This feature film by director Dalibor Matanić is the first Croatian feature film to be included in the official Cannes programme since Croatia regained its independence. Actress and director Isabella Rossellini will preside the Un Certain Regard Jury this year.
Zvizdan (The High Sun) a feature film by director Dalibor Matanić and producer Ankica Jurić Tilić, has made the Un Certain Regard official selection of the 68th Cannes film festival. Zvizdan is the first Croatian feature film to be included in the official Cannes programme since Croatia regained its independence. Actress and director Isabella Rossellini will preside the Un Certain Regard Jury this year.
The High Sun relates events that take place over a span of three decades in two neighbouring villages burdened by their histories and follows three tales of forbidden love. The lead roles are played by Tihana Lazović and Goran Marković, with supporting roles played by Nives Ivanković, Dado Ćosić, Stipe Radoja, Trpimir Jurkić, Mira Banjac, Slavko Sobin, Lukrecija Tudor, Tara Rosandić and Ksenija Marinković.
The film’s cinematography is by Marko Brdar, with film editing by Tomislav Pavlic. The movie is produced by Ankica Jurić Tilić, with co-producers Petra Vidmar, Frenk Celarc, Nenad Dukić and Miroslav Mogorović, music by Alen Sinkauz and Nenad Sinkauz, sound by Julij Zornik, art direction by Mladen Ožbolt, costume design by Ana Savić Gecan, and makeup by Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska and Talija Ivančič. Sound recording is by Mladen Pervan, and the assistant director is Dragan Jurić.
The movie, which will have its international debut at the 68th Cannes film festival, was produced by Zagreb-based Kinorama, with co-production by Slovenian film company Gustav Film and Serbian company SEE Film Pro. Project development was supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the MEDIA programme, and production by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, The Slovenian Film Centre, Viba Film Ljubljana and the Eurimages European fund. The film is distributed by 2i Film, with Cercamon covering international distribution and sales.
Five Croatian films have been included in various Cannes programmes since 1991. Director Goran Odvorčić short film Ciao Mama (2009) was screened in the official selection of short films, Dalibor Matanić’s short film Tulum (2009) was shown at the Semaine de la Critique, as was the feature length documentary film Posljednja ambulantna kola Sofije (The Last Ambulance in Sofia, 2012) directed by Iliana Meteva (a German-Bulgarian-Croatian co-production) and the short film Kokoška (The Chicken, 2014) directed by Una Gunjak (a German-Croatian co-production). Dalibor Matanić’s short film Suša (2003) was shown in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs selection.
Founded in 1946 the Festival de Cannes is now the world’s most prestigious film festival, both in terms of the number of movies submitted for the selection and in terms of its international impact through critical reception, distribution and festival exchange. The 68th festival will take place from the 13th to 24th of May. “Un Certain Regard” is part of the official competition programme of the festival and aims to discover new directorial innovation and aesthetics.
The only Croatian film to make this prestigious selection to date was Rajko Grlić’s Samo jednom se ljubi (The Melody Haunts My Memory, 1981).
The Croatian film at this year’s Cannes film festival continues on a series of domestic productions that have appeared at major festivals over the pat ten months. Some of these include last year’s first prize for Boris Poljak’s Autofocus in the short documentary film category at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Venice festival award for Ognjen Sviličić’s Takva su pravila (he also picked up the best director title in Warszaw, and the Grand Prix in Stockholm and Les Arcs). Una Gunjak’s short film The Chicken, co-produced by Siniša Juričić (Nukleus) won the EFA prize as the best European short film in 2014 (sixty festivals, twenty-two prizes). Zvonimir Jurić’s Kosac (The Reaper, 2014) began its festival life in Toronto, while Andrea Štaka’s Cure: The Life of Another (2014) and Jasmila Žbanić’s Otok ljubavi (Love Island, 2014) premiered at Locarno.
(HAVC)