Main Programme of the 73rd Pula Film Festival Presented
The abundant programme of the 73rd Pula Film Festival and the novelties of this year’s edition, to be held from 9 to 16 July, have been presented at the Archeological Museum of Istria in Pula. The crew of the film The Wedding, which will open the Festival at the Arena, came to check out the location; and director Zvonimir Jurić presented his film Small Things, which will have its world premiere at Pula.
Vlatka Kolarović, the newly elected director of the Public Institution Pula Film Festival, opened the press conference with this year’s slogan The Universe Within Us, which will soon be flooding Pula via visual materials again designed by the company Sonda this year as well. “Of all the languages we have to understand the world, the language of art is possibly the closest to the language of the universe. The camera is often called the instrument for measuring the invisible, and so this year, film are is becoming not only our real universe that we will talk about now, but also the invisible universe within us that is unique to each and every one of us, making us the perfect audience,” said Kolarović and announced that the entire Festival crew is facing a big job and that she is looking forward to working with the entire team of the Public Institution and the almost 300 associates and more than 50 volunteers. More than 600 guests are expected at the Festival, as well as more than 1400 accredited participants.
“New seating at the Arena is the major novelty of this year’s edition, as well as the new projection booth that will start operation this year. Along with the Arena, the entire city of Pula breathes film, and the screenings will also take place at Valli Cinema, Istrian National Theatre, Ambrela Beach, and Brijuni Islands. The exhibitions will take place at galleries in Pula, and workshops at PulaPro industry programme at various locations, including the Archeological Museum of Istria. The Festival Centre will once again be at the Home of Croatian Veterans, where film crews will gather during the day, and the audience invited to Conversations with Filmmakers every afternoon, as well as to the exciting critics’ duels High Noon. Concerts open to the public will be held in the courtyard at the Festival Centre,” said Vlatka Kolarević.
Danijel Pek, the artistic director of Pula Film Festival, said that the 73rd edition will be marked by diverse film productions and their interesting take on trends emerging in Croatian film. “It’s been an extremely interesting year in terms of our prominent film authors and debut films by new directors who represent new expression in Croatian film. We will see Mate Ugrina’s feature debut Petty Thieves, Igor Jelinović’s Honey Bunny following its premieres in Rotterdam and Split, and the world premier of Small Things, a new film by Zvonimir Jurić,” said Danijel Pek and added that this is the year of the biggest domestic and regional success of Croatian film in history, achieved by the film The Wedding, directed by Igor Šeregi, seen by almost 800,000 people in Croatian cinemas and more than two million people in the region.
The Wedding has attracted more people to the cinema than any American blockbuster, which is actually the most important thing for us – it has brought or brought back an enormous number of people to the cinemas. This is why we have decided to open the Festival with The Wedding at the Arena, to celebrate this great success,” said Danijel Pek.
Director Igor Šeregi and actor Roko Sikavica attended the presentation of the main programme.
“We are immensely grateful and very honoured to be able to open the 73rd Pula Film Festival because our journey, which started with premieres in Croatia, Europe, North America, Australia, and Africa in January, will now culminate by opening this year’s Festival at the Arena. The entire cast will attend the screening, as it is a romantic occasion for all of us to gather following the Croatian premiere. I would like to invite those who have already seen the film to come join us at the Arena and to make the opening night beautiful,” said director Igor Šeregi.
Roko Sikavica talked about his first visit to Pula Film Festival, when he was 18. “I was fascinated by how impressive the Festival was, and it was one of my great wishes to open the Festival. Finally, after 12 years, my wish is coming true,” said Sikavica.
Zvonimir Jurić, whose film Small Things will have its premiere in Pula, said the film is set on a remote island and follows a family that doesn’t have a very wide social context and the focus is on the family relationships.
CROATIAN FILMS IN THE MAIN PROGRAMME
The Crystal Planet, directed by Arsen Anton Ostojić (Filmosaurus Rex) – animated, Croatian premiere
Small Things, directed by Zvonimir Jurić (Kinorama), world premiere
Petty Thieves, directed by Mate Ugrin (Kadromat), Croatian premiere
God Will Not Help, directed by Hana Jušić (Kinorama)
The Second Diary of Paulina P., directed by Neven Hitrec (Jaka produkcija)
Extraordinary, directed by Marina Andree Škop, Vanda Raýmanová (PomPom Film)
Honey Bunny, directed by Igor Jelinović (Eclectica)
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day, directed by Ivona Juka (4Film)
The Thing to Be Done, directed by Srđan Kovačević (FADE IN) – documentary
The Wedding, directed by Igor Šeregi (Eclectica)
Women, Loonies and a Few Good Gays, directed by Ivan Salaj (Plavi mjesec)
Pula Film Festival’s programme selector Mario Kozina spoke about the themes of the selected films.
“Along with The Wedding, which has exceeded all expectations, the Festival will screen three children’s film, as children are our future cinephiles and future audiences for Croatian and European film, and visitors at Pula Film Festival. This year we have a nice ratio of films for the general audience and those for a more demanding audience, and most come either with a pedigree of having been at big festival, some also with a very strong cast, or with a certain aesthetic, storytelling or cinematography style matching the trends in international film. I am glad to see the films deal with themes that are very close to us, such as tourism, crisis, real-estate, family disputes over inheritance… We’ve experienced all of these themes in a way, and they are reflected in films by our authors,” said Mario Kozina and announced the seven films in the Croatian Minority Co-productions section. “The selected films show the significant impact of Croatian authors, actors and professionals in regional and European film, where we see them as leads and in supporting roles, and follow their participation in key authorial positions. This section also has a varied selection, from the most watched Slovenian film to very intense dramas bringing interesting form and film processes,” Kozina concluded.
CROATIAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS IN THE MAIN PROGRAMME
White Wash at Ninety, directed by Marko Naberšnik (Kinorama) – Slovenia, Croatian premiere
Three Weeks After, directed by Miroslav Terzić (Kinorama) – Serbia, Croatian premiere
Our Father, directed by Goran Stanković (PomPom) – Serbia, Croatian premiere
Yugo Goes to America, directed by Filip Grujić and Aleksa Borković (Restart) – Serbia, documentary, Croatian premiere
Desire Lines, directed by Dane Komljen (Pipser) – Serbia
Wind, Talk to Me, directed by Stefan Đorđević (Restart) – Serbia
Yugo Florida, directed by Vladimir Tagić (Eclectica) – Serbia
Krešimir Partl, state secretary at the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, emphasised that we can be happy with the number of children’s films, including animated film, as they are important in raising the future audiences.
“We don’t want the youth to see Croatian films for the first time in their 20s and 30s, but we want to teach them from a young age that Croatian films are good and they should go see them in cinemas. I am especially happy that the Festival will be opened by The Wedding, because I think that film can change the Croatian audio-visual industry. We’ve seen that a Croatian film can have much better box office success than an American blockbuster,” said Krešimir Partl and invited all 18-year-olds to use the culture card they will receive with a 100 euro voucher, which they can use for culture, including film.
Peđa Grbin, Pula city mayor, emphasised his satisfaction with this year’s programme and said there is something for everyone, from youngest to oldest, from those who love films that we sometimes call ‘small films’ even though deep down they are very big, to those who love blockbusters.
“I would like to invite people to come to the Arena, Istrian National Theatre, Valli Cinema, and Ambrela Beach and to simply enjoy film, as well as to enjoy the side programme. I am glad that the regional programme has now gained momentum and I think this is the right way for our Festival,” said the mayor of Pula.
Vladimir Torbica, head of Administrative Department for Culture and Local Heritage Education of Istria County
“Year after year, Pula Film Festival keeps proving its development concept – it is continually advancing, changing and growing. Any good festival needs beautiful locations, good organisation, and of course, audience. We have all that, and the audience in Pula is demanding as well, so we will see how they will score the selected films.”
Nives Pelko Mrvčić, the representative of Zagrebačka banka, the Festival sponsor, emphasised that to Zagrebačka banka, Pula Film Festival is more than a partnership. “It is a case of long-term cooperation based on shared values and the belief that culture plays an important role in the development of society. We are pleased to be able to be a part of a project with real impact due of its continuity and quality and a project that shapes long-term the cultural and social space we are active in,” Pelko Mrvčić concluded.
Finally, the director of the Public Institution highlighted the fact that the Festival starts even before its official opening. The programme Greater Adria will start on 4 July at Valli Cinema, with screenings of quality European and independent film, and Pulica, the children’s film programme, will start on 6 July, also at Valli Cinema.
“This year, Croatian children’s films have a special place at the Arena as well. We have as many as three Croatian children’s films: the Croatian premiere of the feature animated film The Crystal Planet, directed by Arsen Ostojić, based on a screenplay by Dušan Vukotić, and two children’s films – Extraordinary and The Second Diary of Paulina P., which have seen great success in cinemas and brought in a new generation of audiences. The audience at the Arena can look forward to two special evenings of children’s films, with some surprises for the youngest ones as well,” said Vlatka Kolarović.
