Winter Edition
Winter edition is set to promote regional co-productions. In this program, we are featuring up to five critically acclaimed films from the past three years, made in co-production of at least two countries of the Network region.
Winter Edition 2025
Third Winter Edition took place in cinemas in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Bitola, Skopje, Belgrade and Ljubljana and online from 17th to 26th January 2025. Five regional coproductions were selected: “Observing” by Janez Burger, “Excursion” by Una Gunjak”, “Only When I Laugh” by Vanja Juranić, “M” by Vardan Tozija and “Working Class Goest to Hell” by Mladen Đorđević.
“Working Class Goes to Hell” by Mladen Đorđević premiered in Toronto in 2023.
Five years after a factory fire claimed the lives of several workers and, with them, the primary livelihood of a rural Balkan town, the plant’s union is met with a debilitating blow in their fight for reparations. Long suspected of causing the fire in order to privatize their property, the owners have succeeded in evading legal consequence and the workers are cast as ungrateful nuisances, obstinate in the face of capitalistic progress. Stoic labour leader Ceca (Tamara Krcunovic) refuses to give up hope, but her position grows tenuous when the collective begins to develop a fascination with the pagan practices of its newest member, Mija (Leon Lucev). After Mija leads the union in a ritual that belies a satanic undertone, strange occurrences begin to be reported around town, including the enigmatic manifestation of a decrepit man, seen stalking the most corrupt citizens.
“Excursion” is a debut feature film by Una Gunjak, premiered in Locarno and was a Bosnian candidate for Oscar nomination.
Iman, who, as her ninth grade class prepares for a field trip, attracts the attention of an older boy. After a game of truths and dares, a rumor spreads through the school that Iman is pregnant and threatens the field trip, Iman finds herself in a storm of expectations and restrictions, and the events she caused spiral out of control.
“M” by Vardan Tozija is psychological thriller and coming-of-age film.
In a secluded forest, young Marko lives under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father. Their sheltered existence is all he knows. Marko seeks solace in his cherished picture book, finding comfort and answers within its pages. One day, an encounter with a kind-hearted, helpless boy named Miko, brings a glimmer of warmth and connection into Marko's isolated world. As his curiosity grows, Marko yearns to uncover the secrets that lie beyond the confines of the wilderness. A cruel turn of events grants him his wish sooner than he expects. A grim journey awaits him, filled with unknown dangers and a glimpse into a world forever changed.
Fiilm “Observing” by Janez Burger, follows Lara, a paramedic intern who helps bring a young man into hospital, after he was brutally beaten and the event live-streamed on Facebook. Although he is in a coma, Lara starts to receive video clips from his FB profile, showing unidentified persons watching him get beaten. She reports this to a detective, who starts an investigation. All the observers appearing in the video clips will turn into a nightmare in her own life, and soon she realises that she too is an accomplice in this horrible event.
„Only When I Laugh“ by Vanja Juranić is based on true event.
Tina, a young wife, and mother, lives in an apparently idyllic marriage in a picturesque town on the Adriatic coast. When she expresses a desire to continue her education, which she interrupted due to her pregnancy, her husband’s quiet but persistent rebellion begins. Determined to pursue her goals, Tina enrols in her studies.
Conflicts between Tina and her husband Frane are frequent and they are not openly discussed even when they become quite violent. Tina struggles for herself. Frane and the family want Tina to dedicate herself to the child and the household. With the help of her mother, Tina succeeds to balance within studies, family, and an increasingly wealthy social life.Frane, who appears to be a successful man, regularly sabotages Tina. Their conflicts and tensions constantly escalate. One evening, Tina goes out with her friends. When Frane sees her enjoying herself, he brutally attacks her again. Their heated argument escalates and results in a tragic event that forever changes their lives.
„Only When I Laugh“ Vanja Juranić
“Excursion”, Una Gunjak
„Working Class Goes to Hell“ Mladen Đorđević
„Observing“ Janez Burger
„M“ Vardan Tozija
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
Winter Edition 2023
The second winter edition, a joint project of the leading regional film festivals gathered in the Festival Network of the Adriatic Region: Belgrade Original Film Festival, Herceg Novi Film Festival, Ljubljana International Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival and Zagreb Film Festival, from January 20 to 29 at The ondemand.kinomeetingpoint.ba platform brings five recent blockbusters that the audience will be able to enjoy for free.
The program includes four acclaimed feature-length debuts by regional authors: the film Uncle by Andrija Mardešić and David Kapac, Garbur by Josip Žuvan, Have you seen this woman? Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević and Dominik Mencej's Riders, and the documentary Museum of the Revolution by Srđan Keča.
As a kind of warm-up for the online program before the start of the Winter edition, members of the Network will organize free cinema screenings in their cities. On Friday, January 19, at 7 p.m. at MSU, ZFF will show the acting tour de force of Ksenija Marinković, the film Have you seen this woman?, which has not stopped delighting the audience and critics since its premiere at the Critics' Week in Venice.
Have you seen this woman? is a surrealistic psychodrama focused on the theme of identity, more precisely, on the theme of the female multiverse that wants to break free. This layering is followed through three metamorphoses of one woman (all performed by Ksenija Marinković) who wanders around Belgrade and its obscure corners in search of a way to get out of her own skin. The film form follows it, transforming itself.
The film Uncle, an intriguing thriller starring Miki Manojlović, Ivan Roščić, Goran Bogdan, Roko Sikavic and Kaja Šišmanović, apparently takes place in Yugoslavia, in the late 1980s. Beloved uncle returns home for the holidays. Together again, the family is in the middle of Christmas lunch. The joyous gathering is suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone. It's not the 1980s after all, and it doesn't seem to be Christmas either. It soon becomes clear that at a crowded holiday table, apart from the turkey, you can also cut tension with a knife.
The search for freedom is the focus of the movie "Riders" about two young men from the village who, after watching the movie "Easy Rider", go on a lifelong adventure towards Split on modified mopeds. Riders is both a coming-of-age movie and a road movie, an interesting mosaic of scenes emerging from the worlds of two best friends, but also a dedication to a certain (timeless) time and space. The roles in the film are played by Timon Šturbej, Petja Labović, Anja Novak and Nikola Kojo.
The heroes of the film Garbura, twelve-year-olds Nikola and Antonio are best friends who live in neighboring houses. They amuse themselves by lighting firecrackers, and record their escapades and post them on YouTube, hoping for millions of views. Their families have been at odds for years and oppose their friendship. When the holiday season comes, the quarrel between the family will escalate and spill over into the relationship between the two friends. The roles in the film were played by Franko Floigl, Mauro Ercegović Gracin, Ljubomir Bandović, Marija Škaričić, Ivana Roščić, Asja Jovanović and Zdenko Jelčić.
The Museum of the Revolution premiered at IDFA, toured numerous festivals and won the Heart of Sarajevo for the best documentary film. Sixty years have passed since the birth of Vjenceslav Richter's architectural vision – a museum dedicated to the history of the socialist revolution. In the remains of an abandoned utopian project in Belgrade, a friendship is born between a seven-year-old girl and an old woman. When the city begins erasing all traces of the Museum of the Revolution, harmless games and fireside stories disappear from the girl's life.
Inspired by the successful editions of the Spring Edition, the members of the Festival Network of the Adriatic Region launched the Winter Edition with the desire to contribute to the reach of quality
domestic productions with the help of the regional film platform, especially in the winter when we all spend more time in front of small and large screens.
Films will be available to viewers from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro with prior registration on the ondemand.kinomeetingpoint.ba platform.
The festival network of the Adriatic region is supported by the MEDIA Subprogram of the Creative Europe Program and the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Garbur”, Josip Žuvan
“Uncle”, Andrija Mardešić and David Kapac
“Museum of the Revolution”, Srđan Keča
“Have you seen this woman?”, Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević
Winter Edition 2022
After two successful Spring Editions, the film events united into the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region jointly present the first Winter Edition, held online, 10 – 18 December, showcasing four films from the region: Metod Pevec’ I Am Frank, Maša Nešković’s Asymmetry, Srdan Golubović’s Father, and Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija. The films will be available to audiences on the territory of Network country members – completely free of charge.
I Am Frank by Slovenian director Metod Pevec presents viewers with an interesting moral dilemma: What would you do if you inherited a million sum that you knew was obtained by fraud? The unexpected inheritance triggers a conflict between Frenk (Janez Škof), a rebel who still swears by socialist values, and his brother Brane (Valter Dragan), a typical post-transition tycoon. While Frenk investigates the origin of the money that their late father appropriated in various shady deals, Brane wants to get his hands on the money with the help of a lawyer and a network of his father's unscrupulous friends.
In her debut feature Asymmetry, director Maša Nešković deals with the question of why some relationship, event he ones filled with love, fall apart after a while. Intertwining three narrative lines, the film follows three couples whose stories intersect during a hot summer in a deserted Belgrade: the boy Pec and the girl Lola spend the last days of their summer holidays before she moves to Canada, neighbours Olja and Ivan embark on a passionate fling, while Vera and Vladimir separate after 20 years of marriage. The cast is headed up by Daria Lorenci Flatz, Uliks Fehmiu, Mira Janjetović and Mladen Sovilj.
Srdan Golubović’s Father has won a series of important awards, including the Audience Award in the Panorama programme at the Berlin International Film Festival. After the social service takes away his children, unemployed day labourer Nikola leaves his small village in the south of Serbia and sets off on foot towards Belgrade, where he plans to present his case to the minister. The role of the desperate father who transforms from a loser on the margins of society into a hero of our time earned Goran Bogdan numerous awards and recognitions, as well as a nomination for the European Film Award for Best European Actor. Other roles in the film are played by Boris Isaković, Nada Šargin, Milica Janevski, Muharem Hamzić and others.
Director Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija is a satire that follows the events in the Macedonian town of Štip. There, every January, a local priest tosses a wooden cross into the river and hundreds of men jump in after it. The one who retrieves it will be awarded by good fortune and success. This time Petrunija also spontaneously dives in after the cross and manages to snatch it up before the others. The men are furious because a woman has dared to participate in their ritual. Total chaos ensues, but Petrunija (starring Zorica Nusheva) does not falter. The film premiered at Berlinale, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Award and the Guild Film Prize, as well as 2019 LUX Prize of the European Parliament.
“Asymmetry”, Maša Nešković
“I am Frank”, Metod Pevec
“God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija”, Teona Strugar Mitevska
“Father”, Srđan Golubović