Sunday, as the last day of this year’s Cinehill, brings opportunities to see all the awarded titles, the unveiling of a monument to Krešo Golik accompanied by a screening of his canonical documentary, a hiking trail, two sports documentaries from Rijeka, a SUP paddling lesson, a theatre play about masculinity, and the final festival screenings.
The film program at 11:00 at Cinema Golik opens with a joint screening of the best Croatian film in the CroCorto program, Remember That I Carry You directed by Ana Predan, and the title that earned a Special Mention of the main jury, Milivoje Obradović’s feature comedy 15 and a Half. The jury described the former as “filmic poetry built around two lonely souls who forge communication”, while 15 and a Half was praised for “its witty and intimate portrayal of an actor facing professional, existential, and personal crises”.
At the same time, we are organising a hiking trip from café Čoka to Preradović Peak – a chance for one last look at the Gorski Kotar landscape and an excellent introduction to our sports program.
We then pay tribute to the canonical Croatian director in whose namesake cinema we have spent the entire week watching films. At noon on the Krešo Golik Promenade we will unveil his statue, a work by sculptor Darija Žmak Kunić. We then return to Cinema Golik, where at 13:00 there is a screening of his documentary classic From 3 to 22 from 1966.
The 14-minute film follows a day in the life of a textile factory worker whose daily routine starts at three in the morning, continues with her factory shift, her household chores and care for her child, and ends at 10 p.m. The monument unveiling is at noon – but which point the film’s protagonist has already gone through half of her workday.
Immediately after the screening, at 13:15, Petra Belc presents archival film footage that was made not within official productions or established film clubs, but as part of private and family life. These intimate home recordings reveal themselves as precious documents of life beyond official history.
At 14:00 at Cinema Golik, there is a screening of Corto Award winner for best international short film, L’avant-poste 21, by Swiss director Camille Surdez, which “confronts issues of abortion with courage, sensitivity, and clarity”, alongside of the winner of the Cinehill Propeller for best feature film, Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke’s dramedy Flies. According to the statement of the jury, Flies earned the main festival award for its “boldness, and profound humanity” in addressing “loneliness, connection, compassion, and the acceptance of loss”.
At 15:30, our program moves to Lake Lepenica, where a SUP paddle lesson takes place under the guidance of the CRO SUP Club.
While part of the audience tests their balance on the water, the program at 17:00 returns to Cinema Golik with two sports documentaries from Rijeka. We screen Life on Sisa by Sanjin Stanić, a record of Slobodan Dada Velikić’s solo Atlantic crossing, and Pushing Forward by Mirko Žorž, a film about wheelchair basketball players who see sport as a space of discipline, community, and empowerment. The screenings are followed by conversations with Stanić and Žorž and the protagonists of their films.
At 18:00 at Cinema Lič, there is a reprise of My Tennis Maestro by Andrea Di Stefano, while the Sport Day continues at 19:00 on Lake Lepenica with the performance of the theatre piece Training directed by Paško Vukasović. The Croatian-language performance combines physical expression with questions of masculinity, self-confidence, and one’s relationship with one’s own body.
Meanwhile, at 19:00 at Cinema Golik, we screen the feature dramedy Yugo Florida by Vladimir Tagić, whose chaotic and irresponsible protagonist learns that his estranged father is terminally ill. Father and son are thus brought to reconsider their relationship, their past, and the choices they have made.
The festival’s final screening, at 21:00 at Damside Theatre, brings the film that received Cinehill’s Audience Award, receiving the highest audience score of the week – The Sea by Israeli director Shai Carmeli-Pollak, which we get to see in the unique setting of Gorski Kotar.
After six days of films, concerts, conversations, workshops, and bonfires, Sunday’s program brings together film history, local heritage, sport, nature, and regional cinema. Audiences return to their everyday lives with award-winning films and fresh recommendations – and we hope to see you again next year.
