24th ZFF Program Announced

The program for the 24th edition of the Zagreb Film Festival, taking place from November 9 to 15 at Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Kinoteka Cinema, MSU (Museum of Contemporary Art), and Surogatkino KIC, as well as online at zff.hr, was presented at a press conference held on Wednesday, October 14, at Urania – Space of Creation. This year’s program was introduced by ZFF director Boris T. Matić, program director Selma Mehadžić, and executive director Lana Matić.

 

To mark the 60th anniversary of Zvonimir Berković’s cult domestic classic Rondo, the festival will grandly open with a screening of its digitally restored version, recently premiered at one of the world’s most prestigious festivals for classic and restored cinema – the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon. Closing ZFF is the latest Palme d’Or winner, Fjord, directed by Romanian master auteur Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – ZFF 2007), starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value – ZFF 2025; The Worst Person in the World – ZFF 2021). In his first film shot outside Romania, Mungiu explores the boundaries of tolerance in today’s liberal societies through the story of a Romanian-Norwegian couple facing the threat of losing custody of their children over traditional parenting methods.

 

“The question of responsibility – towards younger as well as older generations, towards those around us, and towards the society we live in – runs through this year’s ZFF film program, reminding us that a better future can be built on mutual encounters, listening, and dialogue. The hundred or so films we have selected for the upcoming edition will remind us of universal values such as empathy, community, solidarity, and love, encouraging us to question established perspectives and, ultimately, bringing us together in the shared experience of watching films on the big screen,” stated Boris T. Matić.

 

Main Competition Program and PLUS

 

The winner of ZFF’s Golden Pram for feature film will be decided by a three-member jury: Norwegian actress Lisa Loven Kongsli, which our audience remembers for her role in Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure and who stars in Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord this year; Belgrade director and screenwriter Bojan Vuletić, co-writer of Stefan Arsenijević’s Love and Other Crimes (ZFF 2008); and Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson (Volcano – ZFF 2012, Sparrows – ZFF 2015, Echo – ZFF 2019, When the Light Breaks – ZFF 2024). Twelve feature films will compete for the Golden Pram this year. Comedian Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut, Club Kid, in which he also plays the lead role, takes us into the New York underground party scene where the protagonist’s life turns upside down when the ten-year-old son he never knew existed shows up at his doorstep. Arriving at ZFF with both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award from Sundance is Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo, a film about an eight-year-old girl in San Francisco who witnesses a disturbing event during a walk in the park. Her parents, played by Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, react to the traumatic experience in vastly different ways, turning the film into an intense study of fear and how we pass it on to our children. Fatherhood and masculinity are also examined in Adult Supervision, the directorial debut of writer Alex Schulman and Sweden’s official Oscar entry – a dark comedy drama about three fathers chaperoning their children’s school trip, only to realize they have never fully outgrown teenage power dynamics.

 

Two-time Berlinale winner Queen at Sea by Lance Hammer is a delicate and layered portrait of old age and dementia, starring Juliette Binonche as a daughter facing an avalanche of ethical and intimate questions surrounding the care of her frail mother. The film won the Silver Bear, as did Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay for their acting performances. Premiered at Locarno, Brave New Love by Swedish-Danish director Maria Bäck is a sharp dramedy that challenges romantic conventions and norms through the story of a married woman in a long-term relationship with another man (played by Anders Danielsen Lie, a frequent acting collaborator of Joachim Trier). A seemingly incompatible couple is at the centre of I Plant My Hand in the Garden by Hoda Taheri and Boris Hadžija (Mother is a Natural Sinner – ZFF 2024), a witty and sharp piece of autofiction exploring the fluidity of identity, sexuality, and belonging. In this charming feature, which premiered in the Venice Days section at the Venice Film Festival, the main roles are played by the directing duo themselves.

 

Alongside two Croatian titles – Mate Ugrin’s summer story with a dark twist, Petty Thieves, crowned with the FIPRESCI Award at Karlovy Vary, and Josip Lukić’s family drama Mom’s Alive Today, which will have its world premiere at ZFF – the region is represented in the main competition by a strong lineup. The Macedonian Oscar entry 17, the debut feature by director Kosara Mitić, won the Audience Award, the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress (Eva Kostić), and a special award for promoting gender equality following its premiere at the Berlinale this summer. The screenplay for this intimate story about the heavy themes of growing up – trauma, silence, shame, isolation, as well as female solidarity – was co-written by Mitić and Croatian director Ognjen Sviličić. Growing up in the shadow of the upcoming war in Prishtina in the late nineties is the focus of Dua, for which Kosovar director Blerta Basholli (Hive – ZFF 2021) drew inspiration from her own memories. The film won the Screenplay Award at Cannes Critics’ Week. The Belgrade student protests serve as the backdrop for the narrative feature debut by documentary filmmaker Jelena Maksimović, which premiered in the Orizzonti section at Venice. Co-produced with Croatia (Dinaridi Film), Until the Day Ends tells the story of a young activist and a young man from a working-class family who, despite coming from opposite worlds, are united by a longing for freedom. A tender coming-of-age portrait comes from the winner of Cannes Critics’ Week, La Gradiva by French director Marine Atlan. Inspired by Freud’s essay on Wilhelm Jensen’s novel Gradiva, the film follows a class of high school students on a field trip to Pompeii and Naples, which becomes a meeting point between an ancient world frozen in time and intense youthful emotions and dynamics.

 

The three titles from the feature film competition – Until the Day Ends, La Gradiva and 17 – are also part of the PLUS competition program, which brings together films with bold, innovative perspectives on coming-of-age themes, alongside three additional features. Oasis by German-Austrian filmmaker Jannis Lenz won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice’s Orizzonti section. This acclaimed and suspenseful story follows three adolescents who bond after a humiliating incident at school, taking a fresh, unconventional approach to the topic of peer violence. Goodbye Cruel World, the directorial debut by French actor Félix de Givry, stars Milo Machado-Graner, who captured public attention with his performance in Anatomy of a Fall (ZFF 2023). The film offers a distinct take on teenage angst and the need for connection, while invoking icons of French cinema such as François Truffaut and Maurice Pialat. Skateboarding is Not for Girls by Macedonian director Dina Duma, co-produced with Croatia (Terminal 3), won the Nora Ephron Award at Tribeca and the Youth Perspectives Special Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival. It is an intimate portrait of a new, brave generation of girls growing up between two worlds – the spectrum of possibilities offered by modern culture on one side, and the weight of outdated patriarchal tradition on the other. The best film in the PLUS program will be chosen by a youth jury consisting of Helena Šarić, Renato Horvat, Mia Maria Majerić, Ivan Dorotić, and Corina Kovačić.

 

In the race for the Golden Pram in the international short film competition, there are also twelve titles, and the program will be opened by the Dutch-Palestinian film A Tenderness by Sabrine Khoury, screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Also arriving at ZFF from Toronto is the Canadian film The Comet by Julie Charette, and the Zagreb audience will also see two titles previously shown in the official Cannes competition: the Portuguese film A Few Things Happening by a River by ZFF laureate Daniel Soares (What Remains – ZFF 2022, Special Mention; Please Make it Work – ZFF 2023, Golden Pram), and Nobody Said Anything, crowned with the Heart of Sarajevo, by Serbian director Tamara Todorović. The animated feature Daughters of the Late Colonel by British filmmaker Elizabeth Hobbs, awarded in Melbourne, is based on the short story of the same name by Katherine Mansfield, while her own teenage experience of student protests inspired Chilean director Alba Gaviraghi for A Fortress. The narrative of Neighbour by director Dan Grabar also stems from student protests, specifically those in Serbia. The program also includes the Italian film Puca by Sara Scalera, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (Mostra); Little House by Slovenian director Nika Jurman, which won both the Jury Award and Audience Award at FeKK in Ljubljana; the French-Puerto Rican docufiction drama Guided Tour by Alba Jaramillo; the dramedy Let’s (Not) Talk About the Snake by Norwegian filmmaker Håkon Anton Olavsen; and the German father-and-son drama Yearlings by Jonathan Schaller. Eight movies have been gathered in the national short film competition Checkers: Patch by Luka Galešić (It’s Alright, It’s Nice – ZFF 2023; Grand Finale – ZFF 2025), shown this summer at the Sarajevo Film Festival; Karst by Petar Vukičević (Sparina – ZFF 2022); Ruffian by Matej Matijević (Boca de ferro – ZFF 2022); Sounds of Cicadas by Filip Dučić; Bananafish by Dora Šustić; Rightleft by Melita Mukavec; Root Touch-up by Ana Šiškov (Dancing of the Grave – ZFF 2022); and 2000 by Renata Lučić (Fifth Floor on the Left – ZFF 2018), which had its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Out of competition, Wind Beneath the Wings will be screened by Sonja Tarokić, who won the Golden Pram in this program in 2014 for her film On Shaky Ground. The winner of the Golden Pram in the international and Croatian short film competitions will be decided by last year’s Checkers winner Jozo Schmuch; artistic director of the Dutch short film festival Matthieu Janssen; and Diomedes Koufteros, Cypriot actor, theatre director, and one of the artistic directors of the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (ISFFC). In addition to competing for the Golden Pram, titles in both short film sections are also vying for a nomination for the European Film Academy Award.

 

The cash prizes for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film are sponsored by Raiffeisenbank Hrvatska, while the cash prize for Best Film in the Checkers program is provided by the Croatian Film Directors and Producers Guild (DHFA).

 

Other Competition and Side Programs

 

Already established directorial names well-known to the ZFF audience are returning with new releases: alongside current Cannes laureates – Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev, Coward by Lukas Dhont, Diary of a Chambermaid by the uncontested Romanian satirist Radu Jude, and Small Things by Croatian director Zvonimir Jurić – the Together Again section will feature Austrian director Markus Schleinzer (Michael – ZFF 2011). His 17th-century black-and-white historical drama Rose follows a woman masquerading as a man, claiming to be a war veteran and laying claim to an abandoned estate. For her brilliant lead performance, Sandra Hüller was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlinale. The psychological drama For Love by Zagreb-based Slovak director Marko Škop (Let There Be Light – ZFF 2019) was co-produced by Croatia’s PomPom Film and represents the final instalment in the director’s trilogy on parent-child relationships. Screened out of competition is another Croatian co-production: the comedy Hotel Alcohol by Slovenian filmmaker Jan Cvitkovič (Gravehopping – ZFF 2005), which follows three escaped psychiatric patients who experience an unexpected epiphany. The winner of Best Film in the Together Again program will be chosen by a jury of local film professionals comprising producer Vanja Jambrović, director Sonja Tarokić, and cinematographer Tin Ostrošić.

 

The previously announced program of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region features five titles competing for the Adriatic Audience Award, which will be presented to the film receiving the highest number of votes from the audience: the quirky coming-of-age story Truly Naked by Muriel d’Ansembourg; Only Beautiful Things to Look At by Slovak director Ivan Ostrochovský, exploring a controversial chapter of Czechoslovak history; the utterly original Hen by Hungarian director György Pálfi; an uncompromising look at modern exploitation, Made in EU by Stephan Komandarev; and the Bulgarian tragicomedy Black Money for White Nights by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. The out-of-competition section brings the film Melt by Austrian documentarian Nikolaus Geyrhalter, dealing with the consequences of global warming.

 

In the Great 5 program, which brings hits from five of Europe’s largest national cinemas, alongside the previously announced films The Beloved by Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Wicker by the British duo Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, we will also see the Italian road movie The Last One for the Road by Francesco Sossai, about a charismatic, alcohol-prone, memory-ruminating middle-aged pair of friends. France will be represented by Too Many Beasts by Sarah Arnold, a fresh interpretation of a story about corruption and crime set in a rural hunting environment, awarded the Europa Cinemas Label in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The German film Prosecution by Faraz Shariat, crowned with the Audience Award in Berlin’s Panorama section, follows a young prosecutor determined to confront far-right violence.

 

Young audiences can look forward to a range of film titles in the KinoKino program again this year, while a rich selection of festival hits for ZFF’s Festivals in the Spotlight has once again been prepared by the programming directors of numerous festivals – Vienna Shorts, Toronto Short Cuts, film Festivals in Ljubljana, Riga, Sofia, Tampere, and Locarno, the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Belgrade Author Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, and the Mediterranean Film Festival Split.

 

Industry

 

In addition to the film screenings, ZFF traditionally brings together numerous film professionals in Zagreb. Once again, the Industry platform will offer the public various opportunities to engage with international and local filmmakers. Jury member and Norwegian actress Lisa Loven Kongsli (Force Majeure, Solomamma, Wonder Woman) will speak in her masterclass about her acting technique and her experience working across both independent productions and Hollywood blockbusters. Meanwhile, Austrian directing giant Ulrich Seidl (Dog Days, Paradise trilogy, Sparta)—in a masterclass organized by ZFF in collaboration with the Maison du Cinéma program—will reveal more about his directorial signature and the nuances between directing documentary and fiction films. Renowned Danish editor Olivia Neergaard-Holm (Holy Spider, The Ugly Duckling, The Apprentice) will lead a masterclass held in collaboration with the Croatian Guild of Film Editors, focusing on the role of editing in building atmosphere, tension, and character psychology, as well as her collaboration with Ali Abbasi. Following her masterclass, the winners of the trailer editing workshop led by Vladimir Gojun and Tomislav Pavlic will be announced.

 

Aimed at producers, directors, and other filmmakers, the workshop Sustainable Strategies: A Green Approach for EU Funds will be led by Morana Ikić Komljenović, while Martina Petrović, Head of Creative Europe Desk – MEDIA Office Croatia, will conduct a workshop on applying to Creative Europe MEDIA calls. Co-organized by professional associations SPID (Screenwriters and Playwrights Guild) and DHFR (Directors Guild of Croatia), the Meet&Match event will feature a public script-reading evening where a team of actors, directors, and screenwriters will perform an unreleased screenplay awarded HAVC (Croatian Audiovisual Centre) development support. At the panel From Local to Global: Actors in the International Market, organized in collaboration with Petit Theatre and the Austrian Cultural Forum, renowned casting directors Anja Dihrberg-Siebler and Nicole Schmied alongside talent agent Anila Gajević will discuss self-tapes, showreels, and working with agents, moderated by Katarina Madirazza. At the workshop Audition as Networking, Dihrberg-Siebler and Schmied will provide direct feedback to selected actors from the region.

 

Throughout the festival, students from seven regional film academies will develop their projects at the Industry Youth! workshop, featuring a public pitching forum scheduled for Friday, November 13, at KIC’s Surogatkino. The best projects will be awarded post-production services. At the My First Script workshop, held in partnership with the Croatian Film Directors and Producers Guild and the Croatian Film Directors Guild (DHFR), six first-time feature filmmakers will develop scripts for their debut feature films under the mentorship of director Antonio Nuić and script consultant Jelena Paljan. This year, Industry is also hosting two programs from the Sarajevo Film Festival—the Sustainability On Set training and the final module of the CineLink Producers’ Lab. As a result of a newly established collaboration with the Pula Film Festival, creative teams from the Authors’ Room workshop will reunite under the mentorship of Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić to develop projects using a writers’ room model. Film enthusiasts will once again have the opportunity to follow the festival through the 54+ film analysis and criticism workshop, with a special focus on the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region program. Finally, for children aged 7 to 12, the creative workshop My First Digital Picture Book has been organized in partnership with HUB 385, where participants led by Nika Tilić will create their own digital stories using the globally popular tool Scratch.

 

Alongside the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Belgrade Auteur Film Festival, since last year ZFF has been a co-founder of the Adriatic Film and TV Academy, which presents the Adriatic Film Awards (AFA). This year’s award ceremony will take place on October 24, and a selection of the winning films will be screened as part of this year’s ZFF.

 

Green ZFF, Inclusive Screenings, and ZFF Travels

 

ZFF continues its “green” mission, guided by the belief that cinematic art can serve as a tool for change – a catalyst for a community that lives responsibly, sustainably, and with a vision for the future. Aiming to reduce its environmental impact, ZFF implements a range of responsible practices across all segments of its operations. The festival measures and evaluates its impact using the international tool Green Charter for Film Festivals.

 

The festival is particularly focused on social engagement and inclusiveness. In collaboration with the associations Film Svima and DLAN – Theatre, Audiovisual Arts and Culture of the Deaf, a portion of the screenings and informational content will be adapted for blind and visually impaired, as well as deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Additionally, as part of the intercultural project Welcome to ZFF!, five films from this year’s program will be screened with subtitles in Arabic and Ukrainian. During the festival, audiences in around fifteen towns outside Zagreb will once again be able to enjoy a selection of titles as part of the ZFF Travels program.

 

General Information

 

In addition to the official festival website, the program can also be followed via the official Facebook and Instagram social media profiles. Ticket prices are €7 (Main Program, PLUS, Together Again, Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region, The Great 5) and €6 (KinoKino). From October 14 through the end of the festival, tickets can be purchased online at kupiulaznicu.zff.hr. Starting November 9, tickets will also be available at the main festival box office at Kaptol Boutique Cinema and Kinoteka Cinema, and from November 10 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. During the presale period from October 14 to November 8, ticket prices are €1 lower and are available exclusively online.

 

The Zagreb Film Festival is held with the support of the City Office for Cultural and Civil Society, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Creative Europe – MEDIA Sub-programme, the Kultura Nova Foundation, and the Zagreb Tourist Board.