Irish film will be given a special platform at this year's Zagreb Film Festival. Each year, the festival's My First Film section focuses on one European country, screening first-time films by directors that have since become successful. This year, Ireland is the country of choice - which is good news for cinephiles, because this small country has a brilliant history of hard-hitting films.
ZFF's celebration of Ireland marks the 100th anniversary of the Irish fight for independence. Film critic Nenad Polimac has put together a line-up of the most important films to come out of the country.
Highlights include My Left Foot, by director Jim Sheridan - who's now best-known for films In America, In the Name of the Father, and TV series Prison Break. My Left Foot, his debut film, came out in 1989. It's based on the story of Christi Brown, a cerebral palsy patient who learnt to write and paint with his foot. The film earned a Bafta and an Oscar for Daniel Day Lewis, who played Brown, and an Oscar for supporting actress Brenda Fricker.
Room, which starred Brie Larson, was one of the biggest blockbuster hits of 2015. Its Irish director Lenny Abrahamson first caught attention with his 2004 debut Adam and Paul, which you'll be able to see at the festival. Following two heroin addicts roaming the streets of Dublin, the film is an unapologetic, irreverent, black comedy.
Zagreb Film Festival runs from the 12 - 20 November.