Festival Nearing its Final Days: Invitation for the Golden Arenas Award Ceremony at the Istrian National Theatre and screening of How the War Started on my Island at the Arena
Pula Film Festival is in the final stretch, and the Golden Arenas will be presented at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 16 July at the Istrian National Theatre. The competition will be intense until the very end, as demonstrated by daily changes in the critics’ and audience scores; the latest critics’ scores put Three Weeks After, directed by Miroslav Terzić, at the top, while the audience scores favour The Thing to Be Done, a documentary film Srđan Kovačević. Here is an overview of yesterday’s events, as well as the announcement of the programme and details of the closing ceremony. Don’t miss out on applauding the winners of the Golden Arenas on Wednesday night at the Arena and watching Vinko Brešan’s How the War Started on My Island
INVITATION FOR THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF PULA FILM FESTIVAL
Winners of the 73rd Pula Film Festival will be announced and presented with the Golden Arena Awards on Wednesday, 15 July at 6 p.m. at the Istrian National Theatre.
The abundant programme of the closing ceremony includes highlights such as solo performances by Martin Kosovec and Nika Ivančić, orchestra performance conduced by Filip Gjud, and a performance by the choir of Husar & Tomčić Singing School. The ceremony will be directed by Petra Radin and broadcast on HRT3, starting from 9 p.m.
Following the award ceremony at the Istrian National Theatre, the Golden Arena winners will make their way to the Arena to bow to the audience before the screening of How the War Started on My Island at 9.15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY 15 JULY AT THE FESTIVAL CENTRE
10.30 a.m. Conversation with the crew of the film WIND, TALK TO ME
11 a.m. Conversation with the crew of the film GOD WILL NOT HELP
14 p.m. YOUNG CINEPHILES’ DUEL – debate on films in the Main Programme with participants of the Young Cinephiles Programme, who watched and analysed the films in the Main Programme with mentor Silvestar Mileta during the Festival
Conversations with crews of films in the Main Programme
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day, directed by Ivona Juka was screened at the Arena. “I think that people see this is a film about freedom,” said producer Anita Juka and added that she thinks many types of freedom are again impaired today. Actor Dado Ćosić described working on the film as a special experience. “It was nice making a film with friends, and make new friends as well,” he said. “This film was directed by a woman. The energy, emotion, and intellect are unbelievable,” said actress Anja Šovagović-Despot. Actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović spoke about the atmosphere while making the film, but also how he approached the role. “I was looking for a way to portray this character and what means to use to do so.” Actress Ivana Boban emphasised she was honoured to be in a film that speaks about empathy, the right to be different, love whoever you one, and be free. She then concluded that this is a film fighting for love.
The film Three Weeks After recently has its world premiere at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and was screened at the Istrian National Theatre, with the film crew attending the screening. Actor Jovan Ginić said that the main theme of the film is violence, something that no one is a stranger to. “Whoever looks away from it is equally as responsible as the one committing the act of violence,” said actor Jovan Ginić speaking about the blame of those who passively observe violence. Actress Klara Hrvanović emphasised that we no longer differentiate harassment from teasing. The main theme of the film is violence prevention, explained by producer Branimir Trifunović, who said that if we don’t stop evil right away, it will evolve into something even worse. The film is continuing its festival tour with the hope of, as Trifunović said, saving more young lives.
Speaking about the film Desire Lines, director Dane Komljen emphasised that they shot the part of the film which was ready in Belgrade and had more room to play while shooting in Bosnia. He also added that the two-part shooting allowed for a bit of wandering and researching. The actors agreed that being on set was special. For actress Petja Golec Horvat, this was her first film. “It really was like I was living this film. Coming back home, I needed time to realise that I wasn’t in the woods with these people anymore.” “This was a very interesting and invaluable experience. I don’t know whether I will work on a film like this ever again. The atmosphere was wonderful the whole time,” said actor Ivan Čuić.
HIGH NOON CRITICS’ DUEL
PULA PRO: CHILDREN’S FILM – INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
The masterclass titled Children’s Film – Investing in the Future, led by author Ljubica Luković and moderated by screenwriter and director Čejen Černić Čanak, was held as part of Pula Film Forum. The conversation emphasised that children’s film has seen a renaissance of sorts in recent years in Croatia, confirmed by the fact that this year’s Main Programme of the Festival includes as many as three children’s films. Along with the desire to further motivate authors to make children’s film, this was one of the main reasons for the masterclass. The conversation stressed that children’s film should not be thought of as a lesser worth film or directorial achievement, because it is precisely domestic children’s film that is of great importance for children’s development, but also for creating and developing future film audiences. Ljubica Luković emphasised that the most important thing for authors, when working on children’s film, is to listen to children, communicate with them, and watch films for their age groups at the cinema. She also urged authors to recognise the themes missing from domestic children’s film and give them more attention in their future projects. The participants agreed that a successful children’s film prioritises determining the appropriate age group and making additional effort in distribution and promotion, especially in terms of independent film and screenings in smaller communities. The young actors of Extraordinary were special guests of the masterclass and participated in the discussion from the audience, delighting everyone present with their mature thinking. The main conclusion of the masterclass underlined the extreme importance of domestic independent children’s film for shaping society, promoting positive educational values, and inclusion. The participants also emphasised the great responsibility of children’s film authors, who have the power to influence patterns of behaviour and raise awareness of important social themes among the youngest ones.
PULA PRO: GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE – DISTRIBUTION OF INDEPENDENT FILM
The masterclass by Romanian distributer Monica Felea, titled Good Practice Example – Distribution of Independent Film and moderated by head of Pula PRO Selma Mehadžić, was held as part of Pula Film Forum. Monica Felea presented the distribution and marketing strategies she uses to successfully distribute independent film in Romania, and compared the Romanian and Croatian markets, as well as the conditions for distribution of independent film today, at times of multiplexes and streaming platforms. She emphasised that distribution of independent film requires finding different models of cooperation with multiplexes. According to her, the key is trying to influence the programming and positioning of independent film within the programme of individual multiplex. She emphasised that it is of utmost importance for independent film to start the conversation about programming and positioning, offer exclusive promotional cooperation, and secure the best possible space within the multiplex, as well as to find quality additional content with independent cinemas (conversations with film crews or experts on the theme of the particular film, higher quality and carefully thought out merch). In terms of marketing and promotion, she highlighted the importance of additional involvement, such as organising events related to the premiere and finding innovative ways to present the film to the audience. Felea also emphasised that maintaining a continuing and quality relationship among distributers, multiplexes, and independent cinemas can contribute significantly to a more successful distribution of independent film. The conclusion of the masterclass was that it is very important for distributers to develop their own brand and maintain a long-term relationship with the audience. Using the example of the film Belle (anime), Felea spoke about how to discover and retain new audiences, and how to pay special attention to timely and carefully planned cinema distribution.
