Biggest film classic and 16 special screenings at 69th Pula Film Festival

BIGGEST FILM CLASSICS AND 16 SPECIAL SCREENINGS AT THIS YEAR’S PULA FILM FESTIVAL

SCREENINGS AT THE ARENA, VALLI CINEMA, ISTRIAN NATIONAL THEATRE, KAŠTEL, BUT ALSO BRIJUNI ISLANDS

Once again we will enjoy screening of film classics at Pula Film Festival, as well as special screenings of the best of recent Croatian and international film production. We can expect a number of Croatian and world premieres.

The Film Classics Programme includes ten excellent films that will be screened at four different locations. In memoriam to actor Žarko Potočnjak, who passed away last year, the screening of Dust, one of the three parts of the famous omnibus Carnival, Angel and Dust by Antun Vrdoljak, will be screened at Valli Cinema; as well as the crime drama The Fourteenth Day by Zdravko Velimirović, which was nominated for Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1961. We are especially looking forward to the screening of H-8 by Nikola Tanhofer, which won the Grand Golden Arena for Best Film at Pula Film Festival in 1958, and we will have the chance to see the Italian film Seven Beauties by Lina Wertmüller, the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for this film, which will be screened in memoriam to the director.

The Istrian National Theatre will be the venue for the screening of the film Song of the Black Mountains by Kurt Breiness and Hans Natge from 1933, an interesting overview of the meeting of the Slavic and German cultures. The screening of the 1927 German silent documentary film Berlin: Symphony of a Great City by Walter Ruttman will be held at Kaštel with a live performance by the Croatian jazz quartet Chui. Kaštel will also see the screening of the famous film That Man from Rio by Philippe da Broca, with Jean Paul Belmondo, who recently passed, in the lead role. This year, the screenings of film classics will also be held on Brijuni Islands: we will be able to see One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away, the cult comedy by Krešo Golik, in the magical atmosphere of the islands.

There are 16 films in this year’s Special Screenings Programme, both Croatian and international, that will
be screened at five different locations.

The Croatian premiere of the historical noir thriller drama Hinterland: Sin City by Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, who is also the president of the Croatian Programme Jury at this year’s Pula Film Festival. His earlier film The Inheritors from 1998, which propelled him among the best European directors, will be screened in the Special Screenings Programme at Valli Cinema. Mr. Ruzowitzky will attend both screenings.

At the Arena, will will be able to see the Croatian premiere of the British biography drama Belfast, directed by the famous director Kenneth Branagh. Belfast has won a number of awards at international festivals, as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Other than the aforementioned film The Inheritors, five more special screenings will take place at Valli Cinema. Ennio, a documentary film by Giuseppe Tornatorre, which won the award for Best Documentary at Venice Film Festival, will be screened as the Croatian premiere of the biographical documentary about the legendary composer Ennio Morricone. The Italian-Belgian adventure drama Freaks Out by Gabrielle Mainetti, which won a number of awards at Venice Film Festival last year and was a huge box office hit, will also be screened at Valli Cinema. The Finnish dramedy The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic by Teemu Nikki, which won the hearts of the audience at Venice, will see its Croatian premiere. We always like to remember the winners of Pula Film Festival and present the jury, we will screen the drama Here by Zrinko Ogresta, which won the Golden Arena for Best Film and the Golden Arena for Best Actor in 2003. We can also look forward to a world premiere of the thriller Glory of Emptiness by Jasmin Duraković from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Senad Bašić in the lead role.

The Istrian National Theatre will be the location for seven screenings, of which three Croatian premieres and a world premiere of the Croatian independent music comedy Rock Heroes by David Petrović, which is an adaptation of the play made with a minimal budget. The drama Children from CNN by Aida Bukvić, a low budget Croatian-Bosnian and Herzegovinian coproduction, will also be screened at the Istrian National Theatre, as well as the Croatian premiere of the film My Mother’s Swedish Heart by Adis Bakrač, a director from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Slovenian humorous drama Orchestra by Matevž Luzar, and the Serbian history drama Bullets Over Marseille by Gordan Matić will also have their Croatian premieres. The film Fraulein by Andrea Štaka, a Swiss-German-Bosnian and Herzegovinian production, will also be screened at the Istrian National Theatre. Fraulein has won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress – Marija Škaričić, member of this year’s Croatian Programme Jury at Pula Film Festival. We will present Danica Čuričić, a member of the jury with the Danish film Darling by Birgitte Stærmose.

Kaštel will be the venue for the screening of the Croatian premiere of the Danish-Netherlands horror Speak No Evil by Danish director Christian Tafdrup, which saw its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival Midnight Section. It is one of the most attractive films of the festival, but it is not recommended to persons under the age of 18. All screenings in the Film Classics and Special Screenings, except those at the Arena, are free. Discussions with directors will be held after a number of the screenings.

A detailed schedule of all screenings can be found at the official webpage of Pula Film Festival. Information about ticket sales is available via email: ulaznice@pulafilmfestival.hr . Ticket prices for single evenings at the Arena are 25 HRK, and for a set of tickets for all evenings at the Arena 150 HRK. Students, pensioners and families with children can purchase tickets at discounted prices only at the Info Point. Entry to all programmes at Kaštel, Valli Cinema, and Istrian National Theatre is free of charge.