FIFFP 2026 about the movies – short introduction of selected movies.
The Patron / Mecenaten
Sweden, 2026, drama, 100’, Swedish, Danish, English with English subtitles
Director: Julia Thelin
The cleaner (Carla Sehn) moves like a nameless shadow on the fringes of cultural capital. When one of her employers goes away, the door to another life suddenly opens, giving her the chance to step forward as someone more exciting.
Cast: Carla Sehn, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Maxwell Cunningham
Production: Grand Slam Film Production
Утре наутро / Sutra ujutro / Tomorrow Morning
North Macedonia, 2025, drama, 135’, Macedonian with English subtitles
Director: Jani Bojadzi
Two women, a young doctor and the wife of a former prime minister, are trying to escape the grip of the American government and European diplomats, who are playing their game of power and torture in a small country in Eastern Europe.
Cast: Nina Dean, Jana Nikodinovska, Goce Andonov
Production: Cinemon Media Factory
Perast, mrtvi grad / The Dead City
Yugoslavian, Montenegro,1952, short documentary, 17’, Lovćen Film
Director: Velimir Stojanovic
A visit to the deserted city of Perast.
Dom pokraj mora/ The House by the Sea
Yugoslavian, Montenegro, 1965, short documentary 14’, Lovćen Film
Director: Branislav Bane Bastać
Poetic documentary description of the city Perast from 1965: “How beautiful day is today”.
Budvanska barka / The Budva Boat
Montenegro, 2026, short film, 15’25’’, with English Subtitles
Director: Dejan Senić
Manus: Momčilo Zeković Zeko
Budvanska Barka/The Budva Boat is a short film about Budva, poetic melodrama written by Momčilo Zeković Zeko and brought to life through the deeply emotional interpretation of actor Petar Strugar.
The film is the result of a partnership between the Academy of Knowledge and Mega Promet, created from a shared desire to give something back, at least in part, to the town that has, throughout the years, decades, and centuries, offered countless beautiful moments, treasured memories, and enduring inspiration.
Through a tender story of youth, stunning imagery of the town, the sea, its beaches and hinterland, and nostalgic recollections, “Budvanska Barka” awakens emotions not only among the people of Budva, but also among all those who love the town, cherish its rich cultural heritage, and recognize the unique spirit and energy that make Budva truly unforgettable.
Cast: Petar Strugar
Production: Akademija znanja Budva
7 Steps / 7 Steg
Sweden, 2025, romantic drama, 108’, Swedish with English subtitles
Director: Andreas Öhman
The seven steps dictate the conditions for Elle’s entire existence. After a year of falling in love, traveling and romantic adventures, she disappears without a trace. Josef takes up the search for her.
Cast: Joel Spira, Veronica Maggio, Marika Lagercrantz
Production: Grand Slam Film Production
Saučesnici / Accomplices
Serbia, 2025, family drama, 107’, Serbian with Englush subtitles
Director: Marko Novakovic
After a car accident, Sofia and Branko’s idyllic life unravels. As they struggle to cope with the aftermath, their conscience haunts them, transforming their relationship and leading to a series of unexpected events.
Cast: Nevena Nerandzic, Radovan Vujovic, Milica Janevski
Production: Zillion Film, Filmski centar Srbije, Interfilm
Joymakers
Serbia, 2024, documentary, 45’, Serbian with English subtiles
Director Jelena Radenović
“Joymakers” is a captivating documentary that delves into the lives of Roma trumpeters in the south of Serbia, showcasing their incredible talent and passion for music. However, it also unveils the harsh reality they face as musicians and Romi. Passed down through generations, the art of trumpet playing is a double-edged sword, as improper techniques and excessive air use take a toll on their health, often leading to lung diseases. What appears as pure joy and happiness to the audience is simultaneously their sole source of income and, at times, a source of pain.
At the heart of the film is Maksut Maksutović Maksa, the renowned teacher of Roma trumpeters, who crafted authentic jazz arrangements and provided livelihoods for many musicians. When US professor Nada Miljković, a friend of Maksa, stumbles upon and meets his student and successor Milan donja Nikolić, she embarks on a mission to share their story. Their goal is to establish a school where gifted children can learn to play properly and kickstart their musical careers more easily. With this noble intention, she travels from California to Southern Serbia.
Through intimate conversations with Milan and showcasing the talent of these young musicians under his tutelage, the film unveils their aspirations, challenges, and opportunities. It invites the audience to view them from a different perspective, encouraging us to appreciate and support this unique form of creativity. “Joymakers” calls on us to embrace the joy these musicians bring into our lives and help them survive in the harsh world they navigate.
Cast: Milan Donja Nikolić
Producer: Nada Miljković
After Party / Poslije zabave
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2025, documentary, 29’26’’, Serbian with English subtiles
Director: Stefan Tomić
We follow Stevo Grabovac, a retail clerk, through ten days before the announcement of the winner of the prestigious literary award for which he was nominated for the second time in his life.
Producer: Nikola Đaković
Matija Ban
Serbia, Croatia, 2024, documentary-feature, 40’, with English Subtitles
Director: Milica Bajić Djogo
Festival guest actor Pedja Milojevic
Matija Ban (1818–1903) was one of the leading figures of 19th-century Serbia. Born near Dubrovnik, at the crossroads of cultures within the Austrian Empire at the time, he was a writer, playwright, educator, and diplomat. Ban was also one of the most influential figures in the movement of Dubrovnik Serb-Catholics, dedicated to promoting Serbian identity within the Catholic community of Dalmatia.
His literary work, consisting primarily of plays and historical tragedies, significantly contributed to the shaping of national consciousness during a period of profound social change. Although later academic works marginalized and overlooked his influence, Ban left a significant mark on the Serbia of his time, as evidenced by his membership in the Serbian Royal Academy.
Cast: Pedja Milojevic
Production: Touchsound
Orenda
Finland, Estonia, Sweden, 2025, drama, 118’, Finnish with English subtitles
Director: Pirjo Honkasalo
The destinies of two women intertwine on a remote island through guilt and grace.
Cast: Alma Pöysti, Pirkko Saisio, Hannu-Pekka Björkman
Production: Bufo, Allfilm, Plattform Produktion
The Quiet Beekeeper
Sweden, 2026, drama, 104’, Swedish, Norwegian with English subtitles
Director: Marcus Carlsson
BIODLAREN is an exploration of love, nature, and the cycles of life through the eyes of a father and daughter longing for connection.
Cast: Adam Lundgren, Hedvig Nilsson, Marika Lindström
Production: Sveriges Television (SVT), Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI), Region Värmland
AALTO
Finland, 2020, documentary, 103’, Finish with English subtitles
Director: Viirpi Suutari
This captivating exploration of Alvar Aalto, the defining figure in Scandic design and one of Europe’s greatest modern architects, focuses on his remarkable and loving partnership with wife, Aino. Theirs was a profoundly humanist vision that put people at the centre of design, and ranged from work in furniture design through to huge architectural projects. They mixed with, and influenced, major figures of modernist art and design including Le Corbusier, Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Come on a cinematic tour of their iconic buildings all over the world, from a library in Russia, a student dormitory at MIT, an art collector’s private house near Paris, to a pavilion in Venice. Narrated by experts in the field and featuring never before seen archive footage, Aalto tells the love story of an extraordinary couple with a great passion for human scale architecture.
Cast: Alvar Aalto, Aino Aalto, Elissa Aalto
Production: Euphoria Film, ARTE, AVROTROS
Choice
North Macedonia, 2025, short film, 17’, Macedonian with English subtitles
Director: Marko Crnogorski
A young mother and her toddler face a devastating reality when a new law bans her scheduled abortion.
Cast: Sara Sandeva, Eva Velic, Sara Anastasovska
Producer: Marko Crnogorski, Naum Doksevski, Jana Paunoska
Obraz / The Tower Of Strength
Montenegro, 2026, drama, 95’, Albanian, Serbo-Croatian, English with English subtitles
Director: Nikola Vukcevic
A hunted child will find refuge in the house of the enemy. The host faces a terrible choice: save the child’s life or risk losing his own family.
Cast: Edon Rizvanolli, Elez Adzovic, Alban Ukaj
Production: Cinnamon Film, Embrio Production
Maricel
Cyprus, Greece, 2025, social drama, 120’8’’, English, Greek (Modern), Tagalog wirh English subtitles
Director: Elias Demetriou
A Filipino domestic worker is called to take care of an elderly couple in a Cypriot mountain village. What begins as a simple caregiving task gradually exposes a web of silent resentment, emotional dependency and unspoken histories, forcing her into the delicate, unsettling space between obligation and intimacy.
Cast: Zar Donato, Ntinos Lyras, Lenia Sorocou, Diomedes Koufteros, Daphne Alexander
Producer: Monica Nicolaidou, Maria Drandaki, Elias Demetriou
Conventions of Contracts / Συμβάσεις Έργων
Greece, 2024, documentary, 26’21’’, with English subtitles
Director Stefanos Mondelos
A former construction worker uncovers a conspiracy to cheat on public funds using photos taken on construction sites. This fictional short story is inspired by found photos and revolves around construction companies, public works, and artistic direction.
Cast: Spyros Zoupanos
Producer: Petros Kontos, Nadia Dermatopoulou, Stefanos Mondelos
Babini devetini
Bulgaria, 2024, documentary, 38’58’’, Bulgarian with English subtiles
Directors: Daniell Tahor, Ana-Mariya Georgieva
Remembering the past with the elderly residents of a Northwestern village in Bulgaria entails a generational contemplation of the future. Following the pace of everyday practices and conversations, the film observes the local, visible and invisible, political, social and environmental changes. Seeking to bridge the gap between the city and the village, the modern and not modern, the local and the global, two friends apply hope to the act of storytelling.
Producer: Daniell Tahor
Smal Talk Full Mouth
USA, 2025, short film, 11’, on English
Director: Jelena Sorkin
Small Talk Full Mouth is a dark comedy short film set in Manhattan restaurant. When widowers earn is mistaken for a priceless artificers, a night of chaos erupts. Grief, greed and cultural tensions collide as characters scramble for what they believe is treasure revealing the absurdity of loss, misunderstanding, and human desire.
Cast: Pamela Shaw, Goran Popovich, Angela C. Parker
Production: Pyramid Valley Production
Dr Glas / Doktor Glas
Sweden, 2026, drama, 111’, Swedish with English subtitles
Director: Erik Leijonborg
A reclusive doctor who scorns shallow society meets a fashion designer in an unhappy marriage. As he attempts to rescue her from her troubled relationship, they become entangled in deception and dangerous power dynamics.
Cast: Isac Calmroth, Christian Fandango Sundgren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss
Production: Triangledrama, Unlimited Stories
Човек лавина / The Avalanche Man
Montenegro, 2025, Documentary 83’, with English subtitles
Director: Slobodanka Radun
“The Avalanche Man” a film about the life and work of Dragoljub Đuričić, one of the most renowned drummers in the region, directed by Slobodanka Radun.
The film features personal testimonies from Zdravko Čolić, Vlatko Stefanovski, Bajaga, Kiki Lesandrić, Žika Jelić, Đule Van Gog, Nikola Čuturilo, Dejan Cukić, Petar Janjatović, Anton Krstović, Zoro Martineti, as well as Đuričić’s sons and other public figures. Their tone is intimate rather than formal, which brings vitality and depth to the film it’s not merely a biography, but a portrait of an era. What Đuričić once did with his drumming on stage and in the streets, “The Avalanche Man” now does in the darkness of the cinema.