Movie Maker - USA (2020 - Spring)

KÜSTENDORF

INTERNATIONAL

FILM AND MUSIC

FESTIVAL

On the opening night of this

year’s Küstendorf, staff wheeled

out a giant wooden black cat—

resembling something like a

2D Trojan Horse—and festival

founder Emir Kusturica and

jurors painted the cat white with

giant paint rollers, symbolically

ridding the forthcoming fest of

any potential supernatural harm

that might lay in store for a 13th

edition. A traditional Orthodox

New Year’s celebration fol-

lowed in the town center, which

included steaming cauldrons of

mulled wine, a brass band, and

a spectacular fireworks finale.

Retrospective screenings

began each morning at 11—

which illustrates just how

late the partying goes each

night—and this year centered

on Serbian moviemaker

Puriša Đorđević, whose

filmography was a discovery

worth the journey. The now

95-year-old was present at

the fest, and joked during the

opening ceremony that he has

remained in good health for a

near century by avoiding fruit.

Another major part of

Küstendorf are the blocks of

student shorts. The selections

included a healthy mix of re-

gional and international films,

but for the most part, the stand-

outs tended to come from East-

ern Europe. Romanian comedy

“The Christmas Gift” has won

a string of awards on the fest

circuit, and to no one’s surprise,

took home the Gold. Silver went

to “The Lake of Happiness,” a

Belarusian short.

It’s worth noting that in the

MOVIEMAKER JOHNNY MA’S

TO LIVE TO SING PREMIERED IN THE

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS SECTION

AT KÜSTENDORF 2020

THE ORTHODOX NEW YEAR RINGS

IN WITH A BANG DURING OPENING

NIGHT AT KÜSTENDORF

FESTIVAL BEAT

U.S., most short film program-

ming centers on runtime and

the idea that a programmer can

slot in a larger selection of great

films if the runtimes aren’t too

long. Küstendorf pushes back

against this narrative. Most of

the selections run in the 20- to

30- and even 40-minute range.

This helps avoid that very

American short film trope of an

overly clever narrative that ends

with a calculated twist.

The magic of Küstendorf is

not lost on anyone who has had

the privilege of venturing to

this mountain top in the Mokra

Gora region of Serbia. The wel-

coming energy, free-flowing ra-

kia (a popular fruit brandy from

the Balkans), overly loud music,

and great cinema come together

for an unforgettable week.

—Caleb Hammond

FilmInKC.com

@KansasCityFilm

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ÜSTENDORF FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL