Following Debut Filmmakers for 21 Years

We love to see filmmakers grow! For over 20 years, we’ve been keeping an eye on new film talents to bring a selection of what we consider the most intriguing works by directors of first and second short and feature films from around the world.

Our long list of acclaimed film directors, whose first or second films were featured in the ZFF competition program, includes names like Xavier Dolan, Andrei Zviagintsev, Sofia Coppola, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Taika Waititi, Steve McQueen, Radu Jude, and others. Our special competition program, Checkers, has evolved over the years into Croatia’s most robust platform for discovering and promoting new talents.

While discovering talents is wonderful, supporting them is what truly drives us! Each year, we bring some of the industry’s most prominent and respected film professionals to Zagreb to nurture emerging talents. The ZFF’s Industry platform encompasses various aspects of the filmmaking process, including project and script development, co-productions, acting, cinematography, directing, and project packaging.