Around one hundred titles including comedies and films for all generations • Big names of international cinema coming to the film feast in Fužine
An oasis where we can escape bad news and escalating madness surrounded by excellent films. It all happens in Fužine, for the first time hosting Cinehill Festival, from 22 to 27 July. The greenest domestic film festival comes to town and its surrounding lakes, offering a break from the summer heat, but also from the crazy everyday life, with a program containing an array of engaged films, as well as numerous comedies and films for all generations, it was said at Cinehill’s program presentation taking place simultaneously in Zagreb and Rijeka.
“For six days in July, the heart of our festival will be in Fužine, but we will also hold screenings in Delnice, Lič, Lokve, Moravice, Karlovac, Rijeka and Zagreb, with a program including two competitions – the international feature film and short film competitions. However, we are especially looking forward to meeting and getting to know our guests of honour, the legendary Catherine Breillat, and one of the greatest filmmakers of our time and the recent Golden Palm winner, Jafar Panahi”, said Cinehill director Igor Mirković. This year’s film program is overbrimming with appealing titles, including this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious cinematic awards. “Looking at the program, I am very pleased to present some of the world’s greatest films at the moment, such as the current Palme d’Or winner It Was just an Accident directed by our Maverick Award recipient Jafar Panahi, Norwegian Dreams (Sex Love) which won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, the Italian historical spectacle Vermiglio winner of the Grand Jury Prize in Venice, or the Brazilian Oscar-winner I’m Still Here. But what I like even more about this year’s program is that it is one of our most enjoyable yet, with numerous crowd pleasers and titles for all generations and audience profiles. These films are bound to make us think, but also laugh out loud, which is equally important in today’s times”, highlighted the festival’s artistic director and program selector Milena Zajović.
The audience in Fužine will also be treated to the winner of the Audience Award in Venice, the unconventional romantic comedy Paul and Paulette Take a Bath. The Palestinian title Thank You for Banking with Us is a sharp thriller, family drama and comedy all rolled into one, and follows a pair of sisters in a race against time to secure their inheritance. The tense and emotionally powerful Hungarian Growing Down is a drama about a widower faced with the moral dilemma of disclosing the truth about a tragic accident caused by his son.
The program also features the suspenseful Kenyan-Swedish crime drama The Dog, about a small-time drug dealer who falls in love with the escort girl he is guarding. Two Women is a Canadian comedy about two neighbours who find themselves in a crazy world of fantasy and unfulfilled desires.
Arriving from Berlinale is German hit title Islands, an intriguing drama about the breakdown of identity, set between Patricia Highsmith’s thrillers and Guadagnino’s Challengers. The excellent documentary A Little Gray Wolf Will Come is a story about a Russian state television correspondent shaping the world’s image according to the Kremlin’s instructions, while living a completely different life in America. The main competition will present not one but two films from Switzerland. Late Shift is a mesmerising and suspenseful drama about the stressful night of a nurse, while The Courageous is a story about an eccentric single mother, examining the female revolt, motherhood, and social condemnation. The program also includes two domestic feature titles. The eagerly awaited world premiere of the documentary The World’s Best Film Professor, in which director Vida Žagar tackles the scandal involving the once beloved academy professor Krešo Mikić, and South Wind, directed by Ante Marin, a dark comedy of misunderstandings set in Split, about the interconnected lives of the residents of a dilapidated four-story building. Appealing as always, the short film program has this year been selected by Hamed Soleimanzadeh, a film critic, philosopher, author, and lecturer at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Among more than 500 submitted titles, he has selected 21, including seven Croatian shorts, three of which will be international premieres. By his account, the selected shorts are bold, thoughtful works that represent marginalised voices, celebrate cultural diversity, and offer new perspectives on social and environmental issues. As usual, Cinehill has also prepared a rich accompanying program. In addition to retrospectives of films of this year’s Maverick Award recipients – Catherine Breillat and Jafar Panahi, there is also a diverse selection of recent titles coming from this year’s partner country – Switzerland. The exciting program Visions of the Future might predict what the world will be like in 10, 30 or 50 years. Filmmakers from around the world speculate about the lives of generations to come – in Denmark, being evacuated due to flooding, in Rome, bogged down by water shortages for years, or on a planet where there used to be people but there isn’t any more.
Cinehill encourages reflection on these topics in the untouched green surroundings of Gorski Kotar. It will maintain it green festival trademark this July by highlighting sustainability and ecology. The festival encourages arriving in Fužine by train, using public transport and bicycles, as well as walking and spending time in nature. The walking and educational tours for visitors to get acquainted with nature and the forest environment will once again be a staple of the festival.
“The festival will be held at multiple locations – from the main stage in Fužine, a space under the water dam, which can accommodate more than 800 spectators, to our festival centre in Rakov Jarak, a magical space next to Lake Bajer that features two tent cinemas for daytime screenings, a music stage active until the wee hours of the night, a VR cinema, spaces for formal and less formal Q&As with guests, and a nearby festival camp for visitors on the shore of Lake Bajer”, said producer Sanja Borčić.
In addition to filmmaking, this festival also supports the other arts, especially music. This summer, Darko Rundek Eco Quartet, Balkalar, Ki Klop, and DJ Mario Kovač will take to the stage in Fužine, while the upbeat band Hornbox and pianist Cinzia Regensburger will arrive from Switzerland as piano accompaniment for the silent film The Sun of St. Moritz from 1923.
The festival is supported by the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Kvarner and Gorski Kotar Tourist Boards, and is co-organised with the Municipality of Fužine. “We believe it is enormously important to support initiatives that help enrich the cultural offer for our guests, but also for the local community, and that contribute to the development of tourism and the economy. Especially in Gorski Kotar, a natural jewel whose potential has not yet been fully realised. The Primorje-Gorski Kotar County will continue to welcome the cooperation with the Cinehill Festival, which has developed and grown more successful with every passing year”, stressed Robert Matić, Deputy Prefect of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.
The most affordable film program ticket bundles, Big Hill and Little Hill, are already on pre-sale. The bundles are on pre-sale online until 7 July, when individual tickets hit the box office. They can be purchased via the link https://cinehill.eu/ulaznice.
