In the last few years, we have witnessed the strong relationship between China and Serbia that refers to strengthening bilateral relations in the field of culture and exchange of cultural events of the countries.
In that light, the presentation of works by Chinese and Serbian photographers within the 5th Sino-Serbian Youth Photography Exhibition will be held in the Svilara Cultural Station. The exhibition is organised by the Association for Educational Exchange between China and Serbia, Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, University Library from Belgrade, BELDOCS and Svilara Cultural Station.
In the period from 6 until 12 May, within the manifestation, the Novi Sad audience will have an opportunity to see films within the Chinese Documentary Film Week.
Tian Zhen, one of the organisers, said that the aim of the festival was very simple at the beginning – local inhabitants had to find out more about China, its young photographers and culture.
‘I work in the field of cultural and educational exchange between the two countries. I bring Chinese students to Serbia, and my wish for Serbian friends is to find out more about China. The most direct way to find out about the city is through photography and film,’ said Mr Zhen and added:
‘After my first visit to Serbia, I fell in love with this country and I enrolled into the master studies. When I talk about Serbia to my friends, I talk about nature and beauty, about people who are simple and loveable and, I have to say – similar to my people.’
Within two weeks, the Novi Sad audience will see eight films and 57 works within the exhibition, including two Serbian artists – Anja Jurca and Miljan Sekulić.
‘The four films are about Chinese government and fight against coronavirus. We would like to show that we’ve suffered, but somehow, we managed to control the loss in a smaller extent. How people react to the situation and how policies can differ, but the purpose should be the same – to protect yourself and people that surround you. Another two films are about changes in life of people who live in poor regions in China, by adopting the government and CCP policy against poverty. These topics are the most important ones for China in 2020 – the fight against coronavirus and poverty,’ said Mr Zhen and added:
‘When we talk about the call, it received over 2000 works by young photographers from different universities and companies. Perhaps, they didn’t know anything about Serbia before the call, but soon they wished to find out about the country. Similarly, Serbian friends probably knew about the cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, but after the exhibition and films, they found out about Ningbo, for example. They also found out that there have been a lot of poor people in China, and that’s the whole point – cooperation always comes from basic and simple information. We would be very happy if people from both countries could gain some knowledge about the other country through our projects.’
You can see the festival programme and application form for film screenings HERE. Applications are necessary due to the pandemic situation, while you’ll secure one seat by filling out the application form (one seat per one registered person). The exhibition will be open for the public in the main hall of the Svilara Cultural Station, every workday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., while the last day of the exhibition, on 20 May, the visitors will have a chance to see it from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.
