On the second day of the FAST FORWARD Human Rights Film Festival Montenegro 2023 in Cultural Information Centre “Budo Tomović”, the audience in Podgorica will have the opportunity to watch three exceptional film premieres.
The programme starts at 17h00 with a screening of the film Total Trust, by the young director Jialing Zhang. It is a deeply disturbing story that explores the scale of digital control in China, where prevail unprecedented levels of state surveillance, abuse of power and (self) censorship, confronting us with what can happen when our privacy is ignored. Using China as a mirror, the film raises the alarm about the increasing use of surveillance tools around the world – even by democratic governments like those in Europe.
From 19h00, the repertoire includes the film Ingeborg Bahman – Journey to the Desert, by Margarethe von Trotta, a woman ahead of her time whose films emphasize strong female protagonists and are usually placed in an important political context. One of them is this film adventure about the exceptional and charismatic German writer Ingeborg Bachmann, who with her poetry first shook and then conquered the male-dominated bastion of the German literary language. The film shows the writer’s passionate love affair with Max Frisch, but also the professional friction that slowly begins to disturb the love harmony.
The film thriller Prison 77, by the Spanish director Alberto Rodríguez, is on the programme from 21h00. Prison 77 had its world premiere at the famous festival in San Sebastian, where it impressed both the audience and critics, earning 24 respectable awards, including 5 Goya awards. This film delves into the Spanish penal system during the turbulent period of freedom. Young Manuel, an accountant, accused of embezzling money in a sum equal to today’s EUR 1,200, is sentenced to an excessive sentence of 20 years in prison. He becomes the leader of a movement that unites all prisons in the fight for freedom and changes in prison laws, changing Spanish society forever.
Admission to all screenings is free, and more information is available at www.ubrzaj.me .
This year’s edition of the Festival was supported by the Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro and the Municipality of Kotor, and support was also provided by the Municipality of Berane, CIC “Budo Tomović”, Cultural Center “Nikola Đurković” and the Center for Culture Berane. Partners of FAST FORWARD are BELDOCS, Sarajevo Film Festival and Human Rights Film Network. The commitment to social responsibility was also reflected in the business sector this year, so we highlight the sponsorships of Hotel Cue, Gostiona 1928, PG taxi and Compania De Vinos Montenegro. Media sponsors of the Festival FAST FORWARD 2023 are television Nova M, Adria TV, Gradska TV, Gradski radio and portal gradski.me, Prva TV, E TV, Radio and portal Antena M, daily newspaper Pobjeda, daily newspaper Dan, portal CdM, portal Analitika, Radio Berane, Radio Kotor and Play radio.
Monika Mrnjačević, Programme Associate