The Croatian National Festival in Pula, Istria, will take place from July 19-26. This will be the 55th edition of the event that used to be the national festival of former Yugoslavia.

In addition to the famous and always well-attended open-air venues Arena and Kastel, the former theatre Zagreb has been renovated and renamed to 'Cinema Valli', honouring the legendary actress Aida Valli who had been born in Pula.

The festival will feature national and international competition, and several sidebar programmes, including Popular Programme, with films such as Sleuth, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Battle In Seattle (East European premiere), Hoax, Flawless and Death Defying Acts.

'I expect a tough fight in the national competition comprised of seven strong films by internationally most acclaimed Croatian directors,' says Zlatko Vidackovic, the artistic director of the festival. 'The international programme with 22 films is dedicated to genre films, first of all crime films, with several comedies and romance dramas.'

NATIONAL COMPETITION:
Buick Riviera by Goran Rusinovic
Kino Lika by Dalibor Matanic
Will Not End There (Nije Kraj) by Vinko Bresan
Behind The Glass (Iza Stakla) by Zrinko Ogresta
Three Stories About Sleeplessness (Tri Price O Nespavanju) by Tomislav Radic
Remember Vukovar (Zapamtite Vukovar) by Fadil Hadzic
No One's Son (Niciji Sin) by Arsen Anton Ostojic

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The Other Woman (La Sconosciuta) by Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy/France)Lady Jane by Robert Guediguian (France)
The Silence Of Lorna (Le Silence Du Lorna) by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne (Belgium/UK/France/Italy)
Empties (Vratne lahve) by Jan Sverak (Czech Republic/UK)
The Girl Cut In Two (La Fille Coupee En Deux) by Claude Chabrol (Germany/France)
Happy-Go-Lucky by Mike Leigh (UK)
Romance Of Astrea And Celadon (Les Amours D'Astree Et De Celadon) by Eric Rohmer (France/Italy/Spain)
Love Life (Liebesleben) by Maria Schrader (Israel/Germany)
In Love We Trust (Zuo You) by Xiaoshuai Wang (China)
In The Arms Of My Enemy (Voleurs De Chevaux) by Micha Wald (France/Belgium/Canada)
Elite Squad (Tropa De Elite) by Jose Padilha (Brazil)

Topics