Vukovar Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years
The jubilee edition brings over 50 film titles, 42 of which compete for the Golden Barge award in four categories, with the grand opening on September 2 broadcast live on HRT.
The jubilee edition brings over 50 film titles, 42 of which compete for the Golden Barge award in four categories, with the grand opening on September 2 broadcast live on HRT.
From September 2 to 5, the city on the Danube will host the 20th jubilee Vukovar Film Festival. Over four days, audiences at four venues-including the Eltz Castle Park, the Eltz Castle Hall, the Croatian Home, and the Vukovar Water Tower-will have the chance to see more than fifty of the latest cinematic works. In the official competition for the main award, the Golden Barge, 42 films compete in the categories of feature-length and short fiction, documentary, and animated films.
A special feature of this year's edition is the live broadcast of the grand opening on Croatian Radiotelevision on Wednesday, September 2. This places the VFF among the elite cultural events in the country, making it only the second film festival whose opening can be followed on television.
The program is rich with names that have marked the world's biggest festivals. The film "Ancestral Land" by Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski, this year's winner of the Best Director award in Cannes, will have its Slavonian premiere and will also ceremoniously open the festival. From Cannes comes the drama "Yellow Letters" by German director Ilker Çatak, a Berlin winner, which will have its Croatian premiere in Vukovar.
The Venice Mostra is represented by "Silent Friend" by acclaimed Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi, a film that has won six awards, including the FIPRESCI prize. Also in competition are new films by Slovak director Agnieszka Holland, "Franz," and Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa's "Two Prosecutors." Domestic talent is led by the winner of the Pula Film Festival, the dramedy "Chickens" by director Igor Jelinović, awarded four Golden Arenas, and the comedy "Women, Madmen, and a Few Good Gays" by Vukovar native Ivan Salaj.
The documentary competition brings twelve films from eight countries. Among them, the German biographical documentary "Breaking Barriers" by directors Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki, nominated for an Oscar, stands out, as does the winner of the documentary section in Berlin, the Slovak film "If Pigeons Turned Gold" by director Pepe Lubojacki. "80 Angry Journalists" by András Földes, a story about the mass resignations of Hungarian journalists in 2020, will have its Croatian premiere.
The animated film category is the richest in terms of titles-selector Ana Despot has chosen thirteen short animated films. Ten come from Croatia, including "Hungry Heart" by Nikolina Žabčić and "Piano" by Niko Ševerdija, and audiences will also see works from Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.
The winners of the jubilee edition will be decided by an impressive jury consisting of: Austrian director Sabine Hiebler, National Champion Goran Grgić, photographer and director Dora Šarić, Croatian acting star Ksenija Pajić, director, screenwriter, and composer Domagoj Božidar Burić, film critic for Večernji list Jelena Ružić, producer and animator Darian Bakliža, animator and illustrator Manuel Šumberac, and animator Eugen Bilankov.
Festival director Darko Puharić emphasized the importance of such a response. "Having such distinguished names as jury members fills us with pride, because along with everything else we do-from selecting the films themselves to arranging the broadcast of the opening on HRT to the symbiotic collaboration with festivals in Orašje and Sarajevo-it shows that interest in participating in the festival's organization continues to grow," said Puharić.
This collaboration brings a historic novelty: for the first time, Vukovar will host guest festivals from Orašje and Sarajevo. A special event is traditionally held at the Vukovar Water Tower, and the accompanying program includes screenings of Andrei Zvyagintsev's film "Minotaur" and the music documentary "Hitmaker, Đorđe Novković" as part of a collaboration with the television station CMC.
Artistic director Dragan Despot concluded with an emotional message: "I deeply believe that our efforts and endeavors will be worthy of the great jubilee that celebrates our festival and the city of Vukovar. This is not just a big anniversary but also confirmation that a bold idea has turned into a lasting cultural value in a city whose name is a symbol of suffering, but also of dignity, where film art has become a language of encounter, dialogue, and hope."
