In the refreshing atmosphere of the packed open-air Cinema on the Slope and in the company of many friends of the festival, the opening ceremony marked the start of the 26th Cinehill and the end of the first events-packed day at the mountain of films in Gorski Kotar.

“Just as in Werner Herzog’s anthology film Fitzcarraldo, in which the main character decided to build an opera house in the middle of the jungle, we decided to haul our festival to 1,035 meters above sea level,” said Cinehill Director Igor Mirković.

After a short video in which we peeked behind the scenes of Cinehill and got to see the organisers and the volunteers in action, whose combined efforts make this festival edition possible, the audience was greeted by Petar Mamula, Deputy Prefect of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, which has supported the festival for the last two years.

“The Primorje-Gorski Kotar County wholeheartedly supported this idea from the start, and, as a native of Gorski Kotar and the Deputy Prefect of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, I am so happy this is the case and that the second Cinehill Film Festival is here today in this fairytale landscape. Last year we demonstrated that you can still wear coats in the hottest month of the year, so this year we’ve tried to organise warmer weather for you, although as the evening progresses, I will still have to borrow someone’s sweatshirt.” Finally, the Deputy Prefect expressed his gratitude to the many volunteers and residents of Gorski Kotar who have made the festival possible, saying “I believe that this festival will demonstrate that if Cinestar is a five-star cinema, Cinehill is a ten-star one”.

The director of the Kvarner Tourist Board, Irena Peršić Živadinov, also welcomed the festival and the audience. “We are glad that the festival has chosen this region and that you are enriching its cultural offer. The cultural offer is extremely important for Kvarner, and film festivals are one of its integral parts. Thank you for putting more eyes on Gorski Kotar and for deciding to organise the festival right here.”

The opening was also attended by the Mayor of Delnice Katarina Mihelčić, the Deputy Mayor of Zagreb Luka Korlaet, the Ambassador of Denmark to Croatia Ole Frijs Madsen, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Croatia Thomas Casura, and the Head of the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb Krešimir Jurak.

This was followed by a short video in which the audience was introduced to the many guests and friends of the festival. Among them was actress Michelle Cabral (Betânia), who “travelled the longest journey with a clown’s suitcase, from São Paolo, via Doha, to Delnice”, the alpinist Stipe Božić, “a man who climbed the world’s highest peaks, but came to Petehovac by car”, Bogdan Diklić, the first guest at Motovun and the winner of the 50 Years Award, Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz (Motel Destino), director Gianluca Santoni (Denni and Sergio) who “came to Petehovac from the south of Italy via Ljubljana”, director Isabella Eklöf (Kalak) who “left at 6 in the morning from London, with a film she shot in Greenland”, director and Maverick Award winner Julien Temple, who “has been to Motovun twice, and now flew from Bristol to Gorski Kotar”.

Igor Mirković was joined on stage by Milena Zajović, the selector of the main program. “When the mountaineers find themselves in the darkness and cannot see each other, they call out to each other by whistling”, she said and invited the gathered festival guests and the cheering audience to announce their presence at this mountaineering edition of the festival with whistles, thus officially opening the festival.

The festival was inaugurated with the screenings of the Croatian short and winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or for Best Short Film, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, and the dramedy Dog on Trial. The films were presented to the audience by the directors themselves, Nebojša Slijepčević and Laetitia Dosch, while the evening’s four-legged visitors enjoyed the pet-friendly screening of the Palme d’Or award-winning Dog on Trial, to the delight of its director.