BELGRADE: The Serbian national broadcast company RTS and Film Center Serbia signed a collaboration agreement on 28 September 2016. The agreement comes after a series of successful joint projects between the two.

BELGRADE: Eight feature film projects received development funding in the last round of grants announced by Film Center Serbia. Each film received a grant of 2 m RSD / 16,237 EUR.

BELGRADE: After taking a break to serve on the programming team of the Belgrade International Film Festival – FEST, Serbian helmer Mladen Đorđević is back in the director’s chair with Gastarbeiter Stories / Sumrak u bečkom haustoru. The film has wrapped production and is currently in postproduction.

BELGRADE: Serbian director Milan Karadzic is in production with Biser Bojane, a contemporary romantic comedy. The film is a coproduction between Montenegro and Serbia and is set to open in 2017.

BELGRADE: Serbian helmer Predrag Antonijević is in production with the TV series My Father’s Killers / Ubice moga oca, a 10-episode crime drama about a young inspector on his first big case. The local media labeled it as the “Serbian True Detective” and a second season is already being planned.

BELGRADE: Serbian director Zdravko Šotra is in production with Santa Maria della Salute, a feature film and a TV series shot simultaneously, about the life and work of the Serbian poet Laza Kostić. Shooting started on 1 August 2016 and will wrap at the end of October 2016. The 70 shooting days will be spent on location in Serbia, Montenegro (Cetinje), Italy (Venice) and Hungary (Budapest). The total number of locations amounts to around 150. The film and TV series are being edited as the shoot is progressing.

BELGRADE: Serbian actor Nikola Kojo has wrapped production on his directorial debut The Flock / Stado, a satirical comedy about life behind the camera, based on a true story. The project is currently in postproduction with the premiere due for 24 November 2016.

BELGRADE: Serbia has successfully implemented a tax incentives programme for feature films, TV series and commercials. Film Center Serbia opened the first call for projects eligible for the 20% cash rebate on 15 April 2016 and the call will last until 30 September 2016. There is no cap per project and the overall budget for 2016 is 3.2 m EUR.

BELGRADE: Serbian helmer Danilo Bećković has wrapped production on his new film The Samurai in Autumn, a funny and tender romantic comedy. The project is currently in postproduction and its trailer will be shown in the “Avant Premiere” programme of the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival.

FNE spoke to Ana Ilić, the Head of Serbia Film Commission, about the activities, accomplishments and goals of the institution, as well as its relationship with Film Center Serbia, the challenges of the Serbian film industry and regional coproductions.