The 10th Jubilee International Sports Film Festival Opens on Zlatibor
Today, August 26, the 10th International Sports Film Festival officially opened at the Cultural Center on Zlatibor.
The ceremonial opening of this landmark tenth edition of the festival was marked by a performance from trumpet champion and maestro of Zlatibor’s traditional music, Dejan Jevđić, who performed the song “Zlatibore, My Green Pine.”
On the first day, Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented. The first recipient was one of the greatest European basketball coaches of all time, Željko Obradović, who, immediately after accepting the award, departed for a training session with Partizan, currently holding preparations on Zlatibor.
Awards were subsequently presented to other distinguished laureates: Ivan Golac, renowned footballer and the first foreign player to play professionally in England; Vesna Čitaković Đurišić, a legend of the women’s national volleyball team; and Razija Mujanović, one of the greatest female basketball players of all time.
Radmilo Mišović, a legend of basketball in Čačak and Serbia, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award, as did the legendary football goalkeeper Dejan Pantelić, along with rowing duo Milorad Stanulov and Zoran Pančić, winners of two Olympic medals.
Special recognition was also awarded to acclaimed Serbian actor and director Lazar Ristovski. This year’s “Hero of Sport and Life” Charter, traditionally awarded to Nataša Kovačević, was presented to Željko Dimitrijević, who is currently in Tokyo aiming to win another medal at the ongoing Paralympic Games.
Two prominent award recipients were unable to attend the opening ceremony but are expected later during the festival: celebrated footballer Ivan Gudelj and renowned basketball player Dino Rađa. The Yugoslav basketball legend and Hall of Fame member will ceremonially receive his Lifetime Achievement Award tomorrow at 17:50.
The festival’s competitive program opened with the premiere of the film about Bora Stanković, “The Game of My Life,” directed by Ivica Vidanović and Aleksandar Miletić.
The jury, composed of Božo Sušec (sports journalist from Zagreb), Anita Panić (distinguished television author, documentarian, and writer), and Vladimir Stanković (prominent European journalist, publicist, screenwriter, and sports and film author), will face a challenging task over the next three competition days, during which 33 additional films will be screened, in selecting the winners.
This year’s guest cities are Novi Pazar and Knjaževac, which will present their video productions. The full festival program is available here.