July 28, 2023

Much awaited animated feature “The Peasants”, produced by Ivan Pribićević and Jelena Angelovski, is having a world premiere in the Special Presentations Program of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), taking place September 7th-17th.

Directors Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman together with supervisors Biserka Petrović and Vladimir Vinkić, lead 22 talented Serbian painters through a process crowned by work of Digitalkraft’s experienced VFX crew. This exciting project of great artistic value, comes as a co-production of BreakThru Productions (Poland), Art Shot (Lithuania) and Digitalkraft (Serbia).

The plot is based on the novel of Nobel Prize winner – Wladyslaw Reymont. It brings the tragic story about a peasant girl, Jagna, forced to marry a much older, rich farmer, Borina, despite her love for his son Antek. Over time, Yagna becomes the object of envy and hatred of the villagers and must fight to preserve her independence. Polish countryside in the turn of the 20th century is a perfect set for dramatic twists and turns of the story followed by colorful season changes, hard work in the fields and traditional local holidays.

This unique microcosm of the village community serves as an occasion to tell a universal story about tragic love and life in a small community where rules and traditions determine everyone’s roles while going beyond others’ expectations can result in shame and rejection.

Welchmans’ previous film, “Loving Vincent”, was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and BAFTA, earning $42 million at the box office. Film “Peasants” was made using the same painting technique, which has already stole the hearts of fans around the world.

Watch the first trailer HERE.

July 7, 2023

Earlier this year, 3Lateral and Epic Games opened their new facilities in the Science and Technology Park in Novi Sad to stimulate the development of creative ideas and gather local creators in one community place. Their first educational program, Unreal Fellowship: Storytelling, drew 15 local 3D artists with extensive experience in video games, film, fashion, advertising, and other creative fields.

After five weeks of intensive training that included frequent lectures, practical work, professional motion capture sessions, and experimentation with various tools from the Unreal Engine system, the Fellows produced 15 projects based on their original scripts. They also used MetaHuman Animator to tell their compelling stories, making this a unique opportunity for them to test its capabilities before others since the tool was officially released only a few days after the program ended.

Besides this, a motion capture studio Take One made a significant contribution to the program, while actors Andrea Ržaničanin and Lazar Đukić breathed life into all the characters created within the Fellowship.

Epic Games has just published an official sizzle reel with all their cinematics on the Unreal Engine channel. Below, you can see the uncut versions of several of these projects, all created by artists from local animation, post-production, and VFX studios in Serbia, mostly SFC members.

Applications for the next iteration of Unreal Fellowship Storytelling (which kicks off by the end of September) are open until August 13. Program and competition details are listed on the Epic Games Novi Sad Artstation page.

Petar Jovović – Once Upon a Time in UE

Petar Jovović, founder and CEO of Crater Studio, joined the Fellowship after decades-long experience in VFX. Yet, it was during the program that he first took a director’s chair.

Ivana Lazarević – Ticket to Portofino

Ivana Lazarević, a 3D generalist from Open Studio, was the only Fellow to model original living creatures, sweet but dangerous, for the purposes of her original project.

Bojan Tikvarovski – if Else

Bojan Tikvarovski from North Macedonia is a well-known name on the regional VFX scene. He spent a month in Novi Sad because of the Fellowship program and, as he says, has not regretted it for a second.

Petar Mihić – ESC

Petar Mihić, an artist from the Digital Kraft studio, used this experience to tell an interesting intergalactic story.

Barbara Abdoli – Story About Kioshi

The project by Barbara Abdoli, a 3D artist from the Fried studio and an ambassador of the CGA conference.

Luka Stefanović – Stuck

Luka Stefanović, a 3D Generalist from the Dreamdust studio, found the inspiration for his story in the performance of Andrea Ržaničanin.

Aleksandar Simović – One Way

Aleksandar Simović from Primer Studio gave his answer to a popular topic and prompted us to re-think the impact of technology on everyday life.

Ognjen Petrović – 3327

The author of the short noir crime story with a simple but effective style is Ognjen Petrović, Director / Editor / Previs Artist from Bunker VFX.

May 17, 2023

Crater Studio has again proved its expertise in making adorable animated characters and compositing excellence. One of the latest animated shorts created by its skillful crew – “Andy: A dog’s tale” has been already awarded by 24 awards, mostly for best short film. Still, “Andy” continues its journey, participating on 6 festivals just in April and May, where screening on Cannes Film Awards stands out, together with Columbus International Film + Animation Festival, Lonely Wolf Film Festival, (London), AV Film Fest Petaluma Film Fest 2023 and Seattle International Film Festival.

And FYI – tickets for June events are booked months ago!

This production was a collaboration between Ignite Studios, responsible for the character design and animation, and Craters Studio, which was in charge for look development, lighting, grooming, dynamics and compositing. It gathered more than 70 artists from US, Canada, Germany and Serbia. About 12 animators, 10 modelers, a couple of riggers and texture artists worked together in order to create this short film with a heartwarming message.

“Andy”, directed by Jamy Wheless of Ignite Animation, is an uplifting story of how one puppy overcomes a series of obstacles to find his purpose in life and become a service dog. It is a compelling story told with no narration, concentrated on the visuals that stand on their own, letting the music carry us through the story. 

This project was supported by the Government of the Republic of Serbia through the Incentive Program, which is 25% return on qualified spends for animation projects.

Watch the trailer HERE.

November 14, 2022

September 23/24 brought the hybrid format of the favourite industry gathering uniting film, gaming and digital art professionals in new mission to bring the audiovisual industry closer to Remodeling the Future. As the borders between industries get erased and convergence of technology and storytelling started to shape new screen talents and the rich conference program aimed at all levels of present and future professionals in shaping their ideas for the projects to come. CGA was originally designed as a place where industry professionals of all levels meet, grow and create together, and this year we remodeled the tools of trade to empower new voices and storytellers.

The sixth edition of CGA Belgrade kicked off on September 23 with curated online sessions for worldwide audience accessible through the conference website. In order to practice what we preach the online day was broadcasted from digital environments created through Virtual Environments Lab. Over the summer, environments were created in Unreal Engine 5 by new industry talents guided by industry experts and Crater Training Center.

Second day offered long awaited in person gathering, this time hosted in new venue, mts Dvorana (Trg Nikole Pašića 5) on September 24, 2022, with three auditoriums following existing content tracks CGArts, CGAcademy and CGAlliance. The mainstage featured talks from vfx supervisor Victor Perez, head of development at Piranha Bar Nicky Gogan, discussing transformation and global positioning of smaller markets, as well as neverending novelty in the use of software tools at different scale and creative purpose.

In addition several exclusive workshops and master classes were hosted in Crater Training Center.

September 23rd: Ergon Tomskiy: Camera composition masterclass

September 23rd: Houdini User Group Serbia by SideFX

September 25th: Victor Perez – Digital Compositing Masterclass

Almost all sessions delivered at the conference this year are ready for replay on CGA Belgrade YouTube channel. To enjoy the sessions you’ve maybe missed at the conference, check out the official CGA 2022 playlist on the the LINK. The playlist includes most sessions delivered both in-person and during the conference’s virtual event.

Conference programme enjoyed a longstanding partnerships and sponsor support of 3Lateral/Epic Games, Autodesk, PMO, Mad Head Games, Playstudios Europe, Crater Studio, Side FX, Foundry, Chaos Group and DAT. We are especially proud of our new community partners Elder, Atomic Visual and Ovation BBDO that work with us in bringing the seamless digital experience to our audience. CGA Belgrade 2022 was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Irish Embassy and is taking part in the supercluster initiative Creative Tech Serbia.

June 2, 2022

CGA 2022 has launched call for applicants for Virtual Environments Lab. Specially designed educational program explores different aspects of creating environments for different digital sets and serves as one of a kind playground for anyone interested in virtual production and game engines. The program is focused on the Unreal Engine 5 workflow and presents a two-month prep process for the forthcoming edition of CGA Conference. Experienced industry tutors, guest lectures and mentors will lead team of 12 participants supervised by Crater Training Center. 

The sixth edition of CGA Belgrade is expected to happen in late September 2022, and lab results will creatively contribute the conference production. Participants will be working on simulating a level in a video game, film set and a TV broadcast studio.

CGA’s educational program on creating virtual environments will be held live in Crater Training Center from July 1 to August 27, 2022. This will be an opportunity to expand the knowledge of 3D with extensive introduction of Unreal Engine. Participation in the program includes mandatory lectures, masterclasses, and production tests. Participants will be able to see how their creations interact with the actors and cameras in the production process.

If you are 3D modeler, architect or production designer interested to enroll in this unique educational experience, call for applicants is open until June 13^th.

Participation is free of charge and classes will be held in Serbian.

Read more HERE and look forward to your application.

January 31, 2022

The continuous efforts in bringing new locations to the camera spotlight and expanding Film Friendly practices around the country have reached a new milestone with Serbia Film Commission joining the list of business partners of the Location Managers Guild International. At the same time location manager Stefan Todorović becomes the first associate member of the LMGI from the Balkans. His credits include two seasons of CW’s series The Outpost, Legendary’s upcoming The Machine and this year Sundance contender You won’t be alone alongside dozens of advertising projects shot all over Serbia. Stefan forged his location managers career on one of the most demanding scenes shot in Belgrade for the opening of the season four of CBS’s Seal Team.

SFC has been providing training for location managers and worked towards improving the conduct around public and private locations used by film productions. The latest result to that aim has been the introduction of the standardized location agreement that has become a recommended tool for all new and existing location owners and production companies. The collaboration with LMGI and its members will further enhance location practices and solidify role of the location managers in the booming Serbian film market.

“With over 4000 shooting days per year and increasing number of domestic productions the need for recognition of location professionals and code of conduct has become of paramount importance and we hope that with this milestone Serbia and capital Belgrade will continue to grow their international reputation among most desirable filming destinations in Europe.“ – says Milica Božanić, Executive Director of Serbia Film Commission.

The participation in the international guilds and promotion of film professionals internationally is essential to the vision of SFC and more news like this one are to be expected.

January 25, 2022

Serbia’s reputation for sci-fi and fantasy is expanding with the new series The Ark. Devlin is writing the series, with him and Jonathan Glassner serving as co-showrunners and executive producers. The pair also worked together on the fantasy series “The Outpost” as executive producers. The show become a staple project for Serbian locations, onboarding local cast and creative team to deliver three seasons.

The series is set to shoot entirely in Serbia and takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. The first of these missions on a spacecraft known as Ark One encounters a catastrophic event causing massive destruction and loss of life. With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive.

Devlin executive produces via Electric Entertainment along with Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson. Jonathan English of Balkanic Media will be in charge of production in Serbia scheduled to begin in March at PFI Studios. Syfy has confirmed the order of first season with 12 episodes.

“We are delighted by the announcement which continues the production partnership between Electric Entertainment and Balkanic Media. The Ark will be the first Sci-Fi show to be produced in Serbia and it’s fantastic recognition for all the Serbian filmmakers and facilities, who will be part of this exciting new production. We are also thrilled to be bringing this new show to PFI Studios which has been home to The Outpost series and many of our other productions.” said Jonathan English of Balkanic Media.

After most recent Leverage: Redemption, The Ark will be fifth project completed in Serbia in partnership with Balkanic Media.

December 23, 2021

After a series of Indian box office hits returning each year to locations in Serbia, Clockwork Film Production has brought one of the most dynamic VOD platforms AltBalaji to shoot two of their  upcoming TV series in Serbia.  

In March, Clockwork Films shot 24 days of “APRAHARN 2″ produced by famous Bollywood producer Tanvir Bookwala and “Ding Entertainment Pvt Ltd”. The acclaimed director Santosh Sing, along with very talented DOP Anubhav Bansal and Bollywood stars Arunoday Singh, Sukhmani Sadana, Snehil Mehra supported by more than 250 Serbian film crew members are behind the creation of this very action packed comedy-thriller. The story follows an ex-cop Rudra, being blackmailed by an undercover criminal gang in his high-stake battle for justice. Serbian actors Miona Marković, Jakov Jeftović and Ivan Jeftović made a brief and spicy appearance, trained for stunt scenes by the European stunt champions Serbian Stuntman Agency Team. “Apharan 2″ used the backdrop of Belgrade city center, Smederevo fortress, KPGT, the Museum of Aeronautics among other popular locations.

The producers came back in early October to start the pre-production of series “COLD MESS”. The executive producer of Cold mess, Ekta Kapoor, managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, visited the shoot. This very millennials-oriented series follows the intimacy and nature of today’s relationships between 2 young characters, Karan and Liz, with often comic misunderstandings. Directed by Prashant Bhagia the series features Barun Sobti and Ridhi Dogra, while Serbian cast included Srdjan Karanović, Djordje Kadijević, Tara Milutinović. Very talented Vladimir Ilic was the DOP on this project shot in Serbia during three weeks on locations  of Royal Palace, Madlenianum Opera and Theatre, Karadjordjeva street, emblematic Geca Kon bookstore in central pedestrian zone of Knez Mihailova street, and many other private properties.

Both projects have been supported by the Serbian Government in Incentive program, Ministry of Culture and Belgrade City authorities, JKP Smedervska Tvrdjava and many other institutions who reconfirmed Serbian film friendly and pro-active approach.

Apart from the two TV series Clockwork serviced a documentary How I Got Here for Discovery Channel Canada and large web commercial, engaging more than 800 Serbian film crew members, actors and extras to work across different projects. Three more action features are in pre-production set to be shot in the first half of 2022.

December 22, 2021

Supernatural horror thriller You Won’t Be Alone enters main competition at Sundance Film Festival with be world premiere announced for January 28, 2022 by official distributor Focus Features.  Directed and written by Goran Stolevski, Australian director born in Macedonia, the story sets in isolated mountain village in 1800s. The film stars an ensemble of European actors led by Noomi Rapace, BAFTA winner Anamaria Marinca and European Shooting Star Sara Klimoska (Milcho Manchevski’s Willow). Serbian actors Dobrila Stojnić, Đorđe Mišina and Đorđe Živadinović Grgur join the cast in supporting roles.

Producers of acclaimed Australian titles such as The Babadook and The Nightingale Kristina Ceyton and Sam Jennings (Cargo) joined forces with Jonathan English and Nataša Ivić on behalf of Serbian Balkanic Media to produce the feature entirely on pristine locations of Pokrevenik village and Stara Planina/Old Mountain.

The project scouted and taken into consideration over 100 villages across Serbia until the final location in Stara Planina was locked. Location manager Stefan Todorovic handled the locations that required house and stables repairs and road access. Over the period of 5 months entire production team made Stara Planina their home base shooting around mountain rivers and waterfall Tupavica. The support of the local villagers and administration demonstrated a case study of how film productions can improve infrastructure and make economic impact to rural areas. Stara Planina has been making its way as one of the favorite film locations with always new and refreshing corners to be discovered on camera.

Jonathan English of Balkanic Media comments, “Pokrevenik is a unique and exceptional place, with many old preserved homes and beautiful nature. We were exceptionally lucky to work with the president of the village, Mr Kostadinović and the families who live in Pokrevenik, who were incredibly welcoming and supportive of the film. As disruptive as any production can be, our goal was always to try and take an ecological approach and make the film with as light a foot-print as possible”.

The team behind camera had given opportunity for debut of fresh creative forces in art department with some 150 members of production guided by production company Balkanic Media, with Art Director Jovana Mihajlović, Set Decorator Mina Burić, Costume Designer Slađana Perić-Santrač.

The film was attracted to shooting in Serbia thanks to the incentives program of The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Government of Serbia that was successfully received as instrumental part of the financing.

Official trailer