Wednesday | 25. June. 2014

PULA INTERVIEWS: Hrvoje Pukšec

CROATIAN FILM IS PULA’S PRIORITY

HRVOJE PUKŠEC, president of the Artistic Bord of the Pula Film Festival

This year, the Pula Film Festival is organized by a new team. Could you briefly present the novelties as regards festival’s organization?
There are not so many novelties, but those that have been introduced are quite significant. Already this year they will also imply significant changes as regards the festival. Instead of having just one artistic director, now we have a three-person artistic board. Of course, this implies different films, guests and sidebar programmes. The new director will implement her changes at a much slower pace, which is quite understandable.

The new Artistic Board had a very short deadline to prepare the festival. What is the ratio between what you wanted to change and what was feasible? Are you satisfied with what has been done?
Our biggest fear was whether we would have a transparent concept when it comes to the selection of films. In other words, whether we would have to make too many compromises. And then we learned that all the much-vaunted films had already been bought. In fact, this helped us because at that moment we started searching for good but less famous films. And we found them and somewhere along the way our concept became clear – films from countries we gravitate towards culturally, geographically and historically, with some additional spices on the side. We are truly satisfied.

What are the most important novelties in terms of this year Pula’s programme?
The most important novelties are two new program sections and two new venues. The Pula Cinematheque (with two screenings on the Brijuni Islands) and youth programme Dizalica, which will take place on the patio of the Sacred Heart Gallery. The Pula Cinematheque is a particularly interesting programme designed this year by Rajko Grlić and it presents five films from the year 1965. Of course, Croatian film has always been Pula’s priority and this year it will prove itself to be as interesting as always, especially looking at both short and feature-length films.

You participated in the selection of the submitted films. Where does Pula stand in the unwritten division of festivals into artistic and commercial ones?
When it comes to that unwritten distinction, the Pula Film Festival is in the worst possible position because, tentatively, both types of films have to be represented. But this is the case with all open-air festivals – auditoriums are huge and this implies films that are trying to satisfy different tastes. And there are not so many films that can do that. More precisely, there are not so many high quality films that can do that. That is the reason we increased the number of film sections, in order to offer different films to different audiences.

Could you present this year’s jury?
This year we have an international jury. We wanted to have film professionals working in different fields represented and we wanted candidates with relevant careers behind them. Amra Bakšić Čamo is a producer who is well familiar with Croatian film. She produced the most recent multiple award-winning film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Tanović. I believe Nataša Dorčić’s work is well-known. She earned her most recent Golden Arena for the film I Have to Sleep, My Angel. Editor Ivana Fumić presented herself last year with the film A Stranger and we remember her Golden Arena for Mondo Bobo. Nick Holdsworth is a critic for The Hollywood Reporter, one of the world’s most prestigious film magazines, and Antonio Nuić is the president of the Croatian Film Directors’ Guild and the winner of a number of Golden Arenas.

Traditionally, the opening ceremony is very important for Pula. What have you prepared this year?
My answer to this question will be somewhat secretive: we are preparing a film!

With the final day of this year’s Pula starts the organization for next year’s edition. What changes can you announce already at this stage?
The biggest change is related to professional programmes. That is the element on which we base further development of the festival because apart from having a pleased audience, it is important to have pleased film professionals who want to come to Pula every year – having their film in the competition programme or not.