The Butler and the Ball will premiere in the Serbia at the 12th MikroFAF – International Festival of DIY and Independent Short in Belgrade, on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at 3pm local time, in the Junior Competition Programme 1. Andrew Chan-Possemato, the director of The Butler and the Ball, is the youngest director featured in this year’s competitive programme of 68 films at the festival; the oldest director is 77 years old. Films are screened at the Yugoslav Film Archive, founded in 1949 and a founding member of the International Federation of Film Archives.
Since 2010, MikroFAF – International Festival of DIY and Independent Short works as a festival platform that closely follows dynamic development of non-professional creativity. The festival welcomes everyone interested in film, especially those who create film in restricted technical and/or financial conditions. Through various programs, the festival promotes and celebrates creative freedom by focusing on enthusiasm, independence, guerrilla film, inovation, amateurism, art brut, lo-fi, experimental forms, and self-organising in creativity. MikroFAF – International Festival of DIY and Independent Short inspires people of all backgrounds to learn and make experiments within the framework of film art. Selected films differ very much by the form, approach and topics covered, but many of them share similar engagement and passion in addressing social issues transcending boundaries of countries and regions.
MikroFAF – International Festival of DIY and Independent Short is organized by Satibara Association, a voluntary, non-profit and non-governmental organization founded to fight prejudices and discrimination through the art of film, promote film activism, and raise awareness of the importance of art and culture for a healthy society. The festival is also supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of The Republic of Serbia.
The Butler and the Ball, an urban fairy tale about a lonely boy who enters a contest to become the new butler of a grieving, reclusive singer, was directed by eight-year-old Andrew Chan-Possemato, who wrote and produced it with Albert.