Croatian films premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Crew from the film Prava istina priče o šori (Photo credit: Vincent Cros)

Zagreb, May 24 – On Tuesday, May 23, the Croatian short feature film by director and screenwriter Andrea Slavicek and producer Katarina Prpić (Antitalent),  “Prava istina priče o šori” (The Real Truth about the Fight), premiered as part of the parallel program of the Cannes Film Festival – the Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique).

Within the same program on Monday, May 22, Croatian feature film Lost Country by director Vladimir Perišić, which was realized in co-production with the Croatian company Kinorama, was shown.

‘We were very excited before the premiere, and it was a really great feeling to present the film to the audience here. We are pleased with the positive reactions, and proud that the film was shown alongside other great short films. The selection is very diverse, but non-linear and atypical forms prevail, which is an indication that it is good to dare to try new ways of telling stories,’ said Andrea Slavicek on the occasion of the world premiere of her film “Prava istina priče o šori” in Cannes.

Vida Tunguz and Andrea Slavicek (Photo credit: Vincent Cros)

In addition to the director and screenwriter Slavicek, the film’s producer, Katarina Prpić, attended the premiere in a full house in Miramar. ‘Apart from the great feeling and privilege of being in Cannes with the work of the film’s crew, it was also very interesting to watch all the films from the Critics’ Week short selection because they really show an enviable level of diversity, interest and ambition. The fact that the film ‘“Prava istina priče o šori” by a young Croatian director was selected for this selection shows that Croatian short cinematography really has something to show the world, and that it not only follows world trends, but also imposes them. This is also proof that a short film is something worth investing in, both financially and educationally, and we can only hope that the following years will have similar success,’ said the producer.

In addition to them, the film crew that presented the film in Cannes includes the main actress Vida Tunguz, director of photography Alana Mejía González, colorist Nadia Khairat Gómez, co-producer Marc Guanyabens (Fractal) and Danijel Pek (Antitalent).

The short fiction film is about a teenager named Leni who, amidst school troubles, infectious songs, and a mysterious blue car, tells the real truth about a great secret, hinting that there is something she doesn’t want to reveal. In addition to directing it, Andrea Slavicek also wrote the script for the film. The main role in the film is played by Vida Tunguz, and other notable roles were played by Ana Ugrina, Lucija Plesac, Lily Antić, Lola Jelčić, Nedim Hasanbegović, Adrian Babić Herceg and Pan Jelić. 

The film was produced by the Croatian Antitalent, and the co-producers are the Spanish company Fractal and the Croatian company Blank. The film was created with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Center and the City of Zagreb.

(Photo credit: Vincent Cros)

In the same program, on May 22, the Croatian minority co-production, the feature film Lost Country, directed by Vladimir Perišić and co-producer Ankica Jurić Tilić (Kinorama), had its world premiere. ‘For me, the first viewing with the audience is always of particular importance – we who have lived with the film for many years cannot be objective about how it will affect the audience. Today’s experience was wonderful – strong and persistent applause, tears, a lot of emotions and a really wonderful audience reception. I think we will all remember this premiere and I’m glad we were part of this film,’ said the film’s co-producer Ankica Jurić Tilić after the world premiere.

Chris Marcich, Marija Skaricic, Vladimir Perisic, Dusko Valentic Ankica Juric Tilic (Photo credit: Vincent Cros)

The premiere was attended by representatives of the Croatian part of the team: co-producer Ankica Jurić Tilić and actors Marija Škaričić and Duško Valentić.

The main roles in the movie Lost Country are played by Jovan Ginić and Jasna Đuričić, and notable roles were also played by Miodrag Jovanović, Lazar Kocić, Pavle Čemerikić, Duško Valentić, Helena Buljan, Ana Simeunović, Boris Isaković and Marija Škaričić. 

The producers of the film are Janja Kralj from the French company KinoElektron, Nadia Turincev and Omar El Kadi from the French company Easy Riders Films and Vladimir Perišić from the Serbian company Trilema. The co-producers are Vincent Quenault and Jeanne Geiben from Luxembourg’s Red Lion and Ankica Jurić Tilić from Croatia’s Kinorama, along with ARTE France Cinéma and Cosmodigital. The film was created with the support of the Film Center of Serbia, ARTE France Cinéma, CNC, the Luxembourg Film Fund and the Croatian Audiovisual Center.

Lost Country premieres in Cannes (Photo credit: Vincent Cros)

The film is set in Serbia in 1996. Student demonstrations against Milosevic’s regime are underway, and fifteen-year-old Stefan is facing the most difficult of all revolutions – he must confront his own beloved mother, the spokeswoman for the same corrupt government that his friends are fighting against.

Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique) is a parallel program of the Cannes Film Festival, launched in 1962. This year’s, 62nd edition, takes place from May 17 to 25, and traditionally presents 10 feature-length and 10 short-film titles from around the world. The goal of the program is to discover new talents, and names like Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro González Iñárittu and Gaspar Noé just had their big “takeoffs” during Critics’ Week.