71st Pula Film Festival to start on Thursday: Here is what a day at the Festival looks like
Pula, 070724. Dusko Marusic Cici
It is time for the 71st Pula Film Festival and film under the stars! The Festival will open on Thursday, 11 July with world premieres of new films by Rajko Grlić and Nevio Marasović and end with an evening party with DJ Kovač at the Home of Croatian Veterans
On Thursday 11 July, the Festival Centre at the Home of Croatian Veterans will officially open at 6 p.m. Later that day, at 7 p.m., at the nearby Istrian National Theatre, the official premiere of the romantic drama This Is Not a Love Song, directed by Nevio Marasović, with Lana Barić and Janko Popović Volarić, will serve as the introduction to the opening of the 71st edition of Pula Film Festival.
Outside the Arena, as is tradition, we will be greeted by the Wind Orchestra of the City of Pula in the early evening and move to the opening ceremony, which will be hosted by Ida Prester. We will welcome the many filmmakers in attendance outside the Arena, and starting at 10 p.m., enjoy the world premiere of the romantic thriller It All Ends Here, directed by Rajko Grlić, with Živko Anočić and Jelena Đokić. After the film programme, we will move to the Festival Centre at the Home of Croatian Veterans, where the party with DJ Kovač will start at 11 p.m. You can purchase tickets for the opening ceremony at the Arena online or at the Info Point at Giardini.
Fighting the heatwave with film
In these hot days, with forecasts of a heatwave, we invite you to join us for a number of films and side events in the well air-conditioned Home of Croatian Veterans, Valli Cinema and Istrian National Theatre. The evenings, which will be much more pleasant in terms of heat, are reserved for screenings at the Arena and two other popular locations under the stars – Ambrela Beach and Brijuni Islands. You can check the schedule on Pula Film Festival’s website. Tickets are to be purchased only for the screenings at the Arena. Admission to screenings at all other locations is free. Here is what a typical day at the Festival will look like!
Morning gatherings at the Home of Croatian Veterans
Where else to start your day than at the Festival Centre? Located at the Home of Croatian Veterans, it is a meeting place of filmmakers and audience starting from the morning to well into the night. Festival days start at 10 a.m. with conversations with film crews of the films screened in the main programme the evening before at the Arena or the Istrian National Theatre. Later, the critics’ duel High Noon will reveal the critics’ opinions about the films from the main programme, and we will inform you about their scores daily via our social media. Of course, we invite you, our dear audience, to vote for your favourite films, as had been tradition at Pula from the start of the Festival. Ballots will be distributed to the audience at the first and second (repeat) screenings.
Two screenings of films from the main programme
An average day at Pula Film Festival continues at the recently renovated Istrian National Theatre, which is now ready for ceremonies, screenings and a complete film experience. As early as 11 a.m., the main programme will start at Istrian National Theatre – the first screening will be a film from the Minority Co-productions programme, followed by a conversation with the film crew. The main programme will continue at 4 p.m. at Valli Cinema, with the second film from the Minority Co-productions programme, also followed by a conversation with the film crew. Croatian films from the main programme will have two screenings – the first, official screening will be at 7 p.m. at the Istrian National Theatre, with the film crew, and the second one at 9.30 p.m. at the Arena.
In case you miss the main screenings, you can catch repeat screenings of all films from the competition programmes at Valli Cinema and the Istrian National Theatre at several afternoon and one evening slot every day.
Kino Valli from morning to evening
The children’s programme Pulica will start at Valli Cinema at 10 a.m., screening comedies and animated adventures ideal for family time. After the main and repeat screenings of films from the competition programme, as well as student films, the Time Machine programme will start at 6 p.m., screening restored classics and films about history, the past, and memories. At 8 p.m., the international programme of the 71st Pula Film Festival, Greater Adria, will follow with screenings of six exciting feature and documentary films.
PulaPRO for film professionals
In the second part of the Festival, from Monday 15 July to Wednesday 17 July, the programme intended for accredited film professionals, PulaPRO, will take place at Valli Cinema and the Festival Centre. In the mornings, we will find out about new films and TV series in Croatia and the region at as many as four pitching programmes at Valli Cinema.
Later in the day, there is Pula Film Forum at the Festival Centre, a meeting place for representatives of the audiovisual community who will talk about where Croatian film stands at international festivals, what happens with Croatian and independent films after their premiere, when they move into national cinema distribution, as well as the price of doing film in Croatia.
Experience film under the stars
Evenings at Pula Film Festival are reserved for the Arena and experiencing film under the stars with seven films from the competition programme, many of which will have their world or Croatian premieres at the Festival, and six international blockbusters from the PoPular Pula programme.
You can experience film under the stars at two additional locations – under the stars at Brijuni Islands and at Ambrela Beach. A selection of films from this year’s main programme will be screened at Brijuni Islands (purchase your boat tickets for the islands at Fažana at the National Park Brijuni office), while Ambrela Beach will be the venue for the screenings of Pula audience favourites, films that have won the Golden Gate of Pula Award throughout the years. Both programmes will start at 9.30 p.m.
End of day parties
At the end of each day, the Festival Centre will host a number of wonderful concerts that will all start at 11 p.m. We will be dancing to the music by some of the best Croatian and regional musicians such as TBF, Buč Kesidi, and Baby Lasagna. You can see all of the events in the music programme and invite your friends to join us on the dance floor because admission to the parties at the 71st Pula Film Festival is free.
TICKET SALES
INFO POINT (Giardini): 4-18 July 2024, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
OUTSIDE THE ARENA: 11-18 July 2024 from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.
