CROATIA: SPOTLIGHT COUNTRY
It is a privilege for the Guanajuato International Film Festival to celebrate its 25th anniversary with the presence of Croatia as guest of honor.
In this silver festival edition, we’re bridging the distance between south-eastern Europe and Guanajuato through cinematography. The invention arrived in Croatia very soon, its first filming took place in the 19th century and its first fiction film, Brcko u Zagrebu, dates from 1917. There was a strong activity prior to the War, with specialized magazines, cinemas and production houses since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Although the invention arrived in Croatia very early, it is considered that the formal beginning of the film industry in this European country began in the 1940s. Ever since, Croatian cinema has stood out in different fields at an international level, and on this occasion GIFF puts the spotlight on one of the main influences in world animation: the Zagreb School of Animation —a term coined by film critic Georges Sadoul.
We are honored to announce the collaboration of two outstanding Croatian filmmakers in the activities of our special edition for our 25th anniversary: Draško Ivezić and Marko Dješka. Ivezić has been active since 2003, when he was working as a freelancer for different studios. As a creative producer he is responsible for developing numerous animated projects of different types, from short films to television and feature films. Dješka studied at the Animation Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, in addition to having attended many training programs, such as Animation Sans Frontieres and the scriptwriting course at La Poudriere. Both filmmakers have authored multiple short films celebrated around the world and together founded the production house Adriatic Animation Studio in Zagreb.
We are also thrilled to present the Mexican big-screen premiere of Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut feature Murina– winner of the Camera d’ Or award for Best First Feature at the Cannes Film Festival.
As part of our Incubator section, Draško Ivezić will give a masterclass on sales pitching to help developing Mexican projects that are presented within the framework of GIFF. On his part, Marko Dješka will give an introductory workshop on drawing and animation aimed at children and adolescents.
Like every year, this rapprochement with our Guest Country is also aimed at fostering bilateral agreements and laying the foundations for both Croatian and Mexican film authorities to establish co-production and collaboration projects between their respective nation’s film industries.
GIFF is proud to bring to Guanajuato the best of a cinematography that has exerted a remarkable influence on many great artists internationally and continues to confirm its place as a great niche of creativity.