The 4th Mikro Festival of amateur film, held this weekend in the Street Gallery in Belgrade, is over. I was there, among many young people gathered to enjoy short films and celebrate another successful year of ‘do it yourself' productions, to tell you about the reactions to our movie and to share with you my impressions of the festival. Just to remind you, the film N.I.P.P.L.E.- made by former & current volunteers at DAA, got into the selection of 33 films for this festival out of 70 movies from all around the world.
First, a few words about the festival. The focus of this year's Festival was the city, its changes and development, the role of culture and art in public spaces and the ability to make it a better place to live. The festival's 'Off' program was rather interesting... It was the presentation of the LO-FI VIDEO and conversations about a dozen of young guerrilla directors who are recording short films away from the mainstream -and usually with very primitive equipment. All kinds of movies were screened there, mostly garbage and total trash. The worst (or the best, depending on your point of view), titled 'Oral Finale' was about two figures made of plastelin, having sexual fantasies. The scenario goes like this: the guy fantasizes of getting a blowjob, but is interrupted when his girlfriend suddenly appears and bites off his penis. Right.
The winner was the stop-motion film 'Nightmare goes around you, watch out, it can scratch you', about the phenomenon known as "A dream within a dream". The winner received the MIKROPOLIS prize, a symbol of the kind of utopia we imagine as a common space that belongs to all who live in it, who saw in it the fulfilment of their cultural, economic and social needs and desires.
Although we didn't get the prize, there are no reasons for disappointment, as our film got great feedback from the public. For instance, Professor Barbie's first appearance has drawn fanatic applause from some guy in the audience. When she said: "I‘ve never been to Africa", thinking of Thailand, I think he fell in love. Theodor Bear's appearance was followed by lots of positive reactions, not to mention TJ- REX MC and his tough life story. As for me, I still prefer Bobby "Action Man" Smooth: Elias's work of art.
Epilogue: N.I.P.P.L.E. got great applause and our important message has reached our target group again. Mission accomplished!