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AWARDS FROM THE 2008 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
RUMBA / Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy / Belgium, France - Golden Trolley for Best Feature Film and 5000 $
'This multi-talented trio has once again managed to floor the jury with their uniquely original cinematic voice. Their way of using choreography—combined with the sheer physical presence of the characters on screen—becomes this incredibly powerful tool for telling a story about how optimism can actually triumph over even the most tragic moments in life, all while keeping this light, colorful comedy afloat. Honestly, the film serves as a massive inspiration for both the audience and filmmakers alike, really pushing the boundaries of what original storytelling can look like.'
DESERT WITHIN / DESIERTO ADENTRO
Rodrigo Plá / Mexico - Special Mention in the Feature Film Competition
'The jury felt compelled to issue a special mention because of the scale, the sheer inventiveness, and the surprising maturity with which this newcomer tackled such a heavy, epic tale regarding the soul’s journey toward redemption. The bitterness of the world he depicts, and the crushing weight his characters have to endure, is just irresistible and hit us all particularly hard.'
BIRDIE! / CHEESE...
Huseyin Tabak / Austria, Germany - Golden Trolley for Best Short Fiction Film and 1500 $
'A film that left us floored by its simplicity and the singular, unique way it portrays the horrific experience of war. It possesses a certain sharpness and a sense of humor that really moved us, highlighting that fragile balance of human existence and our raw instinct to simply survive.'
THE RED RACE
Chao Gan / China, Germany - Golden Trolley for Best Documentary Film and 1500 $
'A unique, dramatically cohesive documentary portrait of a nation’s determination to be number one in the world. We were especially struck by the director’s compassion, used as a lens through which to film the methods that inevitably call the goals of the Red Race into question.'
BAD DAY FOR CAPTAIN HOOK
Marin Juranić, Hana Veček - Golden Trolley for Best American Film in the Dice Program and dice and 1000 $ in film
'In the film that snagged the female dice, the lines between fiction and reality are skillfully blurred. Through the help of three men—a charming and talented kid, a sleepy father, and an alert director—one mother presents herself as Captain Hook, yet leaves the impression of a Tinker Bell. But she’s a Tinker Bell who doesn't belong in a fairy tale, but rather in our gritty everyday lives.'
The funding for the main international program is provided by VIP. Funding for the Dice program is provided by BUG magazine.
FEATURE FILMS (curated by Nenad Polimac)
DR. HOWARD AND 7 TIPS
FOR REAL LIFE
Tomislav Krištofić
24 HOURS UNDER THE BALCONY
Ivan Klepec, Slave Lukarov, Monika Gajić
EINSTEIN'S BIGGEST MISTAKE
Branko Karabatić
ELEGY OF THE BENCHWARMS
Josip Žuvan
JOSIP ŽUVAN
THE LADY FROM BEFORE
Miroslav Sikavica
MY NAME IS HANA...
Rasim Karalić
HOW THE GODS STOLE THE HILL
Damir Trajčević
THE MOUSE TRAP
Vjeran Pavlinić
HAND TO HAND
Marko Valic
MARKO VALIC
LET ME SLEEP
Sara Hribar
THAT DAY
Zoran Pisačić
CARPETS DON'T FLY
Anja Maksić
THREE LOVE STORIES
Snježana Tribuson
IN SILENCE
Luka Rukavina
RED AND BLACK
Željko Senečić
DOCUMENTARY FILMS (curated by Nikica Gilić)
GOOD MORNING
Ante Babaja
DEAR VINCENT
Bogdan Žižić
BANG! BOOM! THERE IT IS!
Nikola Strašek
LADIES' NIGHT
Damir Čučić
CITY KILLER
Damir Čučić
THE UNKNOWN SPACE OF AN APARTMENT
Vladimir Končar
NEW LIFE
Luka Marotti
IN 4 YEARS
Nebojša Slijepčević
THE LEGEND
Željko Radivoj
MY NEIGHBOR TANJA
Petar Krelja
PROJECT CARMEN
Željko Zorica
RETURN OF A DEAD MAN
Petar Orešković
THE LAST INDIGENOUS PETROVIC
Damir Terešak
LEAD-FILLED PAN
Branko Schmidt
THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOU AT THIS JOB
Slaven Žimbrek
TOM THUMB
Tomislav Žaja
ANIMATED FILMS (curated by Darko Bakliža)
BLACK PLANET
Ivan Mirko Senjanović
EAVESDROPPING, Dinko Kumanović
WHY DID I SING THE SINGER OUT
Vladimir Tadej
UNPLUGGED
Stjepan Mihaljević
MALFUNCTION PERFORMANCE
Tomislav Gregl
ALEA IACTA EST
Dino Krpan
TRANSOPTIC
Branko Farac
WOMEN ON BOARD
Vjekoslav Živković
OVERLOAD, Steve Shinik, 3.30
THE KAI BEMA DIAGRAM (OR THE PYTHAGOREAN STEP-BY-STEP)
Andrej Rehak
THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE, Marko Mihalinec
HOW RAIN WAS CREATED
Magda Dulčić
SPECIALTY FILMS (curated by Mladen Lučić)
MOTOVUN FILM FESTIVAL:
GREEN CARPET (Darija Lorenci, Tvrtko Jurić, Franjo Dijak, Zrinka Cvitešić)
Andrej Korovljev, 4 X
THE MORNING AFTER
Tomislav Fiket, Damir Kantoci, Sandra Tomljenović
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL
Tomislav Rukavina
SIZE MATTERS (GIVE ME THE CINEMA)
Dražen Žarković
UNHCR, Ivona Juka
78TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
- OSCAR CITY, Kristijan Petrović
Renato Grgić.
Alen Petković
NFL – SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ON NBC
Kristijan Petrović
Renato Grgić.
Alen Petković
METRONET
Kristijan Petrović
SCREAM IN THE DARK
Andrija Mardešić
OAKLAND – AWAKENING
Krasimir Gančev
CHARLIE
Krasimir Gančev
VERIZON, LONG CALL, Krasimir Gančev
GAVRILOVIĆ (Nikita, College)
Krasimir Gančev, 2 X
VERIZON, HOUSE PETS (Dog, Cat, Turtle)
Kristijan Milić
AT&T, THE DREAM (Dreaming, Figure Skating, Gymnastics)
Kristijan Milić, 3 X
THE NEW YORK TIMES (Police Officer)
Andrej Korovljev
VERIZON MUSIC LIBRARY (Gobac)
Bruno Anković
UNICEF – THE FIRST 3 ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
Bruno Anković
BUZZ ALLISON – FANS (3, 4, 5)
Bruno Anković, 3 x 0.10
JUICY
Bruno Anković
EFFECT
Bruno Anković
BUZZ ALLISON BEER - LIVE
(Toni Cetinski, Loša)
Bruno Anković
ABSOLUTE FILM
BUZZ ALLISON BEER - CORNER
Bruno Anković
ABSOLUTE FILM
8th MOTOVUN FILM FESTIVAL –
OPENING SHOT
Peter Orešković
STUDIO NUMBER
GREETINGS FROM AMERICA
(GET ME A MOVIE)
Tomislav Mršić
MUSIC VIDEOS (curated by Mladen Lučić)
SVADBAS – WHO KNOWS THAT? Ivica Družak,
Zoran Stošić
3.06
GUIDEPOSTS - PLAY, REW, F FWD (TURK’S FRENCH TOUCH)
Davor Pasarić
4.04
CREATIVE DEPT LLC
NATALI DIZDAR - I'LL REPLACE YOU, I'M BURNING UP
Andrej Korovljev
4.00 AMERICAN RECORDS
ANTE PERKOVIĆ -
WOMEN WHO DON'T EXIST
Jurica Heidl
4.00
TRANSLATOR INC.
GUSTAFI - KATARINA Radislav Jovanov Gonzo
3.00 RADOSLAV JOVANOV GONZO
SEVERINA - MY HEEL Radislav Jovanov Gonzo
3.00
TUNA FILM
PSYCHOMODO POP - SLOWLY FALLING Radislav Jovanov Gonzo
5.00 RADOSLAV JOVANOV GONZO
RUNDEK CARGO ORKESTRA - PATH TO TWILIGHT Radislav Jovanov Gonzo
4.20 RADOSLAV JOVANOV GONZO
LET 3 - CHILD IN TIME Radislav Jovanov Gonzo
5.00 RADOSLAV JOVANOV GONZO
DJ SHADOW - THIS TIME Irena Andreić I
Marko Mihalinec
3.03 FORMALIM DESIGN
FLUER – MATCHES (CHRISTMAS) Kristian Kaurić 3.30 BUNKER
DELYRICUM - BELIEVE IN YOURSELF Tomislav Mršić 4.25 FLASTER
VATRA - SAILOR'S SHIRT
Dinko Klobučar
4.18
DINKO KLOBUČAR
VATRA - RUSSIAN Dinko Klobučar 3.02 DINKO KLOBUČAR
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS (curated by Slaven Tolj)
REMAKE 2006
A. Gotovac Lauer
92.00
NATURE
Tanja Dabo
3.37 CINEMA CLUB NEW YORK
KANGAROO COURT
Ivan Faktor
SORRY, WRONG NUMBER
Lala Raščić
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Igor Grubić
ZEROZENIT
THEY Galeb Vekić 3.16 GALEB VEKIĆ
MEMORY RIBBON
Damir Čučić
ON / OFF
Irena Škorić
MICROWAVE
Dušan Vugrinec
MIRROR
Mario Papić
LITTLE DEATH
Damir Čučić
TIES/STRUCTURES/AMBIANCE
Bojan Gagić
SATURDAY
Ivan Šeremet
LORCA
Davor Mezak
INVISIBLE SCULPTURE
Željko Kipke
TV DOCUMENTARIES (curated by Eduard Galić)
DIRECT: “JUNK”
Hrvoje Mabić
DIRECT: “QUEER”
Hrvoje Mabić
WAR OF FAST SHIPS
Dana Budisavljević
FOLLOWING MEMORIES
Davor Borić
INSIDE OFF SIDE USA
Alceo Marti
SIGNATURE OF CRIME
Miro Branković
RESTROOM ENTRANCE
Tomislav Mršić
EDIN'S FIVE DAYS
Zoran Sudar
SKY KNIGHTS OF THE MIDWESTERN PLAINS
Vladimir Brnardić
MAD ROMAN EMPERORS: NERO
Božidar Domagoj Burić
COLORS OF THE INVISIBLE
Magdalena Petrović
H5N1-US
Mladen Ćapin
MARINKO
Vlatka Vorkapić
THE WEDDING GUESTS RIDE THROUGH FIRE
Branko Ištvančić
PUNK MAMA
Silvio Mirošničenko
So, they’ve finally released the lineup for the competition at the 16th Annual American Film Festival, and I’ve been sitting here staring at the list, nursing this lukewarm coffee and wondering if anyone actually sat down to curate this or if they just threw everything into a blender and hit "pulse." It’s one of those moments where you realize how much the industry shifts—one year it’s all gritty indie dramas that make you feel like you need a nap, and the next, it’s some high-concept experimental stuff that leaves you questioning your own eyesight. I remember back when I was living in Chicago, trying to make it as a critic, I once spent three hours watching a black-and-white short about a man peeling an orange, and honestly? It was better than half the blockbusters hitting theaters in Los Angeles right now. Anyway, the selection is out, and it feels like a mixed bag of ambitious storytelling and "why does this exist?" energy, but that's just the nature of the beast when you're looking at the best of American cinema this year.
So, I was just reading about the upcoming lineup for the 16th annual American Film Festival, which is set to take over the Student Center in Chicago from April 14th through the 20th, and honestly, it feels like one of those whirlwind events where you just hope you don't miss the good stuff because there’s so much happening at once. They held a press conference recently where the various category selectors finally pulled back the curtain on their picks, and out of a massive pool of over 260 submissions, they’ve whittled it down to 118 films spread across six different categories. It reminds me of that time I tried to narrow down my own massive watchlist last summer—you start with hundreds of ideas and somehow end up with a handful of things that actually feel worth your time, though I usually just end up staring at the screen for twenty minutes deciding what to watch anyway. But yeah, the selection process sounds pretty intense this year, with all those curators trying to make sense of such a huge volume of work to find the gems.
It’s kind of funny how these things break down when you look at the raw data from the selection process, isn't it? You have one guy, Nenad Polimac, who went with fifteen live-action features, while Nikica Gilić opted for seventeen documentaries, and then there's Eduard Galić over there with sixteen TV documentaries on his list. Darko Bakliža picked twelve animated shorts, whereas Mladen Lučić really went deep into the niche stuff, selecting twenty-eight specialized films along with fourteen music videos, and finally Slaven Tolj rounded things out with sixteen experimental pieces. It feels like such a fragmented mosaic of tastes, almost like trying to assemble a puzzle where half the pieces come from different boxes entirely. I remember sitting in a small indie theater back in Seattle years ago, watching a marathon that felt just as disjointed, and honestly, it’s a bit exhausting to try and find a cohesive thread through all that variety. Anyway, Tomislav Kurelec—who served as the artistic director for the 16th annual American Film Festival—was actually quite vocal about the structure of the whole thing; he suggested that adding a dedicated section for TV documentaries to the festival program might actually spark some much-needed conversation regarding what we even define as a "documentary" in this modern era. It’s a valid point, though, because the lines between broadcast media and traditional cinema get blurrier by the day, and sometimes I wonder if we're even looking for the same thing anymore.
So, they’ve decided to throw yet another curveball into the mix, and this time it involves opening up the competition to feature films that clock in at over sixty minutes—even though these productions don't actually meet the technical requirements to compete at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s one of those moves that just makes you shake your head, honestly. I remember sitting in a small indie theater back in Austin years ago, watching a director struggle through a screening because their aspect ratio was all wrong, and it hits me that we're seeing a similar kind of bureaucratic shuffling now. It feels like they're just trying to pad the roster by letting in films that wouldn't stand a chance under the standard rules, which always leaves me feeling a bit weary about where the integrity of these big showcases is headed.
The documentary curators really went all out this time, pulling together such a massive spread of genres and styles that it feels like you’re flipping through a dozen different lifetimes at once. It’s not just one singular vibe, either; they’ve managed to weave together these wildly different poetic approaches and voices from pretty much every generation of filmmakers you can think of. I was sitting there thinking about how much the medium has shifted since my old man used to watch those gritty, fly-on-the-wall newsreels, and seeing how these modern creators play with light and structure compared to the veterans is honestly a bit overwhelming if you let it sink in. It's a real kaleidoscope of perspectives.
So, I was reading what Nenad Polimac had to say the other day, and he basically admitted that when it comes to picking which movies make the cut, he wasn't exactly leaning on some rigid, ironclad set of rules. It’s a bit of a messy situation, really, especially since this is the first time we're seeing full-length features actually competing in this category, and honestly, it feels like people still don't quite grasp how much short films can act as a massive launchpad for young directors looking to make their mark. It reminds me of those early days in Hollywood where everyone thought you had to churn out a two-hour epic just to be taken seriously, ignoring all the gritty, brilliant stuff happening in the indie shorts scene—it's a cycle that just keeps repeating itself, isn't it?
I was reading some thoughts from Mladen Lučić earlier, and honestly, he hit on something that’s been weighing on my mind for a while now regarding the state of the industry. He was waxing poetic about how much more substance you find in films scored specifically for the screen—you know, those pieces actually composed to breathe with the imagery rather than just being slapped on top of a scene like an afterthought. It makes you realize how much soul gets lost when everything feels like a placeholder. But then he took a bit of a cynical turn toward music videos, suggesting they’ve basically hit a massive plateau. His reasoning is pretty straightforward, if a bit bleak: since major networks like MTV or even local affiliates don't really run dedicated music programming anymore, there's nowhere for these high-concept visual pieces to actually live. It’s like we’re producing all this art only to have no gallery to hang it in. I remember back in the day, you couldn't turn on a TV without seeing a premiere, but now? It feels like the whole ecosystem just evaporated, leaving creators shouting into a void.
To round out the whole event, they put together this little lineup that felt like a whirlwind of different vibes—there was a retrospective dedicated to Ante Babaja, who’s actually the big winner of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award at Octavian, which honestly feels like one of those moments where you realize just how much history is packed into a single career. Then they moved on to showcasing the latest publications from the National Film Federation, and if you've ever spent an afternoon digging through industry journals, you know how niche those things can get. But the real heavy hitter was the roundtable discussion regarding the proposed federal Audiovisual Services Act; it was one of those deep dives into policy that makes you wonder if anyone actually knows how to balance creative freedom with all these new regulatory frameworks being tossed around in D.C. these days.
So, I was just looking at the schedule for the upcoming American Film Day celebrations happening from April 10th through the 13th, and honestly, it looks like a decent way to kill a few afternoons if you’re into that sort of thing. They’ve got a whole pre-festival lineup running over at the MoMA, which is always a bit much for me sometimes—too many people staring intensely at things—but they're showing this documentary about the French Pavilion, along with a cycle of these old black-and-white films centered on New York City. There’s also an exhibition called "Fate of Number 13" featuring some photography that sounds a bit ominous, though I suppose that’s just the title. While the main festival is going on, you can wander into the video bar to catch all the submitted entries, which is fine, I guess, if you enjoy sitting in a dimly lit room surrounded by flickering screens. The best part, if you can call it that, is that everything is free to get into, so there’s really no excuse not to show up and pretend to be cultured for a few hours.
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Check this out—you really ought to take a look at these early film projects from some of the upcoming stars! It’s honestly kind of wild to see where they started, before the big Hollywood studios came knocking and everything got polished and sanitized for the masses. I was sitting here thinking about how much effort goes into those massive blockbusters we see at the AMC theaters every weekend, and then you stumble upon these raw, unrefined clips of people who haven't quite figured out their "star persona" yet, and it just makes me feel old, I guess. There's something almost hauntingly nostalgic about watching a future A-lister struggle through a shaky camera shot or a poorly lit scene in some basement studio in Atlanta or Chicago, knowing that one day they'll be walking red carpets in Los Angeles while the rest of us are just trying to figure out our taxes. It reminds me of this one time I tried to film a short documentary on my old camcorder back in the late nineties—complete disaster, obviously—but there was a certain honesty in that messiness that you just don't find in the big-budget stuff anymore. Anyway, if you have a few minutes to kill, dive in and see if you can spot the greatness hiding behind the amateurish grit.
If you’re feeling absolutely burnt out by the endless parade of pretentious film festivals that seem to pop up every other week, you might want to brace yourselves because the circus is rolling back into town. The seventh annual Film Review hosted by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts—otherwise known as FRKA—is officially hitting the calendar from March 30th through April 1st, 2007. It’s all going down right at the Academy’s campus over on Broadway in New York City. Honestly, after sitting through so many of these high-brow gatherings where everyone pretends to understand avant-garde cinematography just to feel important, I find myself looking forward to something a bit more grounded, though I suppose "grounded" is a relative term when you're dealing with art students. Just mark your calendars, if you haven't already lost interest in everything cinematic.
It might be time to give your cinematic palate a much-needed reset and see what the brilliant students over at NYU have been cooking up over the last couple of years. Even though we’re still sitting around waiting for that first big Academy Award win for a homegrown indie production, the faculty there isn't exactly sitting on its hands; they’re constantly pushing these students to bridge the gap between high art and the kind of flashy, popcorn-munching entertainment that Hollywood thrives on. It's a bit of a balancing act, really—trying to satisfy the critics while still giving the masses something worth watching on a Friday night.
Get ready, because this year is looking like an absolute marathon of content, with about 80 different titles hitting the screens that basically cover everything under the sun—we’re talking non-stop action, plenty of steamy scenes, massive explosions, and those messy, complicated human relationships that we all love to obsess over. I was sitting on my couch the other day just thinking about how much noise there is in the media lately, and honestly, it feels like we're being flooded, but hey, if you want a little bit of chaos and drama to distract you from the grind of everyday life, there's certainly no shortage of it coming your way.
Make sure you bring along a notebook for autographs, plenty of good vibes, and your cameras if you want to snag a shot with our stars.
They’re just sitting there, hovering, practically holding their breath until you finally decide to make a move! It’s like they’ve cleared their entire schedules just to watch you stumble through the process, waiting for that one moment where you either slip up or finally step up to the plate. I remember back when I was dealing with those bureaucratic nightmares at the DMV in Chicago—just endless hours of staring at the clock while people waited for me to find a single piece of paperwork—and it felt exactly like this. There’s this heavy, expectant silence, isn't there? Like the whole world is leaning in, eyes wide, just waiting for you to act. They aren't going to nudge you, and they certainly aren't going to help you along; they’re just parked there, watching the clock, waiting on you.
What exactly is FRKA? Honestly, I feel like we’re constantly being thrown into these acronym-heavy buzzwords that nobody actually explains, and then you're just sitting there at your desk in downtown Chicago, staring at a memo, wondering if you missed a whole chapter of some corporate manual. It's like when people start throwing around "synergy" or "disruption" without a second thought—it's all just noise designed to make things sound more complicated than they really are. I remember back when I was working for a logistics firm out in Ohio, everyone was obsessed with these obscure industry terms that meant absolutely nothing to the guy actually driving the truck, and it felt like a massive waste of mental energy. So, if someone’s tossing this term around in a meeting or on a thread, what’s the actual deal? Is it an actual framework, or just another way for people to feel important while saying nothing at all?
So, I was just reading about this biennial film festival organized by USC—it’s basically a massive showcase for all the latest student shorts, and honestly, it sounds like an absolute marathon. We’re talking about nearly 80 different films packed into just three days, which is enough to give anyone a serious case of cinematic fatigue if they aren't careful. But then again, you have to see the talent coming out of these programs lately; there are some heavy hitters in the mix, like the work from Tanja Golic, Jasna Zastavnikovic, or that duo Kristijan Milic and Nikola Strasak, whose film "I'll Kill You" actually made the shortlist for the Student Academy Awards, which is no small feat if you think about the competition out there. It’s kind of wild to imagine these kids being scouted while they're still essentially figuring out how to handle a camera properly. The guest list is pretty prestigious too, with folks coming in from the FAMU film school over in Prague, alongside a big showing of work from local institutions like CalArts and the Rhode Island School of Design, plus some hand-picked selections from USC alumni who have actually made it in the industry. They’ve even got a side exhibition running with photography from the cinematography and TV students, which I suppose provides a nice visual breather between the screenings. It’s a lot to take in, really, just a whirlwind of young ambition and expensive equipment, but I guess that’s just how the industry rolls these days.
So, there’s this big blowout happening this coming Sunday, April 1st—yeah, April Fools', how fitting—over at The Roxy, and things are kicking off right around 10:00 PM. It’s the final party for the season, or whatever they're calling it this year, and honestly, after everything that's been going on lately, I can't say I blame anyone for wanting one last chance to just lose themselves in the music before the whole thing winds down. I remember back in college, we used to have these end-of-the-semester rages that felt like they’d never end, much like this one seems poised to be, though I suppose my stamina isn't quite what it used to be when I was twenty. Anyway, if you've got nothing better to do than wander aimlessly through the city, you might as well head over there and see if the vibe holds up.
The big blowout for the film festival is finally happening this Sunday at 9:30 PM, which is when they’ll actually hand out the hardware to the top creators. We’re looking at seven different category awards plus the big one—the Grand Prix—which goes to the absolute best film produced over the last two years. I heard the sculptor making the trophies is this young artist, Sarah Jenkins. Once the ceremony wraps up, the whole thing shifts into a party mode over at The Sound Garden with DJ Marcus Vance spinning.
The folks pulling this entire production together are just freshmen in the film production program at NYU, which is honestly pretty wild if you think about it, and the visual branding was handled by Drake Miller, while that slick promo spot was directed by the rising American filmmaker Peter O'Reilly.