The screens in Motovun are coming down, Cinehill is packing its bags, at the age of 25 moving out of the family home, and hitting the road, up a new mountain! From 277 metres above sea level in Motovun, we climb to the mountainous 1035 metres on Petehovac mountain above Delnice. In a specially decorated, fairy-tale environment 26 – 29 July, the festival embarks on a new story with a concept similar to the one before – numerous independent films, music, artistic and other events coupled with a lot of relaxation and hedonism.
The festival continues on 25 July, on day zero of the festival in Gorski Kotar, with a screening of one episode of Kapelski kresovi on 25 July. There has been a change of location for the screening, from the bathing area “Stari Motel” to the cultural centre (Dom kulture) in Lokve. In the series filmed almost 50 years ago precisely in Gorski Kotar, one of the roles that marked his career was played by actor Zdenko Jelčić who will be presented with the award for a career spanning 50 year at Petehovac. The series was based on the novel written by Veljko Kovačević and follows the events in Gorski Kotar and the Croatian Littoral during World War II, centring on poorly armed Partisan groups opposing the Italian occupation.
The film program at Petehovac kicks off on Wednesday with a screening of the Italian apocalyptic eco-drama Dry directed by Paoli Virzì, about a three-year dry spell in Rome. The side program starts on the same day, with one of the events promoting coexistence with nature – the workshop titled “Face to Beak with Birds of Prey”. The first day at Petehovac will also be marked by the performance of one of the youngest DJs in the world – eight-year-old DJ Svemir, who spins funk and related genres on vinyl, while the evening will end with a performance by Mile Kekin.
Four days of highland pleasure will be marked by a rich film program consisting of several award-winning titles and festival hits, set in different parts of the globe. These include an intriguing Bulgarian drama, Blaga’s Lessons, Kazakhstani feel-good road movie Mountain Onion, a poetic Canadia coming-of-age story, Falcon Lake and Polish Bread and Salt tackling animosities faced by immigrants. The festival will close on Saturday with the screening of Czech dystopian thriller Restore Point.
Djeca and the bands 4head and Skupljači perja will also perform in the rich music program, alongside actor Filip Riđički and theatre director Mario Kovač in DJ roles, while a special treat on the program will be the cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A series of events will also highlight the need for environmental preservation and coexistence with nature, such as workshops on wild animals, walking tours and yoga practice.
Wine and gastronomic events are in store as well, with educational talks and tasting titled “Wine and Film – Autochthonous varieties of Kvarner and Cinehill Festival love each other in public”, where nine wines from autochthonous varieties of the Kvarner region will be presented on 27 and 28 July at Petehovac.
This year, Cinehill Motovun Film Festival is held with the support of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Kvarner Tourist Board and Croatian Audiovisual Centre.
Tickets for the film program are available online at: https://motovunfilmfestival.com/en/tickets-2/
