 

Besides the educational quality of the festival, there was also a musical aspect. During the opening and closing activities of the festival, popular bands from neighbouring countries such as Svi na Pod! from Serbia and Elemental from Croatia appeared live. Both Anđelka Nenezić and Sanja Jovanović agreed that UnderhillFest is the product of the hard work and desire of many people who aim at providing Podgorica with a unique film programme.