Gangster of Love by director Nebojša Slijepčević has been awarded at the recently finished 23rd Innsbruck International Film Festival in Austria as best documentary, which is the seventh international award of the film. The memebers of the jury which awarded "Gangster" were Astrid Heubrandtner, Austrian cinematographer and director, Peter Heller, German documentary director, and Tamara Daničić, editor of the documentary program of Bayerischer Rundfunk and founder of the Bavarian documentary film festival Nonfiktionale.
The jury gave an explanation for their decision: “In the last days, we were taken on a cinematic journey of discovery to distant worlds. Our heart got stuck with Gangster of Love, the portrait of the marriage broker Nedjeljko Babic in Croatia. The film succeeds in thwarting expectable, obvious clichés and to direct a sincerely interested, tender look on his protagonists. It never becomes denunciatory or cynical, but through close observation of a microcosm turns into a panorama of society. The dramatically successful installation gives space to the protagonists. The filmmaker introduces the matchmaker and his clients with respect and affection. Here, we were especially impressed by the true and credible attitude of the director Nebojša Slijepčević. The film is swimming against the current of today's television landscape."
