The National Programme of the 58th Pula Film Festival, that will run July 16 – 23, 2011, will showcase 19 films, out of which 10 in the Principal Section and 9 in the Minority Co-Productions Section. The biggest novelty this year are the digital screenings in the Arena, which does not only mark a huge step forward in terms of organization and technology, but also in terms of the programme, because films by producers who didn’t have enough money to make a 35mm copy, or didn’t have time to make it, will get an opportunity to showcase their work in the Arena. The sponsor of the festival, the Zagreb-based company Audio Video Consulting, provided Barco’s 2K projectors. The screenings in the Arena will also showcase the DP2K-32B projector, officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the brightest digital cinema projector in the world.
The National Programme Principal Section comprises five films based on the screenplays approved through Croatian Audio Visual Centre (HAVC) calls for entries and five independent productions which were granted financial support subsequently, following HAVC decision. There are six debutant directors, Daniel Kušan, Tomislav Žaja, Biljana Čakić Veselič, Aldo Tardozzi, Stanislav Tomić and Irena Škorić, in the company with their more experienced colleagues Dalibor Matanić and Dan Oki, and veterans Tomislav Radić and Branko Ivanda. 
This year three Croatian films star children – the historical Lea and Darija by Branko Ivanda, children’s film featuring fantastic elements Koko and the Ghost by Danijel Kušan and Little Gipsy Witch by Tomislav Žaja. Then there are two dramas tackling the topics of love and family, Kotlovina by Tomislav Radić and Step by Step by Biljana Cakić-Veselič. We will also present three crime thrillers: Dalibor Matanić’s psychological thriller Daddy, Dan Oki’s noir Darkness and Aldo Tardozzi’s Blurs, the war drama Josef by Stanislav Tomić and the comic erotic drama 7 seX 7 by Irena Škorić.
This year’s Festival will showcase as many as 13 films from the region, out of which seven in the Minority Co-Productions Programme: the Slovenian Piran-Pirano by Goran Vojnović and Good Night, Missy by Metod Pevec, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Belvedere by Ahmed Imamović, the Serbian The Enemy by Dejan Zečević, The White Lions by Lazar Ristovski and How I Was Stolen by the Germans by Miloš Mišo Radovanović, as well as the Montenegrin Local Vampire by Branko Baletić. Apart from the regional co-productions, there is also one with Denmark, Room 304 by Brigitte Staermose, and one with Germany, Max Schmelling by Uwe Boll.
Five films from the region compete in the International Programme: the Macedonian Mothers by Milče Mančevski, the Slovenian Silent Sonata by Janez Burger, as well as the Serbian Montevideo, God Bless You by Dragan Bjelogrlić, Cinema Komunisto by Mila Turajlić and Skinning by Stevan Filipović. The Slovenian film Going Our Way by Miha Hočevar will screen as part of the Children’s Film Programme.
