From June 12 to 14, 2026, Serbia will host screenings of films that took part in the Open Eurasian Film Award “Diamond Butterfly”. The international program is organized by the Russian Cultural Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
“Our film award, Diamond Butterfly, was created so that the world would remember the countries, peoples and traditions that Hollywood does not make films about. And these are exactly the people and countries that understand the importance of preserving and defending those unshakable traditional values that make a person human — someone who knows what conscience and compassion are. Today, when truth is distorted across the world and moral and religious laws are trampled on, such a unifying film award is more important than ever. And I am very glad that our international screening program that enables audiences to see the films submitted for the award in 2025 is starting precisely in Serbia — a country with which I personally have long-standing warm professional and friendly ties. It was in Belgrade in 2014 that the world premiere of my film “The Sunstroke” took place, and just recently we came to Serbia with performances by Nikita Mikhalkov’s Workshop 12 with the play “12”, and now in June we will show the films of the Diamond Butterfly in Serbia — a country that clearly understands how important it is to create and support films that show respect for people, family, history and the culture of one’s own nation,” said Nikita Mikhalkov, the initiator and driving force behind the creation of the Eurasian Film Academy and the award.
The screening program in Belgrade and Novi Sad includes six films presented at the first Open Eurasian Film Award Diamond Butterfly. Among them are award winners and films from the 2025 competition program from Serbia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and South Africa: “The Erl-King” by Goran Radovanović, “Two People in One Life and a Dog” by Andrey Zaitsev, “A Dance with Mom” by Dastan Madalbekov, “Alí Primera” by Daniel Yegres Richard, “Old Righteous Blues” by Muneera Sallies, and “Composer” by Maksat Gylyjow.
As part of the Belgrade program, a roundtable discussion titled “The Screen Unites: From Shared Values to Creative Collaboration” will also take place on June 12 at 4:30 p.m. at 1 Balkanska Street, Moskva Hotel, in Conference Hall ‘Moskva’, Belgrade. It will focus on cultural exchange, co-production, the promotion of national cinema abroad and the strengthening of professional ties between filmmakers from Eurasian countries.