The 20th Zagreb Film Festival opens this Sunday, October 23, with a week-long schedule packed with award-winning independent short- and feature-length films hot off the international festival circuit. Running until October 30, this year’s programme includes more than 100 works from across Europe and Asia. All are subtitled in English and Croatian.
This year, the ZFF presents Croatia’s and Spain’s nominees for this year’s Oscars, along with films that have already won awards at the Berlinale and Cannes earlier in 2022. Spread over five cinemas across the city and also featuring talks and social events, the Zagreb Film Festival is the place to be next week.
Here's a selection of what to look out for:
Close
This Belgian-Dutch-French co-production follows two 13-year-old boys, Léo and Rémi. When their close friendship arouses questions and snide comments from their classmates, the boys grow more distant. Close is an empathetic and heartbreaking film about childhood friendship. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Triangle of Sadness
After the captain of a luxury cruise ship (Woody Harrelson) falls ill, the passengers and crew become marooned on a deserted island, and the hierarchy of the stranded flips the previous order on its head. Triangle of Sadness won the second Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Alcarras
A Spanish family has spent every summer picking peaches at their small orchard, but when the trees are slated to be cut down to install solar panels, the family prepares for their last harvest. Alcarras is the Spanish candidate for the Oscars this year, and is the first Catalan-language film to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Theatres: Kino Tuškanac (Tuškanac 1), Cinema Kinoteka (Kordunska 1), Museum of Contemporary Art-MSU (Avenija Dubrovnik 17), Student Centre Cinema (Savska 25). Admission: Feature films 20-30 kuna, shorts free.
For full schedule & tickets, see the Zagreb Film Festival website.