The film workshop brought together film lovers from BiH and Croatia, providing them with the opportunity to discover the magic of filmmaking through joint efforts. Excellent film screened in the festival’s program part. The main patrons of the 31st “Ivo Gregurević” Days of Croatian Film are the Croatian National Assembly of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and the sponsors include, among others, the City of Orašje and the Government of Posavina County.
Despite the small venue, the film festival in Orašje has been creating film lovers for three decades already. For 31 years, the city on the Sava River has become a meeting place for film, art and friendship. The “Ivo Gregurević” Days of Croatian Film are therefore not only a festival, but a recognizable Posavina cultural story that has grown into one of the most important film events for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Numerous prominent actors, directors and filmmakers have passed through the years, leaving a mark in a city that has proven that love for film knows no bounds. This year, the 31st edition of the festival continued to nurture the tradition of presenting the best Croatian film creations, audience encounters with authors, and accompanying content bringing the film industry closer to all generations. In the atmosphere of film screenings and a warm Posavina reception for all filmmakers, without a special red-carpet protocol, because the festival does not have a competitive character, Orašje, even after three decades of unraveling its most beautiful film story, confirms that great film stories can be created outside big cities. The festival celebrated art that connects people, preserves values and leaves memories that last long after the lights go out in the cinema of the Cultural Center, which, like the festival, proudly bears the name “Ivo Gregurević”.
– Opening of 31st “Ivo Gregurević” Days of Croatian Film
Cooperation between the Croatian Heritage Foundation and the Ivo Gregurević Film Festival
A special place at the festival is occupied by workshops for young people, discussions with film artists and programs that encourage new generations to discover the beauty of the seventh art. From the beginning, the Croatian Heritage Foundation has followed the war and the development of the film magic of Orašje, created by the acting genius and initiator of the most beautiful film story of his native region, Ivo Gregurević. The Croatian Heritage Foundation, as the project’s organizer, has taken a significant step forward because, according to many film industry experts, the workshop participants have made the best film thus far. The Orašje Film Festival once again showed that there are no borders between people, generations, or between the time when Gregurević created and today, when new filmmakers are creating. In addition to the fact that the Days of Croatian Film in Orašje connected two festivals from the two heroic cities of Vukovar and Orašje, moved to the returnee areas of Garevac, where the films from the program part of the Orašje festival were also shown, it achieved the most important of the accompanying festival content; after a one-year pause, the Film Workshop organized by the Croatian Heritage Foundation returned.
Ivo Inspiration
CHF Director Zdeslav Milas did not hide his satisfaction with the project’s successful continuation at the opening of the “Ivo Gregurević” Days of Croatian Film. “The Croatian Heritage Foundation is inextricably linked to the Orašje Film Festival. We are honored to be a part of this wonderful project. This film festival, immediately after the Pula Festival, is actually the most important festival of the Croatian people. I would like to remind the public that the Croatian Heritage Foundation initiated this event in 1995, with the director at the time, Ante Beljo, a returnee from Canada. Neither Ivo Gregurević nor the Croatian Heritage Foundation then suspected that a small cultural project would become a film flame that would not be extinguished for three decades, even after the great actor Gregurević physically departed. This fact lies at the heart of the strongest emotional connection between Matica and the Film Festival in Orašje. We continue to support this film event, especially by organizing the most important accompanying film content of the Film Workshop, held for the sixth time in Orašje. We organize a similar workshop, ‘Creating Theater,’ in Guča Gora. We are striving to strengthen cultural and artistic programs for Croats in BiH,” said CHF Director Milas in Orašje.
Creative Participants
Through the theoretical and practical parts of the workshop, ten participants in the Film Workshop from BiH and the Republic of Croatia were introduced to the world of film by director Ivan Mokrović, who shared with them knowledge and experience, as well as a special love for film without which there is no true creativity. “This workshop is full of memories of the grandiose actor Ivo Gregurević, his magnificent and imposing work, so that the Youth Film Workshop is much more than the usual film work. I’m satisfied because in eight days, which is very little time, we prepared a wonderful film. We always try to raise the bar. All the workshop participants were inspired, and it’s always a pleasure to work in Orašje. We went for a retro aesthetic, but with a modern expression. It is the story of an alien who comes to Orašje to find a man with a thousand faces. Of course, the unique genius, Gregurević,” said director Mokrović.
“Prophecy from Orašje”
The film workshop ended with its most valuable outcome – a film that, in many ways, brought what this festival has always advocated: respect for tradition, but also a brave step into the future. Because Ivo Gregurević is not just part of the past. He is an inspiration. And this is exactly what the young filmmakers displayed. In the age of the Internet, social media and new storytelling techniques, they decided to place Gregurević in the time in which they live and create. Their film has become a kind of meeting of the legendary actor with a new generation, proof that great art does not disappear with time, but finds new ways to live on. And that is why this film is perhaps the most beautiful ending of the workshop. Not only because it was shown in the festival program, but because it carried the spirit of the festival – youth, creativity, emotion, courage and a vision of what was to come. The film’s intriguing title, “Prophecy from Orašje”, along with the creativity of director Ivan Mokrović and the participants, earned the best possible award: rousing applause from the Orašje audience.
Ivo Lives on in Film
At the end of the workshop, project leader Danijela Primorac, on behalf of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, handed out certificates to the participants. “Although he is physically no longer with us, Ivo still remains on film. Young people have given him a new time. And film once again showed that the best traces of the past are not those who stand still, but those who inspire the future. I’m satisfied with the workshop’s success and that we managed to continue this project”, said Primorac. This year’s project partner was the “Ivo Gregurević” Days of Croatian Film. Festival Director Iljo Benković also expressed satisfaction with the cooperation. “We thank the Croatian Heritage Foundation for persistently supporting us from the very beginning and making Ivo’s festival continue to live and further pursue its mission of togetherness,” said Benković, Gregurević’s friend, who is actually the alpha and omega of the Orašje festival.
Little Pula
The Orašje Festival has earned the nickname “Little Pula”. After the films are presented at the Pula Film Festival, the road often leads them to Orašje, where the Posavina audience can be among the first to see them. Thus, a small Posavina town has a privilege usually reserved for large cultural centers: hosting premieres of the latest achievements in Croatian film production, sometimes even before they reach major cultural centers for the first time, including Zagreb.
Award Recipient Ksenija Pajić
A special feature of the Days of Croatian Film in Orašje is not only the film screenings. The festival, which is not competitive, awards the prestigious Ivo Gregurević Statue every year for exceptional contributions to film art, preserving the memory of the great Croatian actor and the man who, through his name and work, inextricably linked film and Posavina.
The statue is a tribute to those who left a mark in Croatian cinema with their talent, work and dedication. This year, actress Ksenija Pajić received the award.
More Than a Festival
Ivo wanted the festival to be more than merely a film festival, but a meeting place for the great names of Croatian cinema and the inhabitants of Posavina. He wanted to bring great actors closer to the people of his region, and at the same time bring films closer to Posavina. This idea is perhaps Ivo Gregurević’s most beautiful legacy. Because he didn’t want people to only watch movies in Orašje. He wanted people to meet. That the film world and Posavina meet, connect and recognize each other in a common love for the seventh art, especially young people. This is the heritage supported by the Croatian Heritage Foundation. Therefore, the Days of Croatian Film are not just festival days; the festival is more than a cultural event – it is when Orašje turns into a small film capital, when the big names of Croatian film become guests, friends and part of the special Posavina story initiated by Ivo Gregurević.
Text: Nada Koturić / Photo: DHF and CHF
