Celebrate the wonderful years of Motovun with us and let’s head out to conquer new heights together. Trying to figure out the festival’s new concept and wondering how all this will work? Festival Director Igor Mirković offers tips and useful information for navigating this summer’s cinematic adventure.

This summer, we’re preparing a festival the way we have never done before, and probably never will again. We are moving from the hill to the mountain. In Motovun, it’s time to put twenty-five candles on our birthday cake, so join us in celebrating a quarter of a century of cinematic encounters and sleepless nights. In Gorski Kotar, we offer a refreshing getaway, a chance for new love, and a new adventure – a film event set in a magical mountain landscape, a top-notch film and music program combined with a hiking excursion. All this, as well as workshops, mountain walks, yoga, and many more events.

First and foremost: the programs in Motovun and Gorski Kotar are not the same, each location offers its own set of attractions and a different experience.

WHEN AND WHERE?

Come to Motovun the day before the festival to get ready for the screenings on the following day (there is a festival bus running from Zagreb). Not to let ‘day zero’ pass without entertainment, we are preparing a fitting warm-up screening and DJ program to meet and get to know each other. This is followed by three days of films and everything else that makes up a film festival – with the grand finale happening on 24 July which will go on until the early hours of the morning.

In Gorski Kotar you need to reach the town of Delnice. The warm-up starts on 26 July around noon. We have until sunrise the next day to get to know the new location, find our bearings, dance to some great music and most importantly – meet great people. The opening screening is scheduled for the same day, 26 July, at 9 p.m.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF BETWEEN TWO HILLS?

Between the two hills, there will be a gap day, on 25 July. On that day, the festival buses will be taking passengers from Motovun to Delnice.

During the gap day, there is no film program scheduled at Petehovac itself, but the Radnički Dom cinema in Delnice will offer warm-up screenings for the impatient and thirsty for film entertainment. You can also use the day for mountain walks and hiking around the beautiful Gorski Kotar.

LITTLE & BIG HILL – DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

Motovun is a festival one attends in flip-flops, whereas in Gorski Kotar you’ll probably need a pair of hiking boots.

We know Motovun well. We screen films at three open-air cinemas and one indoor hall – from noon till well into the night, followed by a party until the morning. We truly invite everyone who has been with us all these years to celebrate the end of a chapter – because the festival will never be the same again.  

Gorski Kotar is an entirely different experience: a mountain resort where we will set up a tented cinema and an outdoor cinema, with a stage for concerts. The main difference is that the festival at our new location is largely a daytime experience. There’s no need to wait for the night to fall to watch excellent films and attend interesting events. Instead, you can seize the day in the mountain sunshine!

However, since we won’t go to bed early here either and the programs continue until late at night, bring warmer clothes. The mountain is no place for the faint of heart so you should be prepared for cooler nights, especially if you have campsite accommodation.

As for the similarities? Both places are spectacular. Both boast unforgettable views. Both are even prettier than the other. This continues our mission of offering excellent film programs at exceptional locations, lending films an extra layer of emotion and providing an unforgettable experience of the local environment.

WHAT ARE WE WATCHING?

The film program will consist of the following programming units:

• MAIN PROGRAM – 18 premieres from all corners of the world which will screen at both locations
• CINEHILL SHORTS – a competitive program of 25 short films; the entire program will screen in Motovun
• LOST & FOUND – a retrospective of missed opportunities, films we wanted to screen over the last 25 years, but for various reasons could not
• SPECIAL SCREENINGS – films of the winners of honorary awards
• MUSIC FILMS – films with live music accompaniment, screening in Motovun
• MUSIC PROGRAM – DJ entertainment in Motovun, live music performance each day in Gorski Kotar – free entry to all music programs

TICKETS

For those of you who plan on watching a lot of films, which we highly recommend, we have prepared affordable ticket packages (presale from 20 June to 9 July).

Big Hill – includes 10 tickets for 10 different screenings of your choice

Malo brdo – includes 6 tickets for 6 different screenings of your choice

Ticket packages are our most affordable offers. Tickets from both packages can be used at both locations.

Camping packages – accommodation at the festival campsites in Motovun and Petehovac is free of charge if you purchase a camping package consisting of three tickets. You will still need to pay the per-night tourist tax. Accommodation at the campsite is also possible if you purchase either the Big Hill or Little Hill ticket packages.

Individual tickets will be sold online, from 7 Jul until the end of the festival. Individual tickets will be available for purchase at the festival box offices on both locations.

WHERE WILL WE SLEEP?

Both locations present accommodation challenges: in Istria, at the height of the season, it is not easy to find a roof to put over one’s head. In Gorski Kotar, the offer is somewhat smaller.

We recommend finding accommodation in the neighbouring towns – there are numerous options within half an hour’s drive from the locations. Our hospitality service will help you with accommodation in Gorski Kotar: hospitality@cinehill.com

The website of the Gorski Kotar Tourist Board has a comprehensive overview of private accommodation listings: gorskikotar.hr  which, together with the Kvarner Tourist Office (kvarner.hr), provides invaluable support for this project.

In both locations, there is free accommodation at the festival campsites (if you purchase any of the ticket packages). While you are probably already familiar with the campsite at the foot of the Motovun hill, a temporary mountain campsite awaits us at Petehovac at 1000 metres above sea level. Warmer clothes and sleeping bags are a must!

GETTING THERE

Delnice is well connected with Zagreb and Rijeka, both by bus and train. Motovun is unfortunately not connected by local transportation (the nearest bus stations are in Buzet and Pazin).

If you are arriving by car, there are parking lots at the foot of both locations and buses running from the parking lots to festival events (10-minute rides).

The Petehovac picnic area is also reachable on foot, which takes about 45 minutes along a hiking trail, offering a great opportunity to combine the film festival with recreation.

IMPORTANT DATES

FINALLY, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

This is a big year for us. The children who were born when we were first starting out may have already graduated from college. You have been with us all this time, lending unforgettable energy to the festival and making it a unique experience known far and wide. Come to Motovun to celebrate all the days and nights we have had a good time. Come to Gorski Kotar to start a new chapter together. Join us at the end of July 2023, because – as we said – the festival will never be the same again.