All the colors of the movie with "Ode to Joy"

Without the presenter's announcement, Antonija Vučinović appeared on the stage of Kanli Tower in a wide ball gown, and on the screen, above which the moon moved slowly and the bright Njivica was visible in the distance, a large flag of Montenegro appeared. Everyone in the audience stood up, and accompanied by the Allegria Quartet, Antonia sang "Oj, svijetla majska zoro". Someone explained in English to the foreigners in the audience next to me that it was about the national anthem.

The 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival - Montenegro Film Festival whose slogan this year is "All the colors of film" could begin.

Photo: Prtomo/Vuk Ilić

A few hours earlier, the guests gathered on the terrace of the Belgrade Buffet for a welcome cocktail, which was followed by a parade on the red carpet, which was attended by numerous guests from the world of film from all over the region, including regional stars such as Dragan Bjelogrlić, Branislav Trifunović and Milan Marić, as well as the acting legend John Savage (Deer hunter, Hair...).

Photo: Promo/Zvezdana V.

Red carpet

On the red carpet, the audience greeted Oscar-winner, editor Nina Hartston, the famous director of photography Manuel Albert Claro, members of the jury in the feature film competition program - Alisa Simon, chief selector of the Palm Springs International Festival, Elena Christodoulida, president of the Executive Board of the Southeastern European Cinema Network, actors Sebastijan Kavaca and Ljiljana Blagojević, director Draško Đurović, the jury of film critics FEDEOR, Michelangelo Messina, Dragan Jovićević and Marija Ivanović Nikičević. The crew of the TV series also walked the red carpet Rock me gently, with Andrej Kuzmanović and Nenad Jezdić at the helm.

Photo: Promo/Miloš Samardžić

The audience filled the space of the Kanli tower to the last place, the humidity in the air was slightly relieved by the evening breeze and the bottles of water provided by the organizers. The host couple Miloš Pejović and Marija Bergam took the stage.

Bogdan Diklić

In the continuation of the program, the presenters announced that this year's winner of the "Milan Žmukić" award for outstanding contribution to film art is the Belgrade actor Bogdan Diklić. After that, a video was shown on the big screen in which Diklić recalls his beginnings, and some of the legendary scenes of the films in which he acted were alternated - National class, Marathon runners run a lap of honor...

Photo: Promo

"A man cannot do acting, it is an integral part of his life," said Diklić on the screen. The award was accepted on his behalf by his daughter Sofija Diklić, who, holding a picture of Dragan Stojkov in her hand, thanked her for the recognition on behalf of her father, emphasizing that they were both sorry that he could not be present for health reasons...
"Dad greets you all very much and is very sorry that he is not here tonight. This is a great honor and a great joy for him. Thank you," said Sofija Diklić and was greeted with loud applause.

Applause for the firefighters

Even louder applause from the audience was received by the "firefighters, the Protection and Rescue Service and volunteers who fight fires in the area of ​​Herceg Novi and the whole of Montenegro" who were greeted by the presenters from the stage.
Addressing the audience at Kanli Kula, the President of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, Stevan Katic, welcomed everyone "to the city of film".
"From the first cinema screenings in 1919, through the vision of Milan Žmukić, a native of Novlja, who founded this festival, until today the festival has grown, changed names, but unwaveringly raised the quality. The crown of that journey is the accreditation of the International Federation of Associations of Film Producers, which officially placed our festival in the global network of the world's most respected film events. Herceg Novi carries film in its code. From pioneers like Lukatelij, Lepetić and Sekulović, through a great man like Živko Nikolić, came from the famous Art School in Herzegnov, to Bojan Bazeli and the new generations who today are being educated at the world's leading academies," said Katic.

Four Montenegrin films

The festival was officially opened by the Minister of Culture and Media, Dr. Tamara Vujović.
"This year, four Montenegrin films will be presented, which confirm the continuity of the development of the domestic film scene. One of the strongest examples of such success of our cinematography this year is a documentary film Plain, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, and a few days ago the Heart of Sarajevo for the best documentary," said Vujović, which was followed by another round of applause.

Comparison with the region

The opening ceremony ended with the anthem of the European Union Ode to joy, which was performed by Verica Čuljković on the violin and received perhaps the biggest applause of the evening.
Comparisons with similar festivals in the region are inevitable.

What we saw last night at the Kanli tower is almost impossible in most of Montenegro's neighboring countries - mayors and ministers who speak without being booed, the national anthem to which everyone stands up, knows its melody and lyrics and greets it with applause; mention of firefighters with applause and without mutual "who is to blame" accusations; Ode of Joy which is also welcomed by everyone with applause, which is certainly a measure of the Euro-enthusiasm of a large number of residents of this, apparently the next member of the EU.
After the opening ceremony, we had the opportunity to watch a Danish film Sun, the debut work of director and actress of Montenegrin origin Marijana Janković, which was screened with great success at the festival in Rotterdam and the just ended Sarajevo Film Festival. Like the code Father's Day which opened the Sarajevo Film Festival and Sun deals with the relationship between father and daughter, the question of what and where "homeland" is, but also numerous other painful topics so close to all of us who lived in the nineties.

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