US actor and filmmaker Edward Norton has joined the programme of the third Ponta Lopud Film Festival in Croatia, where he will give lectures and workshops to emerging talent from the Balkan region.
Fight Club and American History X actor Norton will give a main masterclass to all participants in this year’s event, before conducting further sessions focusing solely on the eight actors.
Scroll down for the selected participants.
Polish cinematographer Ula Pontikos, who has shot films including Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, Weekend and Lilting as well as season two of Netflix’s Russian Doll, will mentor the three cinematography participants – all of whom are women, as part of Ponta Lopud’s commitment to gender equality in the industry.
Pontikos will also give a headline masterclass before focusing on sessions with her fellow directors of photography.
“I’ve been making films for 30 years and the large majority of what I’ve learned about the craft and art has come from talking to older filmmakers about the details of their experiences,“ said Norton. “We need each other to really learn the trade and I absolutely love the idea of a film festival for filmmakers.“
The 19 participants for the 2023 event have also been selected, and include Kosovo’s Norika Sefa, director of International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021 title Looking For Venera; and Juraj Lerotic, Croatian director of Safe Place which premiered at Locarno last year, winning best first feature, before taking the main prize at Sarajevo Film Festival.
Norton and Pontikos join Ruben Ostlund on the programme of this year’s Ponta Lopud – the festival which aims to support Balkan filmmakers through connections with major international talents. Last year’s event was attended by Frances McDormand and Joel Coen.
Founded by former Sarajevo Film Festival director Mirsad Purivatra and Tilda Grossel Bogdanovic, Ponta Lopud is backed by the regional film centres from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Sarajevo and Slovenia.
Ponta Lopud 2023 participants
Actors
Florist Bajgora (Kos)
Lazar Dragojević (Mont)
Jurij Drevenšek (Slovenia)
Muhamed Hadžović (Bos-Her)
Tihana Lazović (Cro)
Milan Marić (Ser)
Natalija Teodosijeva (N Mac)
Ivana Vuković (Ser)
Directors
Marija Apčevska (N Mac)
Kukla – Katarina Bogdanović (Slovenia)
Matija Gluščević (Ser)
Juraj Lerotić (Cro)
Ivan Salatić (Mont)
Norika Sefa (Kos)
Ena Sendijarević (Bos-Her)
Dušan Zorić (Ser)
Cinematographers
Bojana Andrić (Ser)
Sara Bernarda Moritz (Cro)
Gaja Naja Rojec (Slovenia)
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