Welcome to a world where history turns into a soap opera, and the Palić European Film Festival becomes a stage for controversies that will make you question — where is the line between truth and fiction? The 32nd edition of the festival, held from July 19 to 23 in Palić near Subotica, opens with the premiere of “Sedef Magla” — the last film by the recently deceased director Milorad Milinković. The film plunges us into the dark depths of Serbian history in 1903, when Jelena Ilka Marković attempted to assassinate King Milan Obrenović in the cathedral church. The official version of her death in prison states she hanged herself with a towel on the bed, but evidence suggests it was not suicide. Seven years later, two bodies are found on the banks of the Sava River — the murdered girl and the great-grandson of Prince Miloš, and the case is reopened. This dark thriller with elements of historical drama, starring Miloš Timotijević, Petar Strugar, and Voja Brajović, sparks a storm of emotions and questions about how distorted and covered up history really is.
But wait, there’s more! The festival also features “Two Prosecutors” by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, following a young Soviet prosecutor during Stalin’s Great Purge. The film, which won the François Chalais Prize at Cannes, will be screened on July 20. The festival closes with the documentary “Hey, Salaši!”, a journey through the Vojvodina plains and disappearing worlds, accompanied by the music of the legendary Zvonko Bogdan.
The festival is rich and diverse, with 16 selections and films from across Europe, but the central theme remains — how to confront the past, truth, and oblivion through art? Is history just a story served to us, or is it time to wake up and look behind the scenes?
If you love films that make you think, rage, laugh, and wonder — this festival is for you. And if you have your own take on how history is portrayed on screen, feel free to share it. Who knows, maybe your critique will be the voice that changes things!
