Culture and Society: Depp attends Serbian festival
20/01/2010
US actor Johnny Depp adds star power to the Kustendorf film and music festival in Drvengrad. Also: a Cypriot tennis star wins his fourth ATP title and a Centre for Islamic Culture is to open in Belgrade.
 US actor Johnny Depp (left) and Serbian director Emir Kusturica (right) pose beside a life-sized statue of the Hollywood star. [Getty Images] |
Hollywood star Johnny Depp attended the third international film and music festival Kustendorf that closed on Tuesday (January 19th) in Drvengrad, a fabricated Serbian village created by film director Emir Kusturica. A life-sized statue of Depp was unveiled. The actor -- known for films such as "Pirates of the Caribbean" -- received the "Award for Future Movies" and held several workshops for festival participants.
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Cypriot tennis star Marcos Baghdatis won his fourth ATP title on Saturday (January 16th), beating France's Richard Gasquet. Baghdatis, 24, donated part of his prize money to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
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Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak Ozugergin announced on Saturday (January 16th) that Turkey and Serbia have decided to open a Centre for Islamic Culture in Belgrade. The agreement was reached during Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Belgrade, where he attended a trilateral meeting with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Sven Alkalaj.
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Kosovo artist Alban Muja will compete for the "Golden Bear" award at this year's Berlinale in the Shorts category. The movie "Unplay", produced in co-operation with Swedish artist Joanna Rytel, will be part of the programme at the festival, which this year marks its 60th anniversary.
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The 2009 NIN literary award -- given annually by the Weekly Informational Newspaper magazine of Serbia -- went to Serbian writer Grozdana Olujic and her book "Glasovi u vetru" ("Voices in the Wind") on Friday (January 15th). The awards ceremony will take place on Friday (January 22nd) at the National Theatre in Belgrade. The NIN prize, one of the most prestigious honours for novels, was established in 1954.
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Romania was selected along with ten other countries to participate in the 2010 edition of the European Prize for Literature. The award will be given in November to emerging authors from 11 countries participating in the EU Culture Programme.
(Various sources – 13/01/10-20/01/10)
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