I believe that the 18th
International Film Camera Festival " Manaki Brothers " is the most pleasant
event of the people in Bitola, this year. The number of world film festivals
is tremendous, but very few Festival centres can be proud of such a tradition
as the one of the brothers Manaki from Bitola.
The Festival holding a 5-years international
experience, though it counts 17 editions, this year celebrates a significant
jubilee, but certainly the most important fact is that it highlights the
50th Anniversary of Organised Film Production in Macedonia.
I am glad, that precisely this year, the Macedonian
cinematography is represented by two films, GYPSY MAGIC by the already
acknowledged and experienced Stole Popov and ACROSS THE LAKE by the director-debutante
Antonio Mitrikeski and it speaks for itself about the continuity of the
Macedonian film. I am pleased that after their world promotion we will
have the opportunity to follow their Macedonian premiere on the Festival,
believing that we will continue to show even more premieres of our film
releases in the future, here in Bitola.
The fact that last year the Ministry of Culture
of the Republic of Macedonia has enlisted the International Film Camera
Festival "Manaki Brothers" among the few priority cultural and international
events happening in our country and the Patronage of the President of the
Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Kiro Gligorov, speaks enough about the meaning
of this unique film festival on our territory.
The extensive world family of film festivals,
expands from day to day. Although at this moment I am not very familiar
with the precise number of those festivals, one thing is certain: the Republic
of Macedonia, possibly, is one of the few countries having only one film
festival and the same obliges us to maintain, advance and offer chances
for our Festival to grow.
The speciality of the film camera as a substantial
element in the creation of a film, that is the main characteristic of the
Festival, enhances our possibilities for success with the notion that we
are one of the only three specialised film festivals in the world.
I consider that these known facts show that the
International Film Camera Festival "Manaki Brothers" indeed is becoming
a world festival that is thoroughly planned and thought about constantly.
