I do not know how many of you have heard of the Golden Wheel Festival, that it is a festival of, or rather Roma films (documentaries and feature films), and for those who have not been and have not heard, I will try to present it through one general overview over the years.
The festival, which this year (celebrates) 20 years, started in the distant 2002. Part of it took place in the hotel "Continental" where the press center was located, and in the first edition the screenings and awards ceremony were held in the Museum of Contemporary Art, on the Skopje Fortress.
The festival was opened, you will not believe, personally and personally, by Mr. Eugene Chaplin, the youngest son of the legendary Charlie Chaplin.
So, if Chaplin marked the beginning of film art, a hundred years later his son gave the amen to the start of a Roma film festival.
It was no accident, perhaps few know, but Charlie Chaplin has a Roma line, hence Eugene, which was crucial for this exceptional man and producer to be on stage at the first festival.
Only this year, after 20 years, the director and founder of "… Wheel", Mr. Zoran Dimov, publicly admitted that then he was scared in which direction the festival will continue, after the opening / start with such a big and resounding name from the world of the film. "Can such a moment be repeated one more time, in which direction will it move further?" He asked secretly.
There is no room for fear and panic. For all these 20 years, the "Golden Wheel" has really done something important for the Roma, even on a global scale. He managed to collect thousands of films, feature films, documentaries, long and short, from all the meridians, and like scattered pearls, he gathered them in one place and put them together in one necklace.
And what did we learn from those films, which often left us crying in the dark cinema hall? We have learned that it is not (exactly) true that the Roma do not have land, theirs is the whole globe. And that every piece in any part of the world hides a bitter-sweet Roma story, that somewhere they have no bread to eat, somewhere they have in abundance. We also learned that the Roma do not have only one language, they know everyone, because through their (e) migration they were forced to live everywhere. In all countries. We have also learned that wherever and under any circumstances, they carry the same engraved code, and have the same code of conduct, and that through their tears and sorrows, a sincere human smile always penetrates.
We also learned a lot of things that were not clear to us before, and there was nowhere to learn them until then. We learned, because, fortunately for us, there were years when filmmakers from 30-40 countries competed, and hundreds of films were collected in the festival repertoire.
Another "drag" of the "Wheel" is that, unlike the official world festivals (I put it in that rank because it really has the prefix "World, International, International") it does not have that rigidity in strictly divided genres, and rules without exceptions, all films are shown in the hall and then the jury, through a flexible evaluation, selects the best.
And at the award ceremony itself, after stepping on the red carpet and settling into their seats, those present in the audience witness that there is no script, everything is spontaneous, maybe that is why it is so attractive. As for that, the main heroes of the former BTR television, Safet, Disho, Koljo, and the inevitable Mr. Muarem Ramush, known as Cirko, have been here over the years for good mood, and this year, the host Daniel joined them.
The award ceremony, which used to take place mainly on a ceremonial level in the Continental Hotel, and more recently in the Cinematheque, is visited by numerous representatives of the embassies, most often they also receive the awards, on behalf of the winners, because there are quite a number of awards for filmmakers from different countries. And they knew how to come personally, such as the renowned Belgian director Bob Entrop, Esma Redzepova Teodosievska to be on the jury, Vaska Jankovska to be in the audience, the jury to be composed of stars like Labina Mitevska and the longtime artistic director of this festival Dancho , but it also happened that the organizer was visited by other famous actors, directors from the region, and even the sister of the Roma king from Romania, and this year Miss Europe, the gorgeous young Turkish beauty Dujgu акakmak дојде It happened that there was no media , but everything that happened there was archived by Isein's camera.
Here it is important to mention that the winners are both professional actors and naturalists from home and abroad. The films are professionally made, but can also be found by anyone in the amateur category. And they all come with a wide range of topics, from problems, discrimination, humiliation, suffering, suffering, to joys and worldly successes.
And all this is organized by only three people, including one lady, Vesna Dimova.
And what would be the point of all this in the end, everything would be reduced to "festival as festival" if behind the "curtain" of the festival does not happen, I would say the most important thing. Training of young Roma film talents, and filmmaking. Is there anything more beautiful and useful? And a dozen young stars emerged from this festival, because "The Wheel" trains and rewards the youngest, golden talented children. It gives them direction. Wind in the back. Hope that they can roll towards success with this "Golden Wheel", to create, to express themselves, and to dream that one day they will come to the most famous film statuette, Oscar, which according to the director and lecturer, Marija Dzidzeva in appearance is very similar to this one, ours, and who knows, maybe one day it will come true for them.
Let's wish that to the youngest, and give them a thumbs up, only in this way will this festival get its complete meaning on a world level! And let the festival continue, because through all the past years of turbulence, it has proudly, steadily and unwaveringly moved towards its set goal. Or rather-goals. And, he succeeded!
