Scene
Zagreb Film Festival is one of the central and most visited cultural events and the largest international film festival in Croatia. Its 24th edition will be held from November 9 to November 15 at various locations around Zagreb and will host a number of international and local filmmakers who will present their new productions to the audience.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the making of the cult domestic classic Rondo, by Zvonimir Berković, the opening ceremony of the festival is marked by the projection of its digitally restored version and will be held at GDK Gavella. This year, thirteen films are competing for the Golden Pram (Zlatna kolica) in the category of Feature Films, and twelve films are in the race for the Golden Pram in the category of Short FIlms. The program will be closed by the current Palme d’Or winner, Fjord by Romanian director Cristiana Mungiu, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
Furthermore, the main program includes Checkers, the national competition program of short films that primarily promotes young and aspiring authors who have not made their feature-length films yet. The prize in this category is also the Golden Pram. All screenings in this category and in the category of Short Films are free. The rest of the program includes categories Plus, a program featuring films by emerging filmmakers that explore coming-of-age themes in innovative and daring ways, Together Again, which presents films by authors with which ZFF audiences are already well acquainted, KinoKino and the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region. This program is the joint program of three founding festivals – the Sarajevo Film Festival (BiH), Auteur Film Festival (Serbia), and Zagreb Film Festival (Croatia), associate members Ljubljana International Film Festival (Slovenia), Manaki Brothers Film Festival (North Macedonia), Tirana Film Festival (Albania) and Network ambassadors Herceg Novi Film Festival (Montenegro) with Pesaro Film Festival (Italy). As part of the sixth edition, the festivals will hold a special joint program, while the best films will be chosen by the audience.
Among the announced guests, standout names include Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson, Norwegian actress Lisa Loven Kongsli, and Portuguese director Daniel Soares, a two-time winner of ZFF’s Golden Pram. Lisa Loven Kongsli, known for films like “Force Majeure,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” is a member of this year’s festival jury. She will also hold a masterclass about her experiences working on independent European productions and big Hollywood films. Directors Bojan Vuletić and Rúnar Rúnarsson will join her on the feature film competition jury.
Among the domestic titles, the film Mom’s Alive Today by director Josip Lukić stands out, which will have its world premiere at ZFF. In Zagreb, it will be presented by the film crew led by actress Ksenija Marinković and producer Tena Gojić. Also in the program is the film Petty Thieves by director Mate Ugrin, which comes to the festival with awards from Karlovy Vary and Pula. The international competition will be enriched by the films Brave New Love by Swedish-Danish director Marija Bäck, Queen at Sea by American filmmaker Lance Hammer, and Until the Day Ends by director Jelena Maksimović.
The locations of the festival include, afore mentioned, GDK Gavella, Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU), three halls in Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Surogatkino KIC and Kinoteka. To see the full schedule of ZFF go to their official website or click here to see the daily schedule.
