“When I started working in this art form, it was considered as avant-garde. That was a long time ago. When I was thirty years old, it was still avant-garde. When I was 40, it was the same. I’m now 63! I don’t want to be part of the avant-garde any more!”

Paraphrasing this monologue just happens to be the best way to begin the story of the film “The Artist is Present,” directed by Matthew Akers. The film is basically a retrospective of Marina Abramoviæ’s life and work, which follows her as she prepares and executes one of her recent projects at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

There aren’t many documentaries that manage to exceed the medium they were intended for, and fully captivate a movie theaters audience. “The Artist is Present” managed in doing just that: through all 105 minutes of the film the viewer is convinced that the artist is actually here, in the cinema. During the viewing the audience experiences a kind of catharsis, similar to the one experienced by those involved in this amazing performance.

“The Artist is Present” was recently shown at the closing of Belgrade’s film festival “Beledocs”, and is now beginning its cinema story. The film will shortly participate at the Short film festival “Kratkofil” in Banja Luka. 

The film is a must see for all those who have the opportunity to do so.

“The Artist is Present” is waiting for you in the darkness of a movie theater.