Balkan Mish-Mash Film Production was held in Pogradec from 31 July to 5 August 2016. This year’s production was made possible with the support of UNESCO. Up to 150 films from the Balkan countries participated in this edition of the festival. A new section—Balkan Heritage—was added to the competition’s other genres in the festival. Documentaries that deal with Balkan traditions, cultures, music and nature were part of the festival, enabling us to know more about what we have in common and what makes Balkan countries unique.
The festival is held every year in Pogradec, an area known historically for the importance of its commercial routes among Balkan countries in the centuries of the Ottoman Empire.
The best film and the winner of the festival was Wish to wash with rain, directed by Gülten Taranç from Turkey. Best experimental was We have all been here forever, by Peter Cerovšek, Neža Grum, Matevž Jerman (Slovenia). Best animation: Dinner for a few, by Nassos Vakalis (Greece). Best comedy: Getting fat in a healthy way, by Kevork Aslanyan (Bulgaria). Best Balkan Spirit: Behold, by Mark Sargent (Greece).
The Balkan Film Food Festival is not just a festival about food and culinary traditions; it is also about the Balkan Film Production. The intention of the festival is to create a climate of understanding and friendship and collaboration among the Balkan countries.
This Balkan Festival is a good chance to get acquainted with the best cinema achievements of recent times. There are 60 million Balkan people and still don’t know one another well enough.
Why in Pogradec?
Historically that area it is known for its commercial routes among Balkan countries in the centuries as Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Albania since the Ottoman Empire.
Water border frontiers which somehow are meaningless among Albania Greece and Macedonia is the clue to organize such Festival in Pogradec as a sign of Cohabitation Respect and Understanding among the Balkan Countries.