Zagreb Film Festival’s Industry program, aimed at providing training and networking opportunities for film experts in the region, this year offers an even richer selection of masterclasses, workshops, presentations, round tables, a pitching forum, and even a conference. The events take place 4 – 10 November, at several locations – Dokukin KIC, Cinema Kinoteka, Scenoteca (ex Vidra), Cinestar, Scene F22 – and are open to seventh art aficionados.

Filmmakers’ lectures

The 13^th Industry edition will host a number of distinguished film professionals who will share with the ZFF audience their useful experiences and advice from a creative and practical point of view. In cooperation with the Filmmakers Association of Croatia, famous Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson (Volcano, Sparrows, When the Light Breaks) will hold a masterclass moderated by director and producer Darija Blažević. The masterclass will be preceded by a screening of his latest feature When the Light Breaks, also appearing in the competition program Together Again. Another guest professional to hold a masterclass will be editor Marco Costa (Bones and All, Challengers, Queer), a longtime collaborator of director Luca Guadagnino, who will share the creative process of working on the feature Challengers, in conversation with editor Iva Ivan. As part of the collaboration with the MIDPOINT Institute, seasoned script consultant Pavel Marek will visit Zagreb to hold a lecture on the different strategies in making a short film and a documentary.

Rúnar Rúnarsson

Current topics

Co-organised by the CED – MEDIA Office Croatia, ZFF will host the presentation titled Creative Europe MEDIA – how to apply to calls for development? As part of the event, the Head of CE MEDIA Desk Croatia, Martina Petrović, will share with the attendees comprehensive information and guidance on the funding opportunities under the CE MEDIA programme, with the aim of facilitating practical understanding and troubleshoot common issues which arise during the application process.

Organised by the Department for Culture and Communication of the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), ZFF’s Industry program brings for the first time a three-day conference dedicated to small cinemas, the Annual International Small Cinemas Conference. The conference is part of the European research project CresCine, and during three days a series of presentations and round tables will be held on the topic of current challenges of film production, distribution and consumption. The conference is part of the European research project CresCine, while its three-day program will include lectures and round tables focusing to the current challenges of film production, distribution and consumption.

What is audio description, who is it intended for and what exactly is its significance? Organised by the Croatian Association of the Blind, the round table Audio description and accessibility of AV content for the visually impaired, will be a chance for the relevant stakeholders to talk about key issues related to the adaptation of AV content for people with visual impairments in Croatia.

Rich workshop program

The Industry program grows year after year. With the aim of supporting and developing new domestic and regional talents, this year we’ve prepared a record number of workshops. In addition to the regular workshop programs that have become our trademark throughout the region, the MIDPOINT Intensive Croatia workshop will be held for the first time. The workshop was created in partnership with the MIDPOINT Institute and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and it is intended for the creative development of screenplays, led by expert script consultant Pavel Marek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pavel Marek

Among the many workshops, the audience will be able to attend the one titled Audition as Networking, a two-day workshop led by actress Katarina Madirazza, intended for actors who wish to gain a better understanding of the audition process, while also doing some networking. The participants will present their skills to director Filip Heraković, casting director Sanja Drakulić and producers Matija Drniković and Tamara Babun.

Creative work is just one stage in the process of making a film. From concept to realisation, projects traverse a long journey and encounter numerous obstacles and unpredictable situations. At the Entrepreneurial Strategy for Filmmakers workshop, we will learn how to create an entrepreneurial strategy in order to bring a project to fruition. The workshop is held online, in collaboration with the CresCine research project, led by Fiacre Muller, an experienced creative and film researcher in the field of entrepreneurship and media innovation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiacre Muller

In cooperation with ZFF, events agency Eventful, CE MEDIA Desk Croatia, and Eurimages, the Network of Festivala in the Adriatic Region organises the Film Festival Sustainability Workshop. Attendees will learn how environmental, social, and economic components can be integrated into various aspects of festival organisation, including venue selection, waste reduction, and fostering sustainability awareness among visitors and guests.

There are also the regular workshop programs that have become Industry program’s trademark throughout the region. Of these, the longest-running workshop, held since the launch of the Industry program, is My First Script and it’s where screenplays for numerous successful Croatian films (The Staffroom, Seventh Heaven, Carbide, The Uncle, The Diary of Diana B.) were developed. In cooperation with the Croatian Film Directors’ and Producers’ Association and under the experienced guidance of directors Antonio Nuić and Pjer Žalica, film authors from Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Turkey will develop their debut feature scripts.

In cooperation with the Croatian Film Editors Association and the Croatian Film Directors’ and Producers’ Association, the third iteration of the Film Trailer Editing Workshop will be led by award-winning Croatian editors Vladimir Gojun and Tomislav Pavlic. During five intensive days, they will mentor young professionals in the art of making film trailers, and at the end of the workshop, the audience will have the opportunity to see their works. The best among them will receive an award in the form of a professional engagement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vladimir Gojun and Tomislav Pavlic

For the ninth consecutive year, students from six film academies from the region will gather as part of the Industry Youth! where they will develop their short fiction films in intensive workshops and finally present them to an international panel at a pitching session open to the public. The best project will win a prize in the form of post-production services.

The Industry workshop program offers something for all ages, thus the program will start with the workshop My First Videogame, in which primary school children will get a handle on the MIT Scratch programming learning method in a fun and accessible way and create their own videogame. In cooperation with the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region, a film criticism workshop will be organised for film buffs aged 54 or over. The participants will write reviews covering the films from the Network of Festival program.

Visiting film festivals

In the program Festivals in the Spotlight, the programming directors and selectors of eleven European film festivals present a selection of the titles from their festivals, and there is also the selection of short films nominated for the European Film Award. Have a peek at the programs of Sarajevo Film Festival, Mediterranean Film Festival Split, Locarno Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Vienna Shorts, Riga International Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, Auteur Film Festival, Montenegro Film Festival, Ljubljana Film Festival, and Sofia International Film Festival.