This autumn, 11-19 November, Zagreb will once again become the boiling point of film – for its 15^th edition, Zagreb Film Festival is preparing a selection of the most interesting short and feature films from all over the world. During the nine festival days, the screenings will take place at several locations across the city, but mostly at cinemas Europa and Tuškanac.

First-time filmmakers have been the main focus of ZFF since the very beginnings, therefore the main (competition) section is dedicated exclusively to directors presenting their first or second fiction film. The national selection (Checkers) is introducing new up-and-comers on the local short film scene, which is experiencing a real revival and surge in the past years. Croatian filmmakers can still enter their up to 30 minutes’ long films for the Checkers competition, which closes on 1 October.

The competition includes the Bosnian and Herzegovinian film The Frog, a co-production between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia, co-funded by Eurimages, based on the iconic namesake stage play by the Croatian writer and playwright Dubravko Mihanović and directed by debut director Elmir Jukić. The film premiered this summer at Sarajevo Film Festival, earning outstanding audience rates. The Frog is also the first film made after participation at Zagreb Film Festival’s workshop My First Script, which makes for a huge success in the times of unstable regional film production. Industry, ZFF’s special programme organising this workshop every year and encompassing different activities intended for film professionals, is again hosting many names from the film world in Zagreb.

Together Again, the category which last year also became a competition, will screen films directed by renowned filmmakers who have, in a way, been evolving together with ZFF. This year it includes names like Andrei Zvyagintsev, the great Russian director whose latest film Loveless won the jury award this year in Cannes. Zvyagintsev is ZFF’s old friend and two-times festival winner, for his films The Return and The Banishment.