The 36th edition of the #Trieste Film Festival#, taking place from January 16 to 24, 2025, will spotlight Serbia and its talented women filmmakers in the «Wild Roses» section. Curated by director Stefan Ivancić, a member of the Locarno Film Festival’s selection committee, this section aims to present new perspectives from contemporary Serbian cinema. Following previous focuses on countries such as Poland, Ukraine, and Germany, this year’s showcase promises to bring important narratives from Serbia’s women directors.

With a strong focus on personal stories and intimate narratives, the films in this section highlight the political potential of private tales, often reflecting the country’s recent past, marked by wars and internal divisions. As the younger generations work to rebuild and imagine the future, these filmmakers seek to address collective traumas and explore their country’s evolving identity.

Among the featured films are Iva Radivojević’s When the Phone Rang (Kada je zazvonio telefon), a poignant exploration of memory and displacement, which gained international recognition at the Locarno Film Festival. Another standout is Emilija Gašić’s 78 Days (78 dana), which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, depicting three sisters using film as a means of coping during the 1999 war in Serbia.

Other notable works include Milica Tomović’s Celts (Kelti), Ivana Mladenović’s Ivana the Terrible (Ivana cea Groaznică), and Marta Popivoda’s Landscapes of Resistance, all of which have garnered attention at major international festivals. Documentaries such as Mila Turajlić’s The Other Side of Everything (Druga strana svega) and Jelena Maksimović’s Homelands (Domovine) further enrich the section.

The lineup also includes emerging talents, with short films from Tara Gajović, Jelena Gavrilović, Maša Šarović, and Tamara Todorović.