Imagine the world in which books are illegal because the government detests the idea of independent thinking. The theme of the 1966 film has become topical again, both in Croatia and in the world, 52 years after the film was made. The famous film Fahrenheit 451 by French filmmaker François Truffaut will be shown by MFF in cooperation with Addiko banka in Zagreb, on Thursday 28 June, on a still secret location.

This classic by the famous French New Wave director is an adaptation of the Ray Bradbury’s dystopic novel about the American society of the future in which books are illegal and the duty of the “firemen” is to find all the remaining copies and burn them at the temperature of 451 Fahrenheit (optimal for burning paper). The hero, fireman Montag, becomes disillusioned with his role of censor. In secrecy, he keeps reading Charles Dickens’s novel David Copperfield.

The tyranny against thoughts was particularly repulsive to Truffaut as an eager reader, so he used the topic for his first color film and the only one he made in English language. In Fahrenheit 451, books are burnt, individual thinking is forbidden and secret readers are being punished. Despite numerous well-known actors who wanted the role, Truffaut chose Austrian actor Oskar Werner as Julie Christie’s partner. He often quarreled with him on the set. Interestingly, they both died prematurely, within two days, in October 1984.

Governments often try to keep people ignorant and eliminate any criticism. So raise your awareness and apply for the free screening via MFF newsletter at skrivene.motovunfilmfestival.com. The secret venue will be revealed 24 hours before the screening. In the meantime, you can buy the cheapest set of tickets for the 21st Motovun Film Festival via kupiulaznicu.hr service. This amazingly cheap set can be bought until 10 July only. Make sure you get it on time!