The Fine Line Film Fest is celebrating its fifth edition, concluding today at the mts Dvorana in Belgrade. This year’s festival showcased 23 short films from Serbia, the Balkan region, and around the world, divided into two competitive programs: Beyond Borders and Made in Balkan. The festival’s founder and director, Aglaja Filipović, highlighted the more intimate and personal nature of this year’s selection, which often approaches significant themes in a subtle manner. Over 600 films were submitted for consideration, underscoring a vibrant short film scene and a willingness among filmmakers to experiment with form and expression.
Filipović noted that the current selection is characterized by its personal storytelling, with many films choosing to leave space for the audience to find their own answers rather than providing definitive conclusions. She remarked, “This year’s selection is more intimate than in previous years. The stories are more personal and often approach big themes in a very subtle way, through silence.”
The festival’s competitive programs, Beyond Borders and Made in Balkan, provide a platform for a diverse range of genres, poetics, and themes. While the films vary greatly, recurring themes include love, family, and friendship, focusing on the dynamics of human relationships. Filipović emphasized the importance of these themes, stating, “Although there is a diversity of genres and poetics throughout the program, many films explore themes of love, family, and friendship. What connects them are close relationships and the way they change, build, or fall apart.”
The Made in Balkan segment, a relatively new addition to the festival, aims to highlight the diversity within regional short film production without attempting to define what constitutes a “Balkan film.” Filipović explained, “Last year’s edition perhaps showed me most how difficult it is to speak of regional production as a single entity. Although films are made in a relatively small geographical area and often share certain social and cultural contexts, the authorial voices, aesthetics, and themes can be completely different.”
Several films featured in the festival have already been recognized at international festivals, offering Belgrade audiences a chance to see them before they gain wider acclaim. Filipović expressed her satisfaction with this aspect of the festival, saying, “We are pleased when authors whose films have already been recognized at major international festivals decide to entrust them to our program.”
The festival has grown in audience size and recognition over the years, reflecting increasing interest in Balkan cinema. Filipović attributed this growth to the festival’s carefully curated program, which connects short films of various genres and themes into a cohesive whole. She observed, “The audience has certainly changed and grown along with the festival, and I attribute much of that to the program. Year after year, it shows us that when carefully selected short films of different genres and themes are meaningfully connected into a single program, the audience recognizes it, returns, and grows.”
The Fine Line Film Fest’s fifth edition not only celebrates the diversity and innovation within short films but also encourages dialogue and reflection among audiences. Filipović hopes that the films will spark conversations and leave viewers with new questions. “I would most like for the films not to remain only on the screen but to start a conversation. For the viewer to leave the hall with some new question,” she concluded.
