Countdown to the 18th Beldocs

Promotional Screenings of Five Documentaries in Four Cities Across Serbia

In anticipation of the 18th edition of Beldocs International Documentary Film Festival, which will take place from May 21–27 in Belgrade, the festival is launching a special series of screenings of festival hits. As part of this program, audiences in four Serbian cities will have the opportunity to watch five remarkable documentaries from previous festival editions and one long-awaited political documentary, shown for the first time.

The first screening is scheduled for May 5 in Užice, featuring Soundtrack to a Coup d’État by Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez — a powerful blend of archival footage, jazz, and political critique that captivated last year’s Beldocs audience.

The series continues on May 12 in Čačak with New Kind of Wilderness, a documentary following a family living on a small farm in the Norwegian woods. After a tragic event changes everything, they are forced to move and adapt to modern society. The screening will take place at the “Nadežda Petrović” Art Gallery, starting at 8 PM.

Belgrade audiences will be treated to two titles:

On May 15 at the Yugoslav Film Archive, the visually hypnotic All These Sleepless Nights will be shown, followed by Henry Fonda for President on May 16 in the Archive’s Kosovska Hall, both starting at 8 PM. In this essay documentary, Alexander Horwath takes viewers on a cinematic journey through the roles of Henry Fonda — an actor often seen as the conscience of America. The film reveals a more complex portrait of Fonda as a critic of American identity and a symbol of the transition from wilderness to civilization. Through the magic of montage, an imagined republic — the United States of Fonda — is born, a tribute to both the country and the actor who could have been president.

The Countdown program concludes in Požega on May 18 with Kix, a Hungarian documentary offering an intimate portrait of growing up in contemporary Budapest. The film was selected as Best Teen Program Film by the youth jury at the 17th Beldocs. The screening will take place at the Cultural Centre Požega.

The countdown has officially begun!