Scene
The 2025 edition of the Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF) brings a rich and varied program to the Croatian capital from 10 – 16 November, spanning feature films, shorts, special screenings and industry events. According to the official schedule, the festival takes place across venues such as CineStar Branimir – Zagreb, Dokukino KIC, Cinema Kinoteka and the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb.
The program was presented by ZFF Director Boris T. Matić, Programming Director Selma Mehadžić, and Executive Director Lana Matić. “Another festival edition is coming up, featuring carefully selected films, a rich supporting program, and a host of guests who will join ZFF’s audience in celebrating the power of cinema to highlight new, different, or unknown stories, fostering mutual understanding and empathy,” said Boris T. Matić.
Feature Film Competition
In the feature film competition for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Pram, nine films are competing, including three tender, self-reflective works rooted in the personal experiences of their directors. Among them are two Serbian melancholic meditations on family, identity, and loss: How Come It’s All Green Out Here? by Nikola Ležaić (Tilva Rosh – ZFF 2010), a Pula award winner, and Wind, Talk to Me by Stefan Đorđević, winner of the Sarajevo Heart. The directors, together with members of their film crews, including actor Izudin Bajrović from Ležaić’s film, known to the local audience for Celebration (ZFF 2024), Safe Place (ZFF 2022), and the series The Last Socialist Artefact, will present the films. Also part of this trio is Sorry, Baby, the feature debut of American director Eva Victor. An independent festival hit awarded for its screenplay at Sundance, the film—with Victor in the lead role—tackles the aftermath of a traumatic event in an entirely unconventional way, addressing serious themes with charm and witty humour.
The provocative British queer romance Pillion by Harry Lighton is a bold and striking blend of eroticism, dark humour, and psychological thriller. The film features inspired performances by Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling—known for his roles in the miniseries The Queen’s Gambit and the Harry Potter films—playing a couple engaged in a game of dominance and submission. In the Cannes Certain Regard program, Pillion won the award for Best Screenplay, while in the same program the jury prize went to A Poet by Colombian director Simón Mesa Soto. This witty portrait of a middle-aged titular character, whose unrealized ambitions find a channel when he discovers a talented teenage poet, also serves as an ironic commentary on contemporary values. A similar theme of passing values to the next generation is at the heart of the charming Norwegian film Solomamma by Janicke Askevold. Winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize in Locarno, this vibrant dramedy explores single motherhood and the bonds between parents, children, and the people who shape their lives. The film will be presented to the ZFF audience by its lead actress, Lisa Loven Kongsli, known for her role in Östlund’s Force Majeure (2014).
The protagonists who challenge conservative, restrictive patriarchal norms drive the narratives in God Will Not Help by Hana Jušić, an atmospheric historical drama with elements of mystery, and DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski. Thise coming-of-age film, awarded the Audience Award at Sundance and enriched with music by Croatian composers Alen and Nenad Sinkauz, will open this year’s ZFF. The film will feature appearances by actress Dora Akan Zlatanov and young debutant Arif Jakup, who plays the titular 15-year-old protagonist—a dream-driven aspiring DJ growing up in a remote rural setting in North Macedonia. This film, along with the poetic, semi-autobiographical family saga My Father’s Shadow by British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr., is part of the PLUS program, which highlights titles offering bold, innovative perspectives on key coming-of-age themes. PLUS also includes three other standout works: If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart Into Your Mouth and Smile, directed by Austrian Marie Luise Lehner, a tender story of self-discovery about a 12-year-old girl that won the Teddy Award at Berlinale; Wild Foxes by Belgian filmmaker Valery Carnoy, a dynamic exploration of adolescence and masculinity (winner of the SACD award in Directors’ Fortnight program and the Europa Cinemas Label in Cannes); and Bouchra, an impressive 3D-animated film featuring anthropomorphic characters, directed by Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani.
Short Film Competitions
Twelve films compete for the Golden Pram in the international short film category, including this year’s Cannes winner I’m Glad You’re Dead Now by Palestinian director and ZFF guest Tawfeek Barhom, who is also a prominent actor. Other entries include the Ukrainian Prelude by Alina Panasenko, Swiss 1:10 by Sinan Taner, French films God is Shy by Jocelyn Charles and Vultures by Diana Weys, Portuguese A Good Day by Tiago Rosa-Rosso, Spanish The Blood by Joaquín León, Czech Dog and Wolf by Terézia Halamová, Mexican Family Sunday by Gerard del Razo, and Singaporean Children’s Day by Giselle Lin. Competing for the prize are also Upon Sunrise by Serbian director Stefan Ivančić, co-produced with the Croatian company Antitalent, and the experimental dystopian work A Soil. A Culture. A River. A People. by Chinese director Viv Li.
In the national short film competition, the Checkers program, the Golden Pram will be awarded to one of eight films, including new works by previous Checkers winners: Peninsula by David Gašo (Short Cut Grass – ZFF 2023) and It’s Fine, I’m Fine, Everything’s Fine by Rino Barbir (Druker – ZFF 2019). Also competing are Checkers audience favourites such as Jozo Schmuck (Severina’s Dog – ZFF 2024), presenting Shallow Ground, and Luka Galešić (It’s Alright, It’s Nice – ZFF 2023), with Grand Finale. The national short film lineup also includes Ether by Vida Skerk, Nature and Poetry by Jasna Safić, We Were Fine, Weren’t We? by Nina Damjanović, and Placement Exam by Kruno Trninić.
The winners of the Golden Pram in the feature film category will be selected by a jury composed of director Una Gunjak (Excursion – ZFF 2023), who will also hold a masterclass at ZFF alongside a screening of her European Film Award-winning short film The Chicken, German film critic and producer Meinolf Zurhorst, and Italian film curator and producer Nicola Marzano. The winners of the Golden Pram in the international short film competition and the Checkers program will be chosen by director Sara Alavanić, last year’s Checkers winner, director of the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival Bård Ydén, and award-winning Croatian documentarian Ivan Ramljak, one of the selectors for the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Other Competitive and Accompanying Film Programs
Together Again will feature new works by a number of already established directors. One of them will receive the Golden Bicycle, with the winner decided by producer Tina Tišljar, director Bruno Anković (Celebration – ZFF 2024), and writer, screenwriter, and director Dora Šustić. The program will also feature this year’s Berlinale winner, the Norwegian film Dreams by Dag Johan Haugerud (Beware of Children – ZFF 2019, Love – ZFF 2024), as well as The Blue Trail, a dystopian adventure set in the Amazon, which earned Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro (Neon Bull – ZFF 2015; Divine Love – ZFF 2019) the Silver Bear for Best Director and the Ecumenical Jury Prize in Berlin. ZFF will also welcome back Ivana Mladenović with her satirical (anti)romance Sorella di Clausura; her previous film Ivana The Terrible won the Golden Pram at ZFF 2019. This year, she will hold a masterclass on autofiction in film. Frequent ZFF guest, Czech-Slovenian director Olmo Omerzu (Family Film – ZFF 2015, Winter Flies – ZFF 2018), will present Ungrateful Beings, a family drama co-produced with Croatia (Kinorama) and largely filmed on Pelješac. Sentimental Value, the latest work by Norwegian master of cinematic melancholy Joachim Trier, pairs the legendary Stellan Skarsgård with Renate Reinsve, whose performance in Trier’s The Worst Person in the World (ZFF 2021) propelled her to the pinnacle of European cinema.
Also featured in the program is the docudrama about the death of a Palestinian family in Gaza, The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin – ZFF 2021), winner of the Silver Lion in Venice. “Based on a true event from January 2024, the film uses real footage of a phone call between humanitarian activists and six-year-old Hind Rajab, trapped in a car with her killed family members. This cinematic testament reflects the urgent need to speak about the ongoing genocide and support the Palestinian people. Proceeds from the screenings of this film will be donated to humanitarian organizations working on the ground,” explains ZFF’s Program Director Selma Mehadžić. Actor Motaz Malhees from the film will attend the festival.
The winner of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region program is chosen exclusively by the audiences of the five partner festivals. At ZFF, the directors of two competing films will be in attendance: Gabriela Urbonaitė (Renovation) and Alexandra Makarova (Perla). More information on the five films in competition can be found at the following link. Out of competition, the documentary Miyazaki: Spirit of Nature will be screened, with director Léo Favier presenting it to the audience. The Great 5 program traditionally brings together five standout films from Europe’s leading national cinemas, including new works by master directors Christian Petzold (Miroirs No. 3) and François Ozon (The Stranger), as well as Urchin, the feature debut of Harris Dickinson, known for his roles in Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness (ZFF 2022) and Halina Reijn’s Babygirl (2024). More information on The Great 5 program is available here. For younger audiences, the KinoKino program returns this year, featuring one animated adventure, Savages by Claude Barras, and four feature films: the tender Greetings from Mars, in which German director Sarah Winkenstette explores the perspective of an autistic boy; the Polish fantasy Pixie by Krzystof Komander; the Latvian skate dramedy Boom! by Marta Selecke and Andre Doršs; and the multiple-award-winning Hungarian favourite I Accidentally Wrote a Book by Nóra Lakos. Preschool children will also have the opportunity to experience film through animated shorts in the program First Time at the Cinema.
Festivals in the Spotlight and Industry
The Festivals in the Spotlight program brings an impressive selection of fresh titles curated by the programmers of around ten international film festivals. “The nearly 60 films featured this year confirm that Festivals in the Spotlight is truly a ‘festival within a festival.’ With screenings taking place both in cinemas and online, the program offers a detailed and dynamic insight into current film production and the programming strategies of renowned festivals such as Locarno Film Festival, Vienna Shorts, Tampere Film Festival, Toronto Short Cuts, as well as our regional neighbours — Sarajevo Film Festival, Auteur Film Festival, and Ljubljana International Film Festival. For the second year in a row, we will also showcase short films nominated for the European Film Awards, and thanks to a long-standing partnership between ZFF and the Spanish Embassy, a new collaboration with the Spanish Film Academy will result in a screening of Goya-nominated short films. The winner of the prestigious Goya for Best Feature Film — Undercover — will be screened in The Great 5 program, with the film presented to the ZFF audience by director Arantxa Echevarría,” emphasizes executive director Lana Matić.
For the fourteenth consecutive year, ZFF’s Industry will bring together film professionals from the region and across Europe through a range of programs dedicated to project development, collaboration, and networking, transforming the festival into a space for active professional growth. In addition to the previously mentioned directors Ivana Mladenović and Una Gunjak, a masterclass will be held in collaboration with the Croatian Film Editors’ Association, led by renowned Greek editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, long-time collaborator of Yorgos Lanthimos. Industry also offers several workshop programs — from those aimed at children (My First Digital Picture Book) and film enthusiasts over 54 (Film Analysis and Criticism Workshop 54+) to the workshop Audition as Networking. In partnership with the Croatian Association of Film Authors and Producers, the workshop My First Screenplay will once again allow six emerging filmmakers to develop the scripts for their feature debuts. Industry will also include numerous other programs and events organized by ZFF in collaboration with DKE – MEDIA Desk Croatia, the Culture and Communication Department of the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), and the MIDPOINT Institute.
As part of Industry, two programs dedicated to sustainability will take place: Sustainable Film Production Consulting and Green Practices: Guidelines for Sustainable Festivals, led by producer and sustainability consultant Morana Komljenović (Little Red Dot). In line with its green strategy, ZFF places special emphasis on social engagement and inclusivity, and in collaboration with the DLAN Association, part of the festival’s informational content is adapted for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. More detailed information on the festival’s green and inclusive practices is available via the provided link.
Ticket prices range from €5 (KinoKino) to €6 (Main Program, PLUS, Together Again, Network, The Great 5), with a €1 discount available during pre-sale from October 15 to November 9. Tickets can be purchased online at kupiulaznicu.zff.hr from October 15 until the end of the festival. On-site sales begin November 9 at the main festival box office in CineStar Branimir, and from the start of the festival on November 10 at Kinoteka and MSU cinemas. The festival program and schedule are available on the official festival website, with updates also on Facebook and Instagram.
The Zagreb Film Festival is held with the support of the City Office for Culture and Civil Society, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Creative Europe – MEDIA sub-programme, Kultura Nova Foundation, and the Zagreb Tourist Board.
