From Anibar, Maglaj Spirit Weekend, Sarajevo and Herceg Novi, one message was clear: for young authors networking is essential, for filmmaker co-production is a must, and Creative Europe remains a key source of support. Film today crosses borders from the start, bringing together financing, expertise and creative talents.
The WeBalkans’ EU With YOU summer festival journey concluded at the 39th Herceg Novi – Montenegro Film Festival, bringing together filmmakers, students, Young European Ambassadors and film professionals around a shared question: how can cooperation, education and EU funded opportunities help the next generation of filmmakers turn their ideas into reality?
This year’s Herceg Novi festival featured more than 80 films across several programme sections, while EU With YOU activities focused particularly on the energy, creativity and enthusiasm of young authors. Young European Ambassadors actively participated in panel discussions, conversations with filmmakers and exchanges with young audiences, helping connect the festival programme with a broader regional youth perspective.
Building Bridges through Film
One of the central EU With YOU events was the panel “Building Bridges through Film: Regional Cooperation, Education and Opportunities”, organised by the WeBalkans initiative at Dvorana Park in Herceg Novi. The discussion moderated by Young European Ambassador Marija Malić explored how education, cultural exchange, cooperation and access to opportunities can shape the next generation of filmmakers.
The panel brought together Aleksandra Božović, Director of the Film Centre of Montenegro; Nataša Bučar, Director of the Slovenian Film Centre; award-winning Montenegrin director Ivan Salatić; Miha Jaramaz, professor at the Ljubljana Academy; and students from the Ljubljana and Cetinje film academies.
A strong message emerged from their conversation: filmmaking today is fundamentally collaborative. Young filmmakers need to start building their networks already during their studies and learn to recognise future partners across the region. Cooperation between academies can create precisely this kind of environment, allowing students to meet, develop ideas together and eventually move towards joint productions.
Films increasingly cross borders long before they reach audiences. Co-productions bring together financing, knowledge, crews and creative perspectives, while helping filmmakers from the Western Balkans remain part of a wider European cultural space. As Nataša Bučar stressed, films in Slovenia and throughout the region are rarely produced without partners from other countries. Financing an entire film independently is increasingly difficult, and European co-production is not simply an additional opportunity, it is one of the foundations of contemporary filmmaking.
Aleksandra Božović similarly underlined the importance of creating spaces in which young authors can move through the entire filmmaking process together – from developing an idea through production and post-production to eventually presenting their work at festivals. Such cooperation can become the starting point for future professional relationships and new co-productions. Her message to young filmmakers was equally important: believe in your ideas, even when bringing them to the screen initially appears difficult or impossible.
A Filmmaker Before High School
One of the most memorable EU With YOU encounters in Herceg Novi came from a much younger generation of filmmakers.
At the Music School, EU With YOU informal workshop took place with the young team behind “Ranjenik” (The Wounded Man), a 49-minute film created while its authors were still ninth-grade students of OŠ “Sutjeska” in Podgorica. The film, directed by Petar Jovović and Marija Žarić, was included in the side programme of the Herceg Novi Film Festival.
Their experience brought a particularly genuine dimension to the festival programme. Rather than focusing only on established careers and professional production, the conversation showed how filmmaking can help young people discover their interests, talents and ability to work with others from a very early age. It also opened a broader conversation about how participation in cultural projects can build confidence, skills and curiosity among young people.
Creative Europe
EU With YOU also accompanied screenings at Forte Mare supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, where Young European Ambassadors spoke with filmmakers and producers about their work, European cooperation and the role that EU support plays in bringing films from an initial idea to audiences
What could be heard across the film festivals is that Creative Europe MEDIA and Eurimages have helped give life to numerous films, festivals, co-productions and professional networks throughout the region. For an industry in which financing remains one of the greatest challenges, this support is often critical. Without programmes such as Creative Europe, many films would struggle to move beyond the development stage – and the sustainability of the wider film ecosystem in the Western Balkans would be significantly more difficult.
