Numerous directors, actors, guests and the irreplaceable audience in Pula welcomed the opening ceremony of the 65th Pula Film Festival. The crowd on the red carpet and lines at sales points speak to this edition of the Festival once again being the central summer film and culture event.

Danijela Trbović and Duško Ćurlić hosted the opening ceremony and have introduced more than 5000 audience to this year’s programme, while Goran Karan performed the national anthem and the Istria County anthem. Festival director Gordana Restović wished everybody beautiful memories from this year’s Festival, and thanked the artists for choosing Pula to present their films. Artistic director Zlatko Vidačković reminded that this year there are as many as ten Croatian films and seven minority co-productions in competition, but that, barring feature films, there is a range of premieres of returning drama series.

Representative of the Prime Minister, Krešimir Partl, State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, said that Pula Film Festival celebrates the rich tradition of Croatian film and cinema, and that films are the key and indispensable part of Croatian cultural heritage and identity. Partl also said that the numerous awards that the films have won across the world, as well as the presence of Croatian audiovisual titles on international markets, are invaluable promotion for the Republic of Croatia, and proof of the quality of Croatian filmmaking.

Milena Dravić, the special guest of the Festival and acting diva whose career has left an indelible mark on Pula Film Festival, received special thanks and a long applause from the audience in appreciation of her work and career she happily presented in Pula.

Alfi Kabiljo, the great author of film music and one of the most prolific, whose work enjoys cult status, was presented with the Marijan Rotar Award. Kabiljo selflessly dedicated the award to all musicians and authors who have participated in creating scores during his career.

Following the opening ceremony, the director Zrinko Ogresta presented the Fabijan Šovagović Award to the legendary actor Igor Galo, whose work has left a permanent mark in the history of Croatian film.

The honour of being the first films to be screened was given to the short film In the Name of the Strawberry, the Chocolate and the Holy Spirit (directed by K. Lulić) and the feature film Aleksi (directed by B. Vekarić).

The photo gallery of the opening ceremony can be found HERE