OASIS wins main prize at the 49th FEST in Belgrade

We are pleased to announce that the film OASIS has won the main competition of the 49th International FilmFEST Festival (FEST) in Belgrade.

This year, 17 films qualified for the main competition, which captivated the audience with their stylistic and thematic versatility. Ivan Ikić's almost dissecting, unbiased look at the hustle and bustle and life of a home for mentally disadvantaged children outside Belgrade convinced the FEST jury and earned OASIS two prizes at once. In addition to the main FEST Belgrade Victor Award for Best Film, Ivan Ikić was also awarded the Nebojša Đukelić Award for Best Film in the Region.

OASIS tells of explosive hormonal surges and passionate emotions. The audience is given a captivating insight into the emotional worlds of mentally handicapped young people, played magnificently by the clients of the home themselves. Marija, Dragana and Robert are stuck in a complicated love triangle. A pregnancy and many fits of jealousy later, a great tragedy awaits.

OASIS was shown in Cottbus during the 30th FFC. The jury was overwhelmed by the performance of the three main actors and awarded them the prize for outstanding individual performance in the feature film competition.

The first FEST under the motto "A Brave New World" opened on 9 January 1971 in the Sindikata Cathedral with the screening of Robert Altman's film Mash. Intended as an annual review of the best films of the season, the Belgrade International Film Festival - FEST - developed into one of the most important festivals on the continent, a pillar of Belgrade's cultural life and an indispensable element in the coming of age of many generations of film fans.

To date, FEST boasts four million visitors and almost 4000 relevant international films that had their Yugoslav/Serbian and often regional premieres at the festival.

In 2015, FEST was transformed into an official competition festival with four different competition sections: "The Main Competition Programme" - international selection; "Serbian Film" - national selection; "Frontiers" - subversive, controversial and arthouse films that push boundaries in a thematic and aesthetic sense; and films from the region competing for the "Nebojša Đukelić" prize.