Dear friends,

We write to inform you that the seventh Bašta Fest will not be cancelled, but will happen in a changed format, with the new dates of 23-26. July 2020.

At this moment, we don’t know if 90% of the authors of films from the competition programme will be able to attend the festival in person. With this in mind, alongside our firm belief in the festival that creates a live experience and networking which can only be accomplished in person and in public, we have decided that this year’s Bašta Fest will be non-competition only, and focused on Serbian and regional authors.

There’s a number of reasons why we have made this decision, from the difficulties that the entire cultural sector now faces and the organisational obstacles due to lost time, to the fact that we do not know if and in what capacity will international travel be viable. All films submitted for this year’s competition programme will be automatically considered in 2021, when the festival will return to the standard format. In addition, alongside a new deadline for 2021 submission, we will be accepting films which are up to 3 years old, increasing the usual 2-year-old limit (we will accept films up from 2018.). We feel this is fair both to those who have already submitted their films, and those who plan to submit them next year.

The idea of Bašta Fest was sparked from the pure enthusiasm and wish to localise the culture, and we remain committed to our main goal of bringing great films from young authors to Bajina Bašta. The upcoming summer will be exciting in our neck of the woods, and we are sure Bašta Fest will contribute greatly to that, despite the difficult year we have all been facing. We will be in touch soon with more information about the concept and programme of the seventh Bašta Fest, in line with measures of the Serbian Government and authorities.

As every year, you are invited and very welcome to a gathering of those who love film in one of the most beautiful parts of our country, Bajina Bašta, by the river Drina, lakes Perućac and Zaovine and Tara mountain – this time, at the end of July. We will see you at our open air!