The Free Zone Film Festival will take place from November 5 to 11, 2025, across four cities — Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, and Kragujevac — but this year’s edition will come with a slightly different character.
All screenings will be non-competitive, with no jury and no official opening ceremony, announced Rajko Petrović, the festival’s director and selector.
“We decided that our priority is to maintain the continuity of the festival and organize it as a film review. There will be no grand openings or closings in large halls. What remains, however, is the Audience Award — viewers attending the festival or visiting our website and social media channels will still be able to rate the films,” said Petrović.
Petrović emphasized that this year the festival did not receive support from the Ministry of Culture, but that it did receive solidarity and backing from professionals within the film industry.
“This festival wouldn’t have been possible without the understanding of certain filmmakers and producers who wanted to screen their films at Free Zone regardless of the situation, as well as without the support of local and regional distributors and cinemas who joined us in the decision to make the festival happen this year,” Petrović noted.
Program and Highlights
The festival will present screenings in four cities, while program selector Branka Pavlović highlighted three films from the “Women’s Line” section — the only official selection this year.
“We owe immense gratitude to our donors from the Reconstruction Women’s Fund, who were practically our only supporters this year. All three films from the ‘Women’s Line’ selection are highly relevant as they deal with global events that not only marked the past year but will also shape the years ahead,” said Pavlović.
The selection includes:
🎬 “Put Your Soul on Your Palm and Walk” – following a young photographer during the siege of Gaza.
🎬 “Foundation” – connecting Polish cities marked by the Holocaust and exploring the theme of memory.
🎬 “Letters from Malmo” – dedicated to letters of solidarity that were never delivered after a racist attack.
Guests and Screenings
Despite limited resources, the festival will still host several guests.
Among them is Lidija Zelović, a Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker presenting “Home Game”, a documentary chronicling her life from 1992 to today.
Another guest is Senad Šahmanović, director of “Vude, You Won”, a film about the only non-American to have ever won an Oscar for an animated film.
A Festival Against the Odds
Organizers emphasized that holding the festival this year — despite the difficult cultural climate — was a conscious decision to preserve continuity.
“I’m not even sure I can imagine what the festival will look like in 2026, or if it will exist at all. But this is our attempt to keep it alive, so that under different circumstances it may continue its journey,” said Petrović.
He also warned that the ongoing absence of public funding results — and the potential for another year without them — would set a troubling precedent for independent cultural organizations.
“For autonomous associations like Free Zone that state institutions do not directly support, it will become increasingly difficult to rely on public funding,” the organizers concluded.
The festival team hopes to continue its traditional post-festival tour, bringing selected films to more than 50 towns across Serbia after the main event.
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