On the 10th of June, at a press conference held at the French Institute in Zagreb, the film programmes of the 62nd Pula Film Festival were presented. On behalf of the French Embassy, HE Michèle Boccoz greeted all the guests and reporters. The President of the Art Board, Hrvoje Pukšec, announced the Croatian and the International programme. Within the Croatian programme, the film titles of the Croatian Film and Short Pula were announced, and within the International programme, the films in and out of competition, as well as the films from the programmes Short Matters, Dizalica and Pulica. Festival director, Gordana Restović, spoke about this year's organization and all the other expected programmes and events at the 62nd Festival. Assistant of the Minister of Culture, Tamara Perišić, spoke about the Festival of France - Rendez-vous - in Croatia, and particularly of the programme that participates in this 62nd Pula - this year's Golden Palm winner at the Cannes Film Festival, Dheepan, Jacques Audiard (Odiar). Head of Croatian Telekom’s Direct approach to the market, Sanja Milinović was pleased that the Croatian Telecom is able to continuously follow Croatian film festivals and the 62nd edition of Pula Film Festival.
News related to the aforementioned programmes are the following:
• A total of 75 submitted films for the Croatian programme (28 features and 47 short films)
• 14 feature films and 16 short films selected for the Croatian programme
• 14 feature films and 12 short films in the competition section of the International Programme
• For the first time in Croatia, a TV series will be screened at a festival
• World premiere of the international film Next to Me by Stevan Filipović
CROATIAN PROGRAMME
The submissions were opened from 20 March to 17 April 2015 and a total of 28 long feature films and 47 short films were submitted. The Art Board of Pula film festival - Hrvoje Pukšec, president, and members Mike Downey and Tanja Miličić - selected 14 long feature films and 16 short films that will form the Croatian programme of the 62nd Pula Film Festival.
Long feature selection:
We Will Be The World Champions, Darko Bajić
The Girls - Life of Another, Andrea Štaka
Children of Transition, Matija Vukšić
Naked Island, Tiha Gudac
Ungiven, Branko Schmidt
Love or Death, Daniel Kušan
No One's Child, Vuk Ršumović
Consumed, Borut Šeparović
The Spirits Diary, Damir Čučić
The Enchanting Porkers, Ivan Livaković
These are the Rules, Ognjen Sviličić
You Carry Me, Ivona Juka
Zagreb Stories Vol. 3, group of authors
The High Sun, Dalibor Matanić
Short feature selection:
• Granddaughter, Tomislav Šestan
• No Wolf Has a House, Hana Jušić
• An Awful Pair of Shoes and a Funeral, Luka Čurčić
• Breakfast, Salvatore Li Causi
• Life is Fair, Arsen Oremović
• Indoor Hunting, Kristina Vuković
• It's No Big Deal, Gea Gojak
• The Rainfall, Marko Dugonjić
• Minutes, Ivan Stanić
• Sunday Night Special, Neven Dužanec
• Escape, Ivana Marinić Kragić
• The Return, Filip Heraković
• Polenta, Ivan Veljača
• A Room With a Slanting View, Davor Žmegač
• Hands, Jasna Nanut
• A Very Brief Excursion, Igor Brezinović
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME
The International programme consists of competitive and non-competitive programme parts, more precisely of Short Matters programme, in cooperation with the European Film Academy, of the programme for young people named Dizalica and programme for children Pulica.
Selected long feature films of the International Program (competition)
• Corn Island, George Ovashvili (Georgia)
Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema 2014, Audience Award
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014, Award of Ecumenical Jury, Crystal Globe
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2015, Bridging the Borders Award
• Out of Nature, Ole Giaever and Marta Vold, (Norway)
Berlin International Film Festival 2015, Label Europa Cinemas
• The Summer of Sangalie, Alante Kavaite (Lithuania, France, Netherlands)
Sundance Film Festival 2015, Directing Award
• 600 Miles, Gabriel Ripstein (Mexico)
Berlin International Film Festival 2015, Best First Feature Award
• Koza, Ivan Ostrochovský (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Berlin International Film Festival 2015
Wiesbaden goEast 2015, Best Director, FIPRESCI Prize
• Ned Rifle, Hal Hartley, (USA)
Berlin International Film Festival 2015, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
• Bota, Thomas Logoreci (Albania, Italy, Kosovo)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014, FEDEORA Award
• Next to Me, Stevan Filipović (Serbia)
World premiere
• For Some Inexplicable Reason, Gabor Reisz (Hungary)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2014
• Dheepan, Jacques Audiard (France)
Cannes Film Festival 2015, Palme d'Or
• The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos (Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, France)
Cannes Film Festival 2015, Jury Prize, Palm Dog - Jury Prize, Queer Palm - Special Mention
• Snake Brothers, red. Jan Prušinovský (Czech Republic)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015
• Parabellum, red. Lukas Valenta Rinner (Argentina, Austria, Uruguay)
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2015
Göteborg Film Festival 2015
• Trash, Stephen Daldry (Great Britain)
Rome Film Fest 2014, BNL People's Choice Award
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2014
The event is organized as a part of the Rendez-vous - Festival of France in Croatia.
Selected long feature films of the International Program (out of competition):
• Utopia, Dennis Kelly (United Kingdom), the series
• Minions, Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin (USA)
• Pixels, Chris Columbus (USA)
• Terminator Genisys, Alan Taylor (USA)
Selected short feature films – Short Matters
• Whale Valley, Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson (Denmark, Iceland)
• The Missing Scarf, Eoin Duffy (Ireland)
• Little Block of Cement With Dishevelled Hair Containing The Sea, Jorge Lopez Navarrete (Spain)
• Pride, Paul Vesnakov (Bulgaria, Germany)
• Taprobane, Gabriel Abrantes (Portugal, Sri Lanka, Denmark)
• Fal, Simon Szabo (Hungary)
• Summer 2014, Wojciech Sobczyk (Poland)
• Dino, Mariam Khatchvani (Georgia)
• Shipwreck, Morgan Knibb (Netherlands)
• Emergency Calls, Hannes Vartiainen and Pekka Veikkolainen (Finland)
• Daily Bread, Idan Hubel (Israel)
• Still Got Lives, Jan-Gerrit Seyler (Germany)
The program Dizalica, successfully launched at the 61st Pula Film Festival, is dedicated to young film lovers aged 16 to 21.
This year's film programme:
• Short Skin, Duccio Chiarini (Italy)
• Diary of a Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller (USA)
• My Skinny Sister, Sanna Lenken (Sweden, Germany)
• Streetkids United II: The Girls from Rio, Maria Clara (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Brazil)
• Beautiful Girl, Dominik Hartl (Austria)
The traditional festival programme for children Pulica, recognized and appreciated as an important part of the film education for children, shall offer this year a selection of contemporary Croatian, European and world fiction as well as animated feature-length and short films that have won many awards at various film festivals for children and youth all over the world.
Long feature films programme:
• Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins, Torill Kove (Norway, Sweden)
• Pettson and Findus - A Little Nuisance, a Great Friendship, Ali Samadi Ahadi (Germany)
• The Song of the Sea, Tomm Moore (Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France)
• Il ragazzo invisibile, Gabriele Salvatores (Italy)
• Karsten and Petra on Safari, Arne Lindtner Næss (Norway)
• Rhubarb, Mark de Cloe (Netherlands)
• The Sound of Music, Robert Wise (USA)
Short feature films programme:
• Elephant and the Bicycle, Olesya Shchukina (France)
• Patchwork Chicken, Angela Steffen, Andrea Deppert (Germany)
• The Mitten, Clementine Robach (France)
• The Adventures of Yoyo, group of authors (Belgium)
• Snowflake, Natalia Chernysheva (Russia)
''13 years of exceptional cooperation with Pula Film Festival proves that it is a project of great importance for Croatia in both cinema and culture as a whole. Each year Pula Film Festival screens the top national and international film productions therefore I am pleased to announce that we shall continue this tradition, thus enabling the MAXtv users to watch festivals films in the MAXtv Video Library shortly after their screenings in Pula."- said Sanja Milinović, Head of Croatian Telekom’s Direct approach to the market.
Every year Pula Film Festival becomes an increasingly important gathering place for film fans from Croatia and abroad, a fact that we are extremely proud of. The continuous support of the Ministry of Culture that ensures the best possible conditions for Croatian film screenings serves as evidence of the importance Pula Film Festival has at national and international level - said Tamara Perišić, Assistant Minister of Culture.
Festival organizers also announced the recent news regarding the Festival professional programme Pula Professional as well as other programmes to be held from July 18 to 25, 2015.
Check our photo gallery HERE.