Wild Diamond, a sharp cross-section of insta-culture, and explosive Romanian tragicomedy The New Year That Never Came in international competition; famous Icelandic screenwriter and director Rúnar Rúnarsson holds a masterclass at CineStar Branimir

The race for the Golden Pram for best international feature continues on Wednesday with two irresistible titles: Wild Diamond (CineStar, 10:30 and 18:30), and The New Year That Never Came (CineStar, 13:00 and 21:00). Having premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Wild Diamond, the debut feature of French director Agatha Riedinger, tells the story of fame-obsessed teenager Liane (Malou Khebizi), offering up a sharp cross-section of today’s culture of instant stars, social networks, and influencers, in which to exist means to be seen, and fulfilment can only be achieved by reaching the holy grail of fame.

Romanian director Bogdan Mureșanu’s The New Year That Never Came premiered in Venice winning several awards, including Best Film in the Orizzonti section. Set in the twilight moments of Ceausescu’s regime, the film follows several characters whose fates intertwined in the tragicomedic fireworks of the winter holidays.

After the screening of When the Light Breaks (Together Again, CineStar, 18:00), famous Icelandic director and screenwriter Rúnar Rúnarsson will hold a masterclass on Wednesday at 19:30, as part of the Industry program. Using examples from his own films, Rúnarsson will talk about his artistic approach, the challenges and advantages of the dual role of screenwriter and director, and other specifics of working in film in the context of so-called small cinemas such as Iceland and Croatia. The event is realised in cooperation with the Filmmakers Association of Croatia.

Out of competition, Among the Gods is screening at CineStar at 21:00, also in the program Together Again. The new film by Vuk Ršumović, famous for his award-winning drama about a wolf boy, No One’s Child (ZFF 2014 – Audience Award), is an authentic story based on true events, and at the same time a harsh critique of today’s society.

A new KinoKino title, intended for ages 10+, the children’s adventure film Block 5, directed by Klemen Dvornik, director of one of the most successful Slovenian TV series The Lake, will screen at 11:00 at Kinoteka. Up next at 18:00 is The Outrun, directed by Nora Fingscheidt (System Crashers), representing Great Britain in the program The Great 5 program. The drama about a former addict who finds refuge on a remote island in her native Scotland, is based on the bestseller of the same name by Amy Liptrot, and was produced by the lead actress Saoirse Ronan.

International Short Film competition and Checkers (Kinoteka, 22:00) will includes screenings of Croatian Yoghurt, Juice, Cigarettes by Josip Lukić, So, Where Is Nataša? by Sanja Milardović, as well as the international shorts The Stag by An Chu, Kids Will Be Alright by Sigi Van Roy and Hymn of the Plague by the Ataka51 collective.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) will screen two excellent features from the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region program. Flow by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (Away, 2019), winner of the Annecy Jury Prize, and one of the five finalists for the European Film Award in the animated feature film category, and the Swedish-Norwegian The Hypnosis by Ernst de Geer, a darkly humorous satire at the expense of startup culture starring Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person in the World, ZFF 2021).

Starting at 19:00, the Festivals in the Spotlight program at Dokukino KIC brings a selection of shorts from the Vienna Shorts – International Short Film Festival.

More information about the programs and titles at the 22nd ZFF is available here.

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