Skopje, 23 May 2025 (MIA) - The 15th Philosophical Film Festival opened Thursday evening at the Cinematheque of North Macedonia in Skopje with a screening of “The Gospel According to St. Matthew” by Italian Director Pier Paolo Pasolini.

The screening concluded a Pasolini retrospective organized with the support of the Italian Embassy in the run-up to the Festival and in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Italian director's death.

In an address at the opening, program director Gjorgji Pulevski said the Festival is not just a cultural event, but also a constant search for meaning and truth.

“The Philosophical Film Festival, which has lived among us for 15 years now, is not just a cultural event. It is a constant search – search for meaning, form, truths which are not always pleasant, but are necessary,” Pulevski said. 

Italy’s Ambassador in Skopje, Paolo Palminteri, in his address said “The Gospel According to St. Matthew” represents one of the highest and most ambitious achievements in Pasolini’s artistic career, as well as his most acclaimed cinematic work in Italy.

The Festival will resume on Friday at 6 p.m. with screenings of eight out of the 15 short films that are a part of the Festival’s official selection: Amir Youssef’s “Dawn Every Day”, Zhenia Kazankina’s “New”, Nebojša Slijepčević “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”, Andrea Saavedra de la Teja’s “Castaways”, Daniel Soares’ “Bad for a Moment”, Lionel Sia’s “Withered Blossoms”, Agnes Skonare’s “Favours”, and Agustina Sanchez Gavier’s “Our Own Shadow”.  

Screenings from the official selection of feature films will begin at 9 p.m. on Friday with French director Costa-Gavras' “Last Breath”. Other movies that will be shown as part of the official selection of feature films include Matthew Rankin’s “Universal Language”, Bogdan Muresanu’s “The New Year That Never Came”, Min Bahadur Bham’s “Shambhala”, and George Sikharulidze’s “Panopticon”. 

As part of its showcase program, the Philosophical Film Festival will also host screenings of David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” on Saturday, Mario Camus’ “The Holy Innocents” on Tuesday, and Derek Jarman’s “Wittgenstein” which will officially close the festival on Wednesday, May 28.

The Festival’s full program can be found on its official website.

Photo: Philosophical Film Festival