The first day of this year’s BH Film programme is largely dedicated to restored works of Bosnian-Herzegovinian and regional cinema. Restoration is a complex, costly, but also extremely important process of saving and preserving film materials. Through this process, films are returned to their original appearance, while new digital copies are created through which the films, in all their splendour, can once again be screened in contemporary cinemas. Restoration is also of exceptional importance as the best way of preserving film heritage from permanent deterioration.
Following the special pre-festival screening of Ivica Matić’s WOMAN WITH A LANDSCAPE, which announced this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, and the unforgettable experience of watching the restored version of this Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Yugoslav classic under the open sky, today we will have the opportunity to see five more restored short films by this unique filmmaker. Ivica Matić, one of the most important Bosnian-Herzegovinian directors, screenwriters and cinematographers, was born in 1948 in Vareš. He began his professional career in 1968 at Sarajevo Television, working as a cinematographer and occasionally as a director, while at the same time creating a body of exceptional amateur work at the Sarajevo Cinema Club. His artistic explorations reached their peak in the early 1970s with avant-garde works in the experimental short-film form. In 1976, he made his only feature film, WOMAN WITH A LANDSCAPE, a stylized essay on the relationship between the artist and society. Thirteen years later, a version of the film was screened at the Pula Film Festival, where Ivica Matić was posthumously awarded the Special Golden Arena. He graduated in cinematography from the Academy of Film, Theatre and Television in Zagreb in 1976. He died in Sarajevo the same year. In 2003, the Association of Film Workers of Bosnia and Herzegovina re-established the “Ivica Matić” Award, which had been awarded until 1992 for contributions to Bosnian and Herzegovinian cinema. The award is presented to a member or members of the Association for an outstanding film achievement in a given year, as well as to a member for overall contribution to Bosnian and Herzegovinian cinematography.
At 3 p.m. at Cineplexx, we will have the opportunity to see Ivica Matić’s short experimental films PURGATORY, THEME 1, PROCESS, CLASSIFIED ADS – IN MEMORIAM and INTERVIEW WITH A LOVER. All five films were made over a five-year period, from 1969 to 1974, during the most prolific phase of the career of this prematurely deceased filmmaker. The restoration of the films was realised through the Joint Restoration Grant and a consortium of national archives, the work included 4K digitisation and archival preservation, and the restored films are being circulated free of charge within the Season of Classic Films programme to maximise public access and educational outreach.
Also tonight at 9 p.m., again at Cineplexx, there will be a screening of the restored version of THE DERVISH AND DEATH, directed by Zdravko Velimirović in 1974. The screenplay was written by Velimirović and Borislav Mihailović Mihiz, and the film is, of course, an adaptation of one of the most important works of Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Yugoslav literature — Meša Selimović’s novel The Dervish and Death. The film stars, among others, Vojislav Mirić, Velimir Bata Živojinović, Boris Dvornik, Olivera Katarina, Špela Rozin and Faruk Begolli. For this film, Zdravko Velimirović received the Golden Arena for Best Director at the Pula Film Festival, while the film was also awarded the Grand Silver Arena. The restoration of this Yugoslav classic was undertaken by Centar Film from Belgrade, which, together with Avala Film, Bosna Film, Filmski studio Titograd, Kosova Film and Zeta Film, was one of its original producers.
A conscientious approach to the past, preservation and heritage lie at the heart of restoration. Thanks to the extensive efforts of those involved in the restoration process, we finally have the opportunity to see these works of cinema as their authors originally envisioned them more than fifty years ago. That is why we are dedicating a significant part of the first day of the 21st edition of BH Film to restored films — so that we can enjoy them, but also learn from the classics of our cinematic tradition, while discovering that the avant-garde of past eras can still feel remarkably fresh when compared with contemporary experimental forms.
Our sincere thanks to the Slovenian Cinematheque and Film Centar Belgrade for making these cinematic treasures available to us!
Bojana Vidosavljević
