THE COMPETITIONS, AN OUT-OF-COMPETITION SCREENING, PANELS, AND BOOK PRESENTATIONS
The seventh day of TSFF36 begins at 11:00 AM at SALA BOBI BAZLEN with the panel A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR US: MUSIC, CINEMA, ART AND TRANSITION IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA with Ana Dević, Marco Jakovljević, Giustina Selvelli, and curated by Meridiano 13. The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia brought about cultural and artistic developments throughout the Balkan region. However, art—and especially music—actively contributed to this fragmentation, driving sociocultural changes and ruptures long before politics and war intervened violently. The session brings together three experts on the artistic phenomena of the era, weaving a historical and cultural narrative that connects the Balkan region’s past to its present. The panel will feature Ana Dević (University of Bologna), Marco Jakovljević (University of Zagreb), and Giustina Selvelli (University of Ljubljana).
Event in English – free entry.
Also at 11:00 AM, but at ANTICO CAFFÈ SAN MARCO, the Q&A MEETINGS WITH AUTHORS AND FESTIVAL GUESTS begin.
The guests will include Sergei Loznitsa (director of The Invasion), Ado Hasanović (director of My Father’s Diaries), Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc (directors of Tata), Armands Začs (director of To Be Continued. Teenhood.), and Maja Novaković (director of At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking).
Event with consecutive interpretation.
We’d also like to highlight an afternoon event at 6:00 PM at LIBRERIA UBIK with the presentation of the book FIGLIO DI PAPÀ by Dino Pešut, with Sergia Adamo, curated by Bottega Errante Edizioni. Uncompromising, fast-paced, and ironic, with short chapters brimming with deep emotions where sex and death, fear and joy alternate, Figlio di Papà is a novel about the generation born in the 1990s—sensitive and educated young people living worse than their parents in a society that offers them no opportunities. A millennial adrift, much like the future he was promised, who will do whatever it takes to survive and achieve even the smallest of his dreams. DINO PEŠUT (Sisak, 1990) is a Croatian writer, playwright, and poet. His plays have been translated into English, German, French, and Polish. In 2018, he published his first novel, Poderanakoljena, with the Croatian publishing house Fraktura. Figlio di Papà marks his debut in Italian translation. He will be in conversation with Sergia Adamo, professor and researcher in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at the University of Trieste.
Event in Italian and Croatian with translation by Jan Vanek, in collaboration with the Croatian Community of Trieste.
POLITEAMA ROSSETTI
At 2:00 PM, the feature film competition presents THE SHAMELESS by Konstantin Bojanov (CH – F – BG – RC – INDIA, 2024, col., 115’). In the dead of night, Renuka escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death. She takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika, a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution. Their bond develops into a forbidden romance. Together, they embark on a perilous journey to escape the law and forge their path to freedom. The film premiered in the “Un Certain Regard” section at Cannes 2024, where Anasuya Sengupta won the award for Best Actress.
At 4:00 PM, we move on to the second selection of the short film competition, titled COMPILATION 2.
At 6:00 PM, there will be the out-of-competition screening of KREAS by Dimitris Nakos (Meat, GR, 2024, col., 104’). In a Greek mountain village, Takis is preparing for the opening of his new butcher’s shop. The day before the opening, his son Pavlos kills his neighbor who claims part of their land. The only witness is Christos, a young Albanian whom Takis has raised since he was a boy. Premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival, in the “Discovery” section, Kreas was later in competition at the Thessaloniki IFF.
At 8:00 PM, in the feature film competition, we have AKIPLĖŠA by Saulė Bliuvaitė (Toxic, LT, 2024, col., 99’). Abandoned by her mother, 13-year-old Maria is forced to live with her grandmother in a bleak industrial town. During a violent clash on the street, Maria meets Kristina, a girl of the same age who is striving to become a fashion model. Trying to get closer to her, Maria enrolls in a mysterious modeling school, where the girls are preparing for the biggest casting event in the region. Her ambiguous relationship with Kristina and the intense environment of the modeling school force Maria on a quest to discover her own identity. The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2024, where it was awarded the Golden Leopard.
At 10:00 PM, the day ends with the screening of the feature film in competition ODREŠITEV ZA ZAČETNIKE by Sonja Prosenc (Family therapy, SLO – I – N – SRB – HR, 2024, col., 122’). After catching fire, a car smolders on the roadside. A young family desperately needs help. Nearby, a pristine car cruises by. Inside, a seemingly perfect family doesn’t even slow down. Who are these people who choose not to stop? Family Therapy revolves around a Slovenian “nouveau riche” family living in a glass house, exuding detached superiority. This setting serves as a satirical backdrop for a humorous re-imagining of the premise from Pasolini’s Teorema: a young stranger arrives at the family’s household, disrupting the delicate balance of the family’s dynamics, and revealing a world of chaos and the family’s dysfunctional relationships hidden beneath the surface. Family Therapy is Slovenia’s Oscar nominee for Best International Film and was presented at the Sarajevo and Tribeca film festivals.
CINEMA AMBASCIATORI
At 2:00 PM, the documentary competition presents ALICE ON & OFF by Isabela Tent (RO, 2024, col., 86’). Filmed over 10 years, it’s the story of Alice, an unloved girl trapped in a young mother’s life. At 16, she falls in love with Dorian, a man much older
than her. Although she marries him and has his son, Aristo, the familiar echoes of her own neglected childhood resurface. Alice is the only one providing for the family. She resorts to live-chat sex work and leaves her own needs behind. She is forced to give up her studies, leaves her family, and sees Aristo only occasionally, all while battling a substance addiction. The film is an unflinching portrait of the replication of trauma across generations.
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At 4:00 PM, the Salani Prize competition continues with ANIME GALLEGGIANTI by Maria Giménez Cavallo (Wandering Souls, USA – IT, 2024, col., 71’). Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Wandering Souls mixes visual and musical ethnography with classical mythology, and documentary methods with fantasy. The film performs in a new way the stories of the most intriguing characters of Metamorphoses, including Persephone, Arachne, Callisto, Europa, Daphne, and Orpheus. The transformations of forms into new bodies are narrated by the Parca who cuts the thread of life. These episodes are interwoven and tied together by the presence of philosopher Pythagoras, who accompanies us on a journey from the origins of the world
to the present day. The mythological tales are reinvented through Sardinian tradition
and culture.
From 6:00 PM, the entire night is dedicated to the documentary competition and it starts with GALA PUNKTI by Laila Pakalniņa (Termini, LV, 2024, b-n, 71’). The terminus resembles a circle because it is where things turn around. Accordingly, this film was shot while “moving in a circle” – constantly moving, observing people as they slip in and out of the field of view. The people one meets at a terminus are very important people. Maybe because it’s at the termini that the city ends and begins – and if not the city, then at least something ends and begins there.
The film premiered at the latest Riga Film Festival.
At 8:00 PM, POCIĄGI by Maciej J. Drygas (Trains, PL – LT, 2024, b –n, 81’) will be screened. Trains is a “documentary fresco” composed exclusively of archival footage and sound design. It emerges from this a collective portrait of the people of the 20th century, capturing their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies—the hallmarks of this century. “Trains is a documentary crafted in the found footage genre, using archival film materials from 46 archives around the world. One of the most significant and time-consuming challenges was finding a common thread to unify sequences to be edited from materials created in different eras and technologies (the oldest unique archival footage dates back to the early 20th century). The narration of this wordless film relies on the interplay between visuals and a highly developed sound design. This film harnesses the vast potential of cinematic language to forge an emotional connection between the viewer and the archival reality.” (M. J. Drygas)
At 10:00 PM, the screenings end with HIMLEN OVER ZENICA by Nanna Frank Møller and Zlatko Pranjić (The Sky Above Zenica, BiH – DK, 2024, col., 90’). In Zenica, frequent occurrences of cancers, childhood diabetes, and respiratory disease have become the norm. Air pollution, in general, is high in Bosnia, but the citizens look with suspicion towards a giant steel and coking plant that occupies a quarter of the city and is the largest employer in the area. They want the factory’s emissions to be monitored, as the environmental permit requires, but nothing happens. Over 7 years (2017-2024), the film follows Eko Forum’s fight for data and accountability. Through the eyes of the citizens who suffer the consequences, the film gives voice to the voiceless and uncovers the complex mechanisms that stand in the way of common-sense measures and sustainability in the town, like in so many other places around the world.
