The Balkan Snapshots Film Festival (BSFF) is a multidisciplinary festival dedicated to bring Balkan films, art and music to the Dutch audience.
The third edition of the Balkan Snapshots Film Festival took place from the 9th to the 11th of October 2008 at Kriterion Cinema in Amsterdam.
The primary aim of the festival is to generate a widespread enthusiasm about the newest Balkan productions and to develop a growing interest in the current affairs of this region.
Secondarily, the festival operates as a podium for Balkan artists in Amsterdam.
The goal of the BSFF film and art program is to shape a different imago of the Balkans than the one most viewers are familiar with.
By the selection and the choice of content we want to critically address, discuss and confront the stereotypical image of the Balkans.
The three main organisers of the festival are: Balkan Buro, Mara and VideoInferno.
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The programme of the Balkan Snapshots Film Festival 2008 is focused mainly on the work of young filmmakers and artists and it’s composed of 10 feature films (one per each Balkan nation), 4 selections of short films and two retrospectives.
The chosen theme of the BSFF 2008 is: “Exotic/Exluded”.
This year’s theme plays with “Exotic” stereotypes that surround the Balkans. The stereotyped imago of the Wild Balkans that Western Europeans have by now accepted and taken over in both a negative way (inspired by the recent wars and their aftershocks) as much as in a positive way (inspired for example by de poetic romanticism of popular films such as Emir Kusturica’s) will be confronted and addressed both critically and creatively.
Only by provoking interest in finding out and understanding what’s going on in the Balkans right now can break this geographical and cultural isolation, ceasing to be “Excluded”
As collaborating partner of the festival, Lokomotiva responded to this year festival them by selecting the following authors/ films in the shorts film programme:
- Borjan Zafirovski - The portrait of the young artist in the 21st century - 8 min/ 2001-2002
- Igor Ivanov – Izi – Bugs - 15 min/ 2004
- Vanja Dimitrova – Absence - 21 min/ 2006
- Ivan Ivanovski - Humans Nailing - 4, 07 min/ 2008
- Frosina Naumovska - Ace Slash - 22 min/ 2008
Besides, the shorts film selection, BSFF 2008 was opened with the projection of film The Making of Balkan Wars.
 
The Making of Balkan Wars is 79 min. documentary film produced in 2006.
Lokomotiva collaborated with Personal CinemaandProsenghisi from Greece on production of the film.
The documentary draws on interviews with artists, art critics, writers and curators from South Eastern Europe, presented as a multi-user 3D-videogame that pokes fun at Balkan stereotypes in the literal sense of the word …
The selection of the films was done by Violeta Kachakova and Natasha Dimitrievska.
Natasha Dimitirevska was a BSFF guest and she presented the Lokomotiva’s selection in front of the festival audience.
More information about the festival you can find on its official web site: http://www.balkansnapshots.com/
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