“There are several important reasons why Novi Sad should bear the European Capital of Culture title in 2021,” said Mr. Oscar Benedict, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, visiting Novi Sad, where he opened the second Euro Film Festival held in nine cities across Serbia.

„The first reason is that Novi Sad is the city of culture, and most importantly, it is a multicultural city. There are 26 nationalities living in Vojvodina, six official languages, and what is very important, the Radio Television of Vojvodina broadcast the program in all those languages. You can be absolutely proud of that fact. But this is just the first reason. The second is that Novi Sad, to be honest, was the first located in a region that has always been the center of Central Europe. For hundreds of years Banat and the Danube were the places where cultures intersect. Many cultures have passed through here, and many of them stayed. It is a good story to tell. Meanwhile, the place survived a lot, there were obstacles, wars … but now it is really time to put it back on the map. This is what Novi Sad can do perfectly. Finally, the third reason is that Serbia is a candidate for accession to the European Union, and Novi Sad can help Serbia to return to the map of Europe, map of tourism, culture… To be honest, people know little about Serbia. When you mention Serbia, many people’s first association is war. Title of European Capital of Culture for which Novi Sad competes for 2021 is a good signal to everyone that Novi Sad and Serbia are Europe,“said Benedict.

This year, Novi Sad was chosen among nine cities in Serbia to officially open the festival with the best films of European cinematography. During the nine days 18 films were shown, and Film Program Editor of the Cultural Center, Mr. Djordje Kaćanski, said that the reason why Novi Sad feels „like a bastion of European film culture“, among other things, is because the cinema has a high rating Europa cinemas, which means an official member of the group of the best European cinemas that foster the best European films. ,, We achieved that through decades of efforts we have put in dissemination of film culture, particularly in the field of European film. The following year will be 20 years since we began in CCNS with the organization of European Film Festival „Euro-in“ and only last year the festival presented 311 European films. Why European film? It cherishes author films in which, as in all master-pieces ready-made solutions are not provided, but it is up to audience to be asked questions on which we must reflect. In this sense, it is very important that the organizers have worked hard to provide movies from less developed European cinematography that do not belong to the main film flows. This is the great charm of this festival that you do not have to wait for large distributors, but thanks to EU info corner and embassies and cultural centers of the European countries in our country, we have the opportunity to see such excellent films already in the framework of this event „said Mr.Kaćanski.