Illyrians and Savages Take Over the Arena on the Sixth Day of Pula Film Festival

Illyrians and Savages Take Over the Arena on the Sixth Day of Pula Film Festival

Two films in competition in the Croatian Programme, Savages, directed by Dario Lonjak, and Illyricvm, directed by Simon Bogojević Narath, were screened yesterday evening at the Arena.

Savages, the action comedy directed by Dario Lonjak, takes us back to summer of 2018. Three Croatia national football team supporters – Zolja, Jasmin and Mali, decide to rob a petrol station in order to get money for the trip to the World Cup Final in Moscow. Fleeing the police, they cross the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and wander into a terrorist camp in the woods.

Illyricvm, the historical film by Simon Bogojević Narath, takes us much further into the past, to 37 BC. A young Liburnian Volsus is taken by a Roman unit to help in what at first seems a simple task of collecting taxes, but the encounters with local Illyrian tribes soon lead to unexpected turns of events, as they show more resilience to subjugation than meets the eye. We see their archaic, emotional world of quaint and brutal laws and traditions through the eyes of this youngster, regarded by the Romans as a primitive barbarian, and gradually come to understand that their world is not all that different from our own.

The awards in the Student Programme were presented before the screenings, to students who will hopefully be expecting their first Golden Arena awards someday. As many as 26 titles were included in this year’s Student Programme. The plaque for best student animated or experimental film was presented to the film Kermes vermilio, directed by Tudor Dobrescu; the plaque for best student documentary film was presented to the film Wait for Me, directed by Damir Markovina; and the plaque for best student feature film was presented to the film Summer Planning, directed by Alexandru Mironescu.

Two special screenings took place at Valli Cinema: Freaks Out, directed by Gabrielle Mainetti, and the film The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic, directed by Teemu Nikki. The film Let It Be Morning, directed by Eran Kolirin, was screened at Kaštel, while the animated film Mamma Moo Finds Her Way Home, directed by Christian Ryltenius and Tomas Tivermark, was screened at the Istrian National Theatre in the Pulica Programme. The special screening of the film Orchestra, directed by Matevž Luzar, also took place at the Istrian National Theatre, as well as the Student Programme, while the film Sun, directed by Kurdwin Ayub was screened at Ambrela Beach.

The last two films competing for the Grand Golden Arena will be screened this evening at the Arena: The Staffroom, directed by Sonja Tarokić, and the film The Head of a Big Fish, directed by Arsen Oremović. The special screening of the film The Inheritors, directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, president of this year’s Croatian Programme Jury, will be screened at Valli Cinema. The film Seven Beauties will be screened in the Film Classics Programme in honour of director Lina Wertmüller. The film Looking for Venera, directed by Norika Sefa, will be screened at Ambrela Beach in the Dizalica Programme, while the political thriller Leave No Traces, directed by Jan Paweł Matuszyński. The film The Exploits of Moominpappa – Adventures of a Young Moomin, directed by Ira Carpelan, will be screened in the Pulica Programme at the Istrian National Theatre, as well as the special screening of Bullets Over Marseille, directed by Gordan Matić, and the classic Song of the Black Mountains, directed by Kurt Breiness and Hans Natge.

We will find out the winners of this year’s Golden Arenas tomorrow at the award ceremony. The awards will be presented in categories judged by this year’s juries, as well as the grand prix – the Grand Golden Arena. The audience award will be presented to the film that has won most audience votes. The audience had the opportunity to vote for their favourite film after each of the screenings.

The programmes, as well as the detailed schedule of screenings and all other information can be found on the official webpage of the Festival: www.pulafilmfestival.hr.