08 Mar 12th Belgrade Irish Festival is officially opened
Irish director and screenwriter Jim Sheridan was awarded the Golden Seal of the Yugoslav Film Archive (Jugoslovenska Kinoteka) for his outstanding contribution to the film art at the opening of the 12th Belgrade Irish Festival (BIF). The award was presented to him by Ksenija Zelenović, the editor of the film program at this institution, on behalf of the Film Archive.
Addressing the audience, Sheridan expressed his delight at being back in Serbia and hoped that Serbia would remain open to the world. Following the award ceremony, the audience attended a screening of the film “My Left Foot,” which brought Sheridan and Irish cinema to worldwide acclaim. The film is a true story about the Irish poet and painter Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy and could only use his left foot. According to Sheridan, this film symbolizes perseverance and significantly influenced the perception of people with developmental disabilities in Ireland.
“That is the task of art. An artist should have courage. James Joyce once said that the only thing they couldn’t take from him was his courage. Well, I hope I’m not a coward either,” Sheridan said through laugh, in front of the Belgrade audience.
Jas Kaminski, the founder and director of the Belgrade Irish Festival, thanked Jim for everything he had done for film and for Ireland, recalling how this film changed the lives of people with developmental disabilities in the country.
During the BIF, two more Sheridan films will be screened: the famous “In the Name of the Father,” which, according to him, represents a return to the non-violent role of fatherhood, and “Along the Sky Road to Aqaba,” about the life of Irish actor Peter O’Toole. The audience will also have the opportunity to see the film “The Ghost of Richard Harris” in which Sheridan appears.
Over the course of ten days, the Belgrade audience will have the opportunity to enjoy a selection of Irish films, award-winning theater performance, photography exhibitions, engage in discussions with directors, writers, and journalists from Ireland, learn more about this country and its culture through interactions with Irish residents living in Serbia.