FeKK: To the Future!
that may potentially spark up greater social solidarity and awaken the catchphrase, which claims a crisis could be a starting point for changes. We tried to address all these themes inside the many film and professional programs of the festival and by doing so, maintain a dialogue with the present, while still gazing bravely into the future. Once again we may confirm that the short film form, its fast responsiveness and creative freedom, is one of the most revealing documents of the present. At this point, it is fair to admit that this year’s selection also includes a touch of the prophetic. As it turns out, FeKK is entering a new three-year period of secured funding, meaning that the future looks promising for the next two festival editions. FeKK 2021 is actually a milestone since it is expanding its international program for the first time after six years. Initially, it focused on the short film production of ex-Yugoslavia, whereas now the festival also invites other countries of the Balkan Peninsula in its embrace of cinematic fraternity and unity. Thus, the FeKK BAL section is going to greet film enthusiasts from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. Additionally, we now offer extra opportunities for home production within two distinct programs for Slovenian short films, present numerous carefully curated thematic and director-oriented programs, presentations, concerts, workshops, and socialising events. Of course, all along we are also continuing with our plans and preparations to upgrade the upcoming editions. However, so as not to jinx it, we’ll tell you more about that in the future.We need to admit that last year the joke was inevitably on us, having had as early as January in nonchalant frivolity decided that the 2020 festival apocalyptic theme was to be KatastroFeKK: The End is Near. The fun was soon over and our motto became more prophetic than we could have imagined or desired. This time round, we have, therefore, deliberated and decided that (if we really have to let every spontaneous idea manifest) the 2021 theme should be more levelheaded and reflective, and hence came up with FeKK: To the Future. After all, it seems that after the 9/11 attacks, 2020 reached a new boundary marker, a passage into a new cycle of contemporary history and society. We are trapped inside an accelerating machinery of history, unable to see or capture all the changes and consequences that its cogwheels are going to grind up. There are of course some hints but the future is nevertheless more uncertain than ever. Faced with a plethora of questions, we have discovered that there is hardly anything more pertinent for us to do than to take time, gather ourselves, retrospect (perhaps to better see ahead), in other words, to ponder about where we are, how we have got there, what lies before us, and how we are going to face it. Anxiety is real. The corona crisis is still relevant. Lurking in its shadows is the fear induced by the local and global politics. Environmental changes are taking an increasingly greater toll. Human rights and culture are becoming a tool in the hands of political parties. Conspiracy theories are blooming. We are witnessing a mega dive into digitalisation of everyday life, the cryptocurrency euphoria, and ambitious multimillionaires with megalomaniac goals such as colonisation and privatisation of space. Still, the year of global lockdowns has also observed a distinct collectivism that may
Matevž Jerman, Peter Cerovšek