Main Programme of 70th Pula Film Festival Presented

Main Programme of 70th Pula Film Festival Presented: Hotel Pula by Andrej Korovljev to Open and Ship by Elvis Lenić to Close the Festival

On 6 June, 2023, Tanja Miličić, director of the Public Institution Pula Film Festival, Danijel Pek, artistic director of Pula Film Festival, and Mario Kozina, selector, presented the main programme and the details of the jubilee edition of Pula, held 15–23 July

“The 70th edition of Pula Film Festival will be dedicated to the audience and the relationship between the audience and film. This jubilee is an opportunity to restore and strengthen this relationship that has left its mark on the Festival. We think of Pula as the city of Croatian film that hosts the largest and most important annual gathering of the film industry, with conversations about Croatian and global productions, distribution and cinema exhibition models, studying good practice examples, and examining the directions of the development of film art”, said artistic director of Pula Film Festival Danijel Pek and announced that the opening and closing films are those of directors from Pula, which is unprecedented in the history of the Festival.

Hotel Pula, directed by Andrej Korovljev and produced by Kinematograf from Pula, will open the Festival on 15 July. It was filmed in Pula and has brought together a large number of authors from Pula, filmmakers and actors, and confronts us with a significant episode from our recent past. The documentary film Ship, directed by Elvis Lenić and also produced by Kinematograf, will be screened out of competition at the closing of the Festival on 22 July. Emotional and personal, Ship tells the story about the golden age, but also the present moment of Uljanik shipyard, from a perspective of the people who used to work there. We were incredibly touched by this film and we believe it is important to screen it at Pula Film Festival”, said Danijel Pek.

“It is now quite clear that the 70th edition of Pula Film Festival, or as it is affectionately known, 70th Pula, will truly be dedicated to the city and citizens who have loved and supported it for seventy years. Can you imagine a better scenario than opening the Festival with a film that has Pula in it’s name – Hotel Pula, or closing the Festival with the film Ship, one of the symbols of our city, and both films made by directors from Pula? I can’t. The stars have aligned, and with many film, anniversary, professional, side, and entertainment programmes, as well as the first monograph after a full 45 years, Pula and Pula Film Festival will show and prove that Pula is simply a city of film. What is left is to make ourselves comfortable and enjoy the films under the stars”, said director of the Public Institution Pula Film Festival Tanja Miličić.

In the Croatian Film section of the main programme, a total of 14 feature films will be screened, of which 11 fiction films, an animated film, and two documentary films. This is a very prolific year for the Festival, with a large number of submissions, high level of fiction production, and a rare chance to screen a feature-length animated film and start the opening with a documentary film. Along with Hotel Pula and Ship, the Croatian Film section includes the following films:

Escort, directed by Lukas Nola, production Kinorama (premiere)

Good Times, Bad Times, directed by Nevio Marasović, production Švenk (premiere)

Only When I Laugh, directed by Vanja Juranić, production Maxima film (premiere)

Seventh Heaven, directed by Jasna Nanut, production Petnaesta umjetnost (premiere)

Death of the Little Match Girl, directed by Goran Kulenović, Livada produkcija (premiere)

Cricket & Antoinette, directed by Luka Rukavina, production Diedra

The Diary of Paulina P., directed by Neven Hitrec, production Jaka produkcija

Carbide, directed by Josip Žuvan, production Maxima film

Pelican, directed by Filip Heraković, production Wolfgang & Dolly

Safe Place, directed by Juraj Lerotić, production Pipser

Traces, directed by Dubravka Turić, production Kinorama

Bigger Than Trauma, directed by Vedrana Pribačić and Mirta Puhlovski, production Metar60

“The selected films are very different in terms of topics and genre. The programme includes comedies, dramas and thrillers, personal and socially engaged stories, realistic and surreal plots, films for all ages, but also those for a more mature audience. Some of the stories are told in a classic way, some are formally extremely innovative – all of these will be separately presented before the Festival starts. We also have a lot of debut films: a total of eight, which demonstrates the vitality of domestic film. Several of the films have seen great success at international festivals, which speaks to the fact that the topics that Croatian filmmakers are interested are also relevant internationally and that audiences the world over can relate to these topics. Four of the selected films are directed by female directors, and in Croatian minority co-productions almost half of the films”, said selector Mario Kozina.

Competition in co-productions was especially strong this year, and seven films will be screened in the main programme:

Infinity Pool, directed by Brandon Cronenberg, Croatian co-producer 4film

Man Without Guilt, directed by Ivan Gergolet, Croatian co-producer Propeler film

Have You Seen This Woman?, directed by Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević, Croatian co-producer Dinaridi film

Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, directed by Mila Turajlić, Croatian co-producer Restart

Mother, directed by Zornitsa Sophia, Croatian co-producer Fokus Media

The Happiest Man in the World, directed by Teona Mitevska, Croatian co-producer Terminal3

Sea Sparkle, directed by Domien Huyghe, Croatian co-producer Nukleu

PulaPro, the programme for film professionals, includes two new cooperations that offer concrete support to Croatian film and filmmakers in distribution and further development of the projects.

“We want Pula to become an important stepping stone for distribution of Croatian film in the future. We are therefore very pleased that half of Croatian films have chosen Pula for their world premiere. To keep things moving forward, and avoid leaving it at kind words and wishes, it is our pleasure to announce the important cooperation established between Pula Film Festival and Kino mreža – Croatian Independent Cinema Network. For the first time, one of the films premiering at Pula Film Festival will be presented with the award of Kino mreža, which will be providing the distribution in cinemas members of the network. I can also announce the new industry programme, Screenplay of a Blockbuster, that is, the public presentation of screenplays and projects in development for films that successfully combine authorial and commercial sensibilities that we want to support in becoming blockbusters. Submissions for this programme are open from 6 to 30 June. The selected projects will compete for a cash prize in the amount of 10,000 EUR provided by Blitz distribution company and Croatian Audiovisual Centre. I would also like to remind you of the industry programme Work in Progress, intended for projects in postproduction, which is open for another four days”, said Danijel Pek.

Along with the detailed presentation of the main competition programme of Pula Film Festival, other film programmes have also been presented and the public will soon learn more about them. Certainly the most popular will be the hits screened in the second slot at the Arena. This year’s Pula Film Festival also has a number of concerts and side programmes for filmmakers and the audience.