Kusturica’s Newest Neighbor

Oct 5th, 2008 | By De-Construct.net | In Weekend

Kusturica and Cavic
Emir Nemanja Kusturica and Milorad Cavic in Kustendorf

Milorad Cavic, Mokra Gora Olympian

Famous Serbian director’s greatest work of art, the ethno village he built on the rolling green hills at the heart of Serbia, rescuing and preserving the warmth and rustic beauty of the traditional Serbian village, has received another celebrity landowner. Emir Nemanja Kusturica has bestowed a plot of this precious land on the slopes of Tara Mountain, in the village Sisatovac, to Serbia’s Golden Dolphin, Olympian swimmer Milorad Cavic.

This is only the first plot of land Kusturica had dedicated to building the Olympic Village, right next to his other project on Tara Mountain, the ski resort. Kusturica announced the news in Mokra Gora elementary school, saying “we all need new heroes and new values after the tragedies Serbia was forced to endure in the 1990s”.

“The Olympic Village is dedicated to all the Olympians of the state of Serbia. It is a continuation of the story we begun three years ago, making an effort to turn Mokra Gora into a region which is actively fighting against the unplanned, unregulated building”, Kusturica told reporters.

“Cavic will make a traditional wooden house in the Dinara style here. In that way, this region with all its natural beauty will be further enriched by the human greatness, whenever Milorad comes over,” Kusturica said, adding that the rest of the Olympic Village plots will be allotted to the Olympians from all the walks of life and all professions, not just sports, although Serbian tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic have already been named as the main candidates for the next Mokra Gora Olympians.

“Swimming Pool Milorad Cavic”

Thrilled with the unexpected gift and with Kusturica’s idea for the Olympic Village, Cavic said Mokra Gora is the kind of place one can only wish to be adopted by.

“I traveled throughout the world, I have seen a lot, but I have never seen such beauty as in Mokra Gora. I’m happy to have an opportunity to make a house in a traditional style here and I will come to Mokra Gora whenever I can, feeling as its resident”, Cavic said.

Diego Maradona Square, Stanley Kubrick Cinema and Milorad Cavic Swimming Pool

Nemanja Kusturica remained consistent in following his own tradition of naming the objects and streets of his village Drvengrad — also known as Kustendorf — by the names of his heroes and people he loves and admires. After the two town squares named by Nikola Tesla and Diego Maradona, Drvengrad Ivo Andric, Novak Djokovic, Federico Fellini, Che Guevara, Bruce Li streets, and his cinema named after Stanley Kubrick, Kusturica christened Drvengrad’s swimming pool a Milorad Cavic Swimming Pool.

Apart from that, Kusturica is very busy these days with preparations for the second Kustendorf Film Festival in January 2009. He promised to once again bring over someone from the antiglobalist bloc. Special guests of the Second Kustendorf Festival will be Diego Maradona, American director Jim Jarmusch and actress Salma Hayek, among others. Kusturica’s documentary about Maradona will be shown in Stanley Kubrick Cinema during the Festival.

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Information needs correction October 6th, 2008 2:36 pm :
Under the patronage of multi-award winning director Emir Kusturica and the Ministry of Culture of the republic of Serbia the 2nd edition of KUSTENDORF FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL will held at Mokra Gora, Serbia from the 8th until the 14th of January 2009.

Aimed at rewarding future generations of filmmakers as well as providing master classes with established talent, the festival is a by-invitation only event with 6 segments:

1. COMPETITION PROGRAMME (in which student films from over 15 countries which are going to be rewarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze Egg, depending of the jury’s choice)

2. RETROSPECTIVE OF GREATNESS

3. RETROSPECTIVE

4. CONTEMPORARY TRENDS

5. EVERGREEN

6. MUSIC PROGRAMME.

The workshops and masterclasses of this year festival will be held by Oliver Stone, Jim Jarmusch, Laurent Cantet (2008 Palm d’Or winner), Alain Delon, Takeshi Kitano, and Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton, among others.

Students or self-taught non-released filmmakers can submit a film (under 45 minutes of duration) on any genre for consideration to the competition programme.

The films should be sent in a DVD with English subtitles (if the original language is not English) and on a separate CD the following shall be included:

In word format:

- short synopsis including film duration

- short director biography

- cast (director, editor, director of photography, editor, screenplay, producer)

- at least two (2) stills – one of the director and crew and one still image of the film in JPEG, GIFF or PDF.

The submission deadline is November 1st and selected students will be announced by December 1st. The invited filmmakers will have their expenses paid by the Festival and will attend the workshops and events.

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