NEWS
“F20” AT THE EUROPEAN FILM MARKET
“F20” will have 2 market screenings at the European Film Market in Berlin, during Berlinale. The first screening is on Sunday, the 10th of February, at 5:55pm at Cinemaxx 1. The second screening is on Monday, the 11th of February at 6:40pm at Cinestar 6. Both screening are for potential buyers, festival representatives and film professionals. Worldwide sales agent for “F20” is Wide Management from Paris.
More info: www.efm-berlinale.de
SUCCESSFUL PREMIERE OF “F20” IN ZAGREB
Arsen’s 4th feature film “F20” had a fully packed premiere at the Cinestar Avenue Mall in Zagreb on September 25th. Two theaters were booked in order to accomodate all those who wanted to attend it. Most of the cast and crew members were present. The Evening News of the Croatian National TV’s 1st Channel reported live from the event and other TV stations in Croatia also had extensive news coverage from the premiere. Distribution of “F20” in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina begins on September 27th.
<— the photo shows Arsen with his young stars Lana Ujević, Romina Tonković and Filip Mayer
ARSEN’S NEW PROJECT AWARDED EU FUNDS
In the beginning of October the Creative Europe/MEDIA program of the EU has announced its decision for Spring 2017 funding proposal for Development of Single Projects. The project “Crystal Raiders” has received 60.000 Euros, the largest amount ever awarded to a Croatian single project. The project has received 92 points and the threshold had been set to 88,5 points for Animation projects. Out of 359 eligible projects, 77 have been selected for funding. “Crystal Raiders” is an amazing science-fiction animated project for children conceived by the late Oscar- winner Dušan Vukotić about an orphan baby dinosaur Burgy who leaves his underground home and surfaces to the outside world, only to be found by two children who desperately try to save him from greedy circus owner and an unscrupulous animal dealer. The entire story takes place on a distant planet, recently colonized by humans. Besides enforcing strong bonds between children and parents, the film deals with ecological issues as well. The screenwriters are Aleksandar Žiljak and Dušan Vukotić, based on the story by Dušan Vukotić, while Arsen is the co-screenwriter. The film will be directed by Arsen and is currently produced by Filmosaurus Rex Ltd.
PREMIERE IN ZAGREB
Following its successful Czech and Slovak theatrical runs, “Neparožderi” (“The Oddsockeaters”) premiered in Zagreb on Sunday, October 1st, at the Blitz-Cinestar Boutique Cinema Kaptol Center. It was a packed screening with most of the cast and crew present, in addition to many children, mostly first-graders from Ivan Gundulić primary school, in Zagreb. News and media channels extensively covered the premiere. The film will be opening on 43 screens in Croatia and several screens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The film is distributed by Blitz Film and Video. As previously reported, the film became the largest grossing Czech animated feature film in the history of Czech cinema, with more than 320.000 admissions. This is an example of a successful Croatian coproduction, supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Center.
<– Arsen with actor Goran Navojec
RETROSPECTIVE OF EX-YUGOSLAV CINEMA
Arsen’s two feature films “A Wonderful Night in Split and “Halima’s Path” were selected for the retrospective of representative films of the ex-Yugoslav countries taking place during the 55th Rencontre Cinématographique de Pézenas, from the 10th until the 16th of February 2017 in a southern French town of Pézenas, near Montpellier. The festival is organized by the French Fédération des ciné-clubs de la Méditerranée. There was a total of 24 films selected from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia; 21 narrative feature films and 3 documentaries. Besides Arsen’s films, two additional well-known films were selected from Croatia: “The Birch Tree” and “The High Sun”.
More info: www.lafccm.org
SUCCESSFUL CZECH COPRODUCTION
During 2016 Arsen has coproduced an animated feature film “Neparožderi” (“The Oddsockeaters” in English or “Lichožrouti” in Czech language), about small, invisible creatures who live among us and who steal our socks, based on the children’s novel by a well-known Czech writer Pavel Šrut and directed by Galina Miklinová. The film is produced by a two-time Oscar nominated Czech producer/director Ondřej Trojan and co-produced by Slovak film company PubRes, represented by Lubica Orechovska and Zuzana Mistríková. Croatian co-production company is Filmosaurus Rex d.o.o. represented by Arsen’s partner and associate producer Hrvoje Vajić. A well-known Croatian composer Mate Matišić has composed the music for the film. “The Oddsockeaters” premiered in theaters Czech Republic on the 20th of October, and had the most successful opening for a Czech animated feature film in the history of Czech cinema, with 76.527 admissions over the weekend. Slovak premiere is expected in the middle of January and Croatian sometime in the Spring of 2017.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER FOR US DOCUMENTARY
Throughout 2016 Arsen has worked as an associate producer on a US documentary feature film “Trezoros, The Lost Jews of Kastoria”, about the WW2 destruction of once-thriving Sephardic community peacefully living in the pictoresque town of Kastoria in northern Greece. The film had a market screening in Cannes in May 2016. It successfully premiered in the official selection of the 24th Raindance Film Festival in London on September 27th, with an additional gala screening and reception for guests and UK professionals. The film was also the official candidate for the 89th Academy Awards, in Documentary Feature section. It played in theaters in New York and in Los Angeles.
More information: www.trezoros.com
TEN YEARS AFTER
“Billie Holiday”, a stage play co-written by Arsen and actress Ksenija Prohaska, directed by Arsen and starring Ksenija Prohaska as the famous singer Billie Holiday, Robert Kurbasa as her friend Charlie and Ivan Bozicevic as the Pianist, which premiered at the Croatian National Theater in Split on the 11th of February 2006, has continued its successful run. More than 10 years after its first performance, “Billie Holiday” played to full audience in the castle Vitturi in Kastel Luksic on the 26th of August. The local newspapers used the attributes such as “brilliant music drama”, “excellent acting”, “great singing abilities” and “emotionally touched audience which filled the atrium of the castle”.
More information: kastela.org
“F20” SHOOT BEGINS
On July 5th, Arsen began the principal photography of his newest feature film under the working title “F20”. This new film presents a sharp departure from his previous subjects. It is a psychological thriller about 20-y.o. Martina and 20-y.o. Filip who meet in the city during the summer; she is working for her father in their family pizzeria, delivering pizzas, while he spends most of the time at home, playing video games and eating pizzas, since his parents have gone to their summer house. After falling in love, Martina convinces Filip to steal money from her father and to run to the seaside, to visit a music festival and have some fun. But, after they stole the money, something goes terribly wrong and their naive summer adventure becomes a struggle for survival.
The shoot will be in two parts; first ending on July 31st and the second of about 9 days commencing in the Fall.
The film is produced and financed completely independently by Arsen and his partner Hrvoje Vajic from Filmosaurus Rex company. Several companies are selflessly helping the production: GripFilm, Interfilm and Antitalent Produkcija. The lead actors are young, first-time actors Romina Tonkovic and Filip Mayer, as well as Lana Ujevic, together with experienced actors who worked with Arsen previously – Mladen Vulic, Alen Liveric, Alen Salinovic, Goran Grgic, Ksenija Marinkovic, Alma Prica, Boris Miholjevic and others.
The project will be entirely shot in Zagreb, except one day of filming at the famous Croatian party beach Zrce on the island of Pag.
The premiere of “F20” is expected sometime next year.
HALIMA’S PATH RECEIVED ITS 32nd AWARD OR AN ACCOLADE
Halima’s Path was awarded the Audience Award for the Best Film at the 4th Festival of European Films, held in Montevideo, Uruguay from the 12-18 of May 2016, honoring the European Union. The film earned very high average grade given by the audience (9.3 out of 10).
There were 15 films in the competition program; the requirement for the selection was that each film had to be produced by one of the EU countries and that it had to be previously awarded at some other festival. Due to this success, “Halima’s Path” will be screened for the next two weeks in Life Cinemas Alfabeta theaters in Uruguay.
This is the 32nd award or an accolade the film has received in the past 4 years. It still holds the title of the most awarded Croatian film for the past quarter century.
SALES OF HALIMA’S PATH AT THE EFM IN BERLIN
The U.S.-based film sales agency House of Film, which handles worldwide rights to “Halima’s Path”, had a successful week at the European Film Market, which took place during the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. House of Film confirmed the French distribution deal with Rimini, a quality film distributor in France for “Halima’s Path”. It also got serious interest from PremiereFlix in the U.K. for the U.K. distribution rights. Previously, House of Film made the U.S. distribution deal with Fisher Klingenstein Ventures, licensed “Halima’s Path” to HBO Europe and sold the film to several other territories.
REPRESENTATIVE PIECE OF CROATIAN CINEMA
Arsen’s first, multiple-awards winning feature film “A Wonderful Night in Split” had an exclusive screening at the Greek Film Archive in Athens, Greece on January 23rd as part of the 4th ALTCINE Online Balkan Short Film festival.
This 3-day long event, supported by European Creative Media Film Literacy Program, took place from the 22nd until the 24th of January. It showed the film as a representative piece of Croatian Cinema and as an introduction to the next year’s edition of the festival which will take place in Croatia.
The screening was followed by Q&A; the editor of the film Dubravko Slunjski was present at the screening, together with the Croatian Ambassador to Greece Mr. Ivan Velimir Starcevic.
HALIMA’S PATH ON HBO’S CINEMAX
“Halima’s Path” has become the first Croatian feature film bought by the major cable network HBO and broadcast on its Cinemax channel. Cinemax, incorporated in 1980 in the United States, is a premium movie channel and part of the HBO Central Europe Group. It shows American independent, European and Asian films and is quite popular in 11 countries in Central and South-East Europe. “Halima’s Path” is the most awarded Croatian feature film over the past several decades, with 31 awards and accolades and holds the record-high for the audience vote at the Croatian national film festival in Pula.
SCREENING OF HALIMA’S PATH FOR SREBRENICA ANNIVERSARY
This year’s 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, which was committed in Eastern Bosnia in 1995, will be marked across the United Kingdom with high-profile commemorative events in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and another 25 cities across the country. Organized by the UK charitable initiative “Remembering Srebrenica”, the events will be attended by genocide survivors and the “Srebrenica Mothers” who lost their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers in the atrocity. “Halima’s Path” has been chosen as the only narrative feature film to mark this sad anniversary, alongside several documentary films. The film will be screened as part of the commemorative program at the Media Museum in the city of Bradford on the 11th of July (the day the city of Srebrenica fell).
• More info: Remembering Srebrenica
US DISTRIBUTION FOR HALIMA’S PATH
“Halima’s Path” has been included in The Global Lens 2014 program of the Global Film Initiative from New York. U.S. rights to the film have been acquired by Fisher Klingenstein Ventures and its FilmRise film distribution program which licensed “Halima’s Path” to the Global Lens. The Global Lens film series was launched in 2003 to support the distribution of unique and critically acclaimed cinematic works. Since its founding, the series has provided a platform for exceptional storytelling and opened a window into the diverse world in which we live. Halima’s Path is available on DVD and VOD in the States. This is Arsen’s second feature film distributed in the United States by Global Lens and FilmRise. “A Wonderful Night in Split” was acquired by Global Lens back in 2006 and is available on DVD, previously through First Run Features and now through FilmRise.
More info:
• globalfilm.org/halima-s-path
• globalfilm.org/a-wonderful-night-in-split
• filmrise.com/a-wonderful-night-in-split
WINTER SHOOTING DAYS FOR “THE MAN IN THE BOX”
Arsen’s fourth feature film, this time in English, a UK-Croatian coproduction based on the book “The Man in the Box” by American writer Thomas Moran, started filming on location near Innsbruck in Tirol (Austria) in mid-December. This is a touching coming-of-age story about a teenager living in a remote village high in mountains in Tirol during WW2, imbued by Nazi ideology, whose family hide a refugee physician in their barn. At the moment, the cast consists of well-known British and German actors: the lead role of the teenager is played by John Bell (“Hobbit”). His father, Martin, is played by Thomas Kretschmann (“King Kong”, “The Pianist”, “Valkyre”, “Avengers”). His mother, Liese, is played by Martina Gedeck (“Life of Others”, “Baader Meinhof Complex”). His love interest, Sigi, is played by Celine Buckens (“War Horse”). Filming will continue in the Spring of 2015, after the snow melts, on locations in Austria, as well as in Italy, near Bressanone. The UK production company is Evergreen Productions Ltd., the coproduction company from Croatia is GripFilm d.o.o. and the sales agent is Parkland Pictures from London.
• Photo by: Georg Khuen Belasi
GRAND PRIX IN KAZAN, RUSSIA
Halima’s Path was awarded the Grand Prix for the best film at the 10th Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema, held from the 5th untill the 11th of September in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. A well-known Turkmeni film director Khodzha Kuli Narliyev gave the award to Ostojic during the impressive closing ceremony in front of 1.500 guests, emphasising in his speech a need to make more emotional films like “Halima’s Path”. This award came almost at the same time as the Audience Award at the Chichester International Film Festival, thus raising the total of awards and recognitions given to the film to 31, making it by far the most awarded Croatian feature film over the last several decades.
• More info: www.kazan-mfmk.com
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR HALIMA’S PATH IN THE UK
Halima’s Path was awarded the Audience Award as the best East European film at the 23rd Chichester International Film Festival, held in the town of Chichester, near London, United Kingdom from the 14th until the 31st of August 2014. Halima’s Path participated in the “East Meets West” program together with additional 16 well-known feature films from a dozen East European countries.
• More info: www.chichestercinema.org
SPECIAL MENTION IN GENEVA
Halima’s Path was awarded Special Mention at the 9th International Festival of Oriental Films, held in Geneva, Switzerland from 4-13 of April. In its explication, the jury stated that Halima’s Path was “a complex film in which women again carry the heaviest burden”. There were total of about a hundred films shown at the festival, including narrative and documentary features and short films. This award presents already the 29th recognition given to Halima’s Path since it started its festival life back in the end of July 2012.
• More info: www.fifog.com
FOREIGN LANGUAGE OSCAR PREVIEW: FAVORITES
At the height of the awards season, the most influential website in Hollywood DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD has put together a list of 15 films running for the Foreign Language Oscar. According to them these 15 films had the biggest buzz going and were considered favorites for the 86th Annual Academy Awards, among a record-number of 76 entries from 76 countries. “Halima’s Path” has been listed as one of these 15 films, following an extremely successful official screening for the Academy members, where – as one of the members said – everyone shed at least one tear. The article was written by Nancy Tartaglione, published on the 16th of December 2013. More info: deadline.com
AWARDS IN ST. LOUIS
Both Arsen and his new feature film “Halima’s Path” were awarded during the 22nd St. Louis International Film Festival, held from November 14th to 24th. Arsen received the Contemporary Cinema Award, which honors mid-career filmmakers doing challenging and innovative work. Previous winners of this award include Terry Zwigoff and Jason Reitman. The recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Awards were Oliver Stone and Jon Jost.
The Interfaith Jury gave Halima’s Path an Honorable Mention among the films selected for their artistic merit, contributing to the understanding of the human condition and recognition of ethical, social and spiritual values. There were 75 feature films and 63 documentaries screened in several festival programs.
One of the side events of the festival was a program of films from former Yugoslav countries called “20 Years Later – Films from the Former Yugoslavia: Ghosts of the Past, Visions of the Future” organized in cooperation with the University of Missouri in St. Louis. The opening movie of the program was Arsen’s debut feature from 2004, “A Wonderful Night in Split.”
More information: www.cinemastlouis.org
(Photo: Arsen with SLIFF’s artistic director Chris Clark)
AWARD FOR HALIMA’S PATH IN FLORIDA
Halima’s Path was awarded Best Foreign Language Film at the 11th Daytona Beach Film Festival, held from the 7th until the 11th of November in the city of Daytona Beach in Florida. There were 20 films competing in the official program.
More info: www.dbff.org
Official Awards’ Tweet: http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/
THREE AWARDS IN NEW YORK
“Halima’s Path” received three awards at the first edition of Chelsea Film Festival in New York City, held from the 24th until the 27th of October. The screenwriter Fedja Isovic was awarded the Best Screenplay, Alma Prica was awarded the Best Actress and Olga Pakalovic was awarded the Best Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated for the Grand Prix. The Consul General of Croatia in New York attended the screening which was held in SVA Theater on the 23rd Street in Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Together with these 3 awards, the total number of awards and accolades has gone up to 26, from 22 competitive festivals. This means that “Halima’s Path” has already surpassed Arsen’s first film “A Wonderful Night in Split” which won 24 national and international awards.
More info: www.chelseafilm.org
AWARD FOR ALMA PRICA
Alma Prica, the lead actress from “Halima’s Path” who plays the title character of Halima, was awarded the Best Actress Award at the 6th “East-West” International Film Festival, held in the Russian city of Orenburg from the 14th until the 19th of October. This is already the third acting award for Alma, following awards at festivals in Belgium and in Portugal.
More info: www.east-west-festival.ru
IMPORTANT PRIZE FOR HALIMA’S PATH AT 21st RAINDANCE FF
“Halima’s Path” was awarded the Best International Feature Award, one of the two most important awards of the 21st Raindance Film Festival, held from the 25th of September until the 6th of October in London, at Vue Piccadilly Cinemas at Piccadilly Circus. There were more than 6.000 feature film submissions for Raindance this year and a hundred feature films that were selected for the official program. Among those films “Halima’s Path” was first selected as one of 8 foreign films nominated for this award and then eventually it was chosen as the winning film. The jury consisted of 18 distinguished filmmakers, artists and media personalities, incl. Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, CEO of Recorded Pictures Peter Watson, writer Robert Rankin, actor Jason Flemyng, journalist Scott Macaulay, singer Beth Gibson, film critic Robbie Collins and others. This award is already the 22nd national or international recognition which “Halima’s Path” has earned.
More info: www.raindance.org
MEDIA PRIZE FOR HALIMA’S PATH
At the 5th Prishtina International Film Festival, held from September 20th to 29th in the capital city of Kosovo, “Halima’s Path” was awarded the Media Prize in the Blood and Honey Cinema competition program (Balkan films). MEDIA prize is given by accredited journalists to the best film of the program in their opinion. There were 8 feature films from 7 countries in the selection of Blood and Honey Cinema program. During the ceremony the official jury underlined in theri statement exceptional acting by Alma Prica and Olga Pakalovic.
More info: www.prifest.org
HALIMA’S PATH FOR OSCAR
On September 11th the 17-member committee of the Film Artists Association of Croatia has selected “Halima’s Path” to be the Croatian official entry for the 86th Annual Academy Awards, in the Foreign Language Film category. The selection was decided in the first round, by the majority of votes. This is the third time that Arsen’s film will represent Croatia for the Oscars; his previous two films – “A Wonderful Night in Split” and “No One’s Son” were both Croatia’s official entries for an Academy Award.
GRAND PRIX IN ALBANIA
Halima’s Path was chosen as the best film and awarded the Grand Prix during the 3rd Balkan Film and Food Festival held in the Albanian city of Pogradec from 2-9 of September. The festival showcased films from 10 countries of the Balkan region. Albanian Minister of Culture Ms. Mirela Kumbaro attended the closing ceremony. As a curiosity, during the past three years and all three editions of the festival Ostojic participated with his three films and all three times his films won top prizes; once the Jury prize (A Wonderful Night in Split in 2011) and twice the Grand prix (No One’s Son in 2012 and now Halima’s Path).
More info: www.balkan3f.com
CRITICS PRIZE FOR HALIMA’S PATH
Halima’s Path was awarded the Critics Prize at the 21st Varna International Film Festival “Love is Folly” in Bulgaria which was held from the 30th of August until the 5th of September in the coastal city of Varna. There were 12 feature films from 11 countries in the official selection. The president of the Bulgarian Film Critics Association Mr. Bozhidar Manov handed the award to the director Ostojic during the closing ceremony. Interestingly, this was the very first time that a Croatian film participated in the competiton program of this festival.
More info: www.fccvarna.bg
ADDITIONAL AWARD FOR HALIMA’S PATH
“Halima’s Path” has received yet another award, this time at the 19th MedFilm Festival in Rome, Italy, held June 21-30 under the high patronage of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The official competition consisted of 9 feature films from Mediterranean countries.
The film received the Multicultural Jury’s Best Feature Film Award for fostering mutual understanding among different cultures.
In its explanation, the 7-member jury consisting from professionals from three continents stated, «for having been able to masterfully create an intense empathy between the spectator and the characters of the film, by dealing with very complex themes such as war and its devastating consequences, here represented with a strong emotional tension, as well as the social and family conflicts. The jury has also appreciated the deep sensitiveness by which the film highlights the extraordinary power, tenaciousness and skills of women’s world.».
More info: www.medfilmfestival.org
BEST ACTRESS AWARD FOR HALIMA’S PATH
Alma Prica who played Halima and Olga Pakalović who played Safija in “Halima’s Path” shared Best Actress Award at the 29th Festroia International Film Festival held from the 7th until the 16th of June in the city of Setubal, situated on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, just south of Lisbon. There were 14 feature films from about 10 countries competing for the awards.
More info: www.festroia.pt
HALIMA’S PATH WINS 2 AWARDS IN NEW YORK
Halima’s Path won the Jury Award for the Best Feature Film as well as the Audience Award at the 10th Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York, held from May 9-11.
The festival shows films from Bosnia-Herzegovina, having 5 feature films and a dozen shorts in competition this year.
More info: www.bhffnyc.org
HALIMA’S PATH WINS AUDIENCE AWARD IN LA
Halima’s Path has won the Audience Award with a record breaking score of 4.9 (out of 5) at the 8th South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles which took place from May 2-6.
There were altogether 40 films shown from the total of 20 countries, mostly from the European South East region.
More info: www.seefilmla.org
BEST CROATIAN FILM SINCE 1998
For its 15th anniversary, the major Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji List has conducted a survery among 7 film critics. The survey was meant to select the best Croatian film since 1998, the year the newspaper was founded.
“A Wonderful Night in Split” was selected with a notable edge as the best Croatian film since 1998.
More info: www.jutarnji.hr
HALIMA’S PATH US FESTIVAL TOUR
In April and May of 2013, “Halima’s Path” will tour several film festivals in the United States, starting with the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival
(April 3-14).
More info: www.clevelandfilm.org
After Cleveland, the film will participate in the competition program of the 8th South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles (May 2-6).
More info: www.seefilmla.org
Immediately following the LA festival, the film will be screened at the 10th Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York (May 9-11).
More info: www.bhffnyc.org
The tour ends with the 39th Seattle International Film Festival (May 16-June 9), where the film will be screened outside of the competiton program.
More info: www.siff.net
ANOTHER TRIMUPH FOR HALIMA’S PATH
“Halima’s Path” has won Grand Prix for the best film while Olga Pakalovic, who plays the role of Safija, has won Best Actress Award at the 19th International Festival of Mediterranean Films, held in Tetouan, Morocco, from the 23rd until the 30th of March, under the high patronage of the Moroccan king Mohammed VI. The president of the Jury was a well-known Italian film producer Ms. Grazia Volpi. The competiton was strong, as there were 12 films in the official program, some of which had previously won awards at the Cannes film festival.
More info: www.festivaltetouan.org
HALIMA’S PATH TRIUMPHS IN MONS
“Halima’s Path” has triumped at the 29th Mons International Film Festival D’Amour, held in Mons, Belgium from the 15th until the 22nd of February. The film got the Grand Prix for Best Film, the lead actress Alma Prica got Best Actress Award and Cinefemme Foundation from Brusseles jury awarded it Best Film Award. The president of the main jury was the French director Pascal Thomas, while the president of the Cinefemme jury was the French actress Marie Bunel. Both juries gave the awards unanimously. The Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo attended the ceremony and gave an inspirational introductory speech.
Here is an excerpt from the press release of the Cinefemme Foundation:
This marvelous women’s film and its poetic staging, chosen among a selection of 12 movies in the official competition, relates an universal story of the triumph of love against war’s absurdity.
More info: www.fifa-mons.be
NEXT FESTIVALS FOR HALIMA’S PATH
In February and March of 2013, “Halima’s Path” is scheduled for official screenings at three festival. First, it is accepted for the competition for the 29th Mons International Film Festival d’Amour, held in the Belgian city of Mons from the 15th to 22nd of February. More info: www.fifa-mons.be
It will open the non-competitive program of the Febio Fest, held from 14th – 22nd of March in Prague, Czech Republic. More info: www.febiofest.cz
The film will also participate in the compettion program of the International Festival of Mediterranean Films in Tetouan, Morocco, from 23rd – 30th of March.
More info: www.festivaltetouan.org
HALIMA’S PATH AT THE EUROPEAN FILM MARKET
“Halima’s Path” will have its market premiere at the European Film Market in Berlin, during Berlinale, on Saturday, 9th of February, at 6pm in Marriot 3 screening room. The screening is for potential buyers, sales agents and festival representatives.
More info: www.efm-berlinale.de
Facebook voting: BEST CROATIAN FILM
Croatian website filmski.net has organized Facebook voting for the best films in 2012 in the following categories: Best Croatian Film, Best Croatian Film Festival, Best Animated Film, Best Art Film and Best Blockbuster. “Halima’s Path” has overwhelmingly won in the Best Croatian Film category, with more than 300 likes.
More info: www.filmski.net
JURY PRIZE IN TALLINN
“Halima’s Path” has just achieved another international success; the film was awarded the Special Jury Prize as part of the strong competition program of the 16th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, held from November 19-27, in the Estonian city of Tallinn. In its explanation of the award, the jury states:
“Halima’s Path comforts us with the knowledge that forgiveness has the power to lead us out of even the most impossible and horrific situations.”
There were 20 feature films from Europe and Asia in the main EurAsia Competition program.
Photo by: Silver Mikiver
More info: www.poff.ee
TWO AWARDS IN COTTBUS
“Halima’s Path” won two awards at its very first international film festival, the 22nd Cottbus Film Festival of Eastern European Cinema, held from November 6-11. It received the Audience Award, topping over 50 feature film projects shown in several programs, as well as the Jury’s Special Mention. In their statement following the award, the jury pointed out:
“The film we chose for Special Mention struck all of us so deeply and emotionally, keeping us captivated from beginning to end! Therefore, this movie is our heartfelt choice.”
More info: www.filmfestivalcottbus.de
FIRST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS FOR HALIMA’S PATH
“Halima’s Path” is finally starting its festival run, invited to the official competition programs of three international film festivals taking place in 2012: 22nd Cottbus Film Festival in Germany (November 6 – 11); 16th Black Nights Film Festival in Tallin, Estonia (November 12 – 28); and 35th Cairo International Film Festival in Egypt (November 27 – December 6).
More info:
www.filmfestivalcottbus.de
www.blacknightsfilmfestival.com
www.ciff.org.eg
PREMIERE IN ZAGREB
Following its successful Sarajevo premiere, Halima’s Path opened in Zagreb on Tuesday, October 23rd, at the Cinestar Avenue Mall. It was a packed screening with most of the cast and crew present in addition to many friends, colleagues and celebrities. The Evening News of Croatian TV’s 1st Channel reported live from the event and other TV stations in Croatia also had extensive news coverage from the premiere. Similar to previous screenings in Pula, Orasje and Sarajevo, this was also an emotion packed evening. Distribution in Croatia begins on October 25th (the photo shows actresses Alma Prica, Olga Pakalovic and Daria Lorenci Flatz together with Arsen).
PREMIERE IN SARAJEVO
Halima’s Path successfully premiered in Sarajevo on Wednesday, October 17th, at the Cinema City Multiplex. It was an emotional screening, which hit close to the hearts of the residents of Sarajevo and the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the guests was the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr. Valentin Inzko. Sarajevo Mayor Alija Behmen gave an inspired introductory speech admiting that the film shook him up immensely the first time he saw it. The cast and crew of the film received a standing ovation from the audience. The distribution in Bosnia and Herzegovina begins on October 18th.
SCREENING OF “A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT” IN PORTUGAL
“A Wonderful Night In Split” will be screened on Saturday, the 22nd of September at the 28th Festroia International Film Festival in Portugal. The film is part of a special program of 7 selected feature films representing the best of Croatian cinema. As the organizers stated, “this special program is a natural consequence of more than a decade of showing Croatian films to Portuguese audiences”. More info: www.festroia.pt
AWARDS FOR “NO ONE’S SON” IN ALBANIA
The film “No One’s Son” was awarded two top awards at the 2nd Balkan Film and Food Festival, held in the Albanian city of Pogradec, from the 3rd until the 9th of September. The movie won the Grand Prix and the Jury Award. There were about 50 films in the program, from a dozen countries, including 5 films from Croatia. More info: www.balkan3f.com
“HALIMA’S PATH” AWARDED IN PULA
“Halima’s Path” was exceptionally successful at the 59th Pula Film Festival, the Croatian national film festival, held from the 21st until the 28th of July. The film received the Golden Gate of Pula Audience Award, with the highest vote in the recent history of the festival – 4.86 out of 5, as voted by 5.000 members of the audience. The interesting thing is that the film, although it is a serious drama, managed to beat even the most successful regional comedy of the decade. In addition to the Audience Award, the film got the Young Cinephiles Award, Gold Arena for the Best Supporting Actress, which went to Olga Pakalovic as well as the Special recognition of the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Meditearranean (FEDEORA). More info: www.pulafilmfestival.hr
“HALIMA’S PATH” EMOTIONAL PREMIERE IN PULA
Arsen’s third feature film “Halima’s Path” successfully premiered on the 26th of July at the Croatian national film festival – the 59th Pula Film Festival. The audience numbering more than 5.000 people gathered in the spectacular 1st century Roman Amphitheatre welcomed the cast and crew with long, standing ovations. The film provoked many tears and signaled potentially successful festival runs and distribution.
“HALIMA’S PATH”
On March 2nd, Arsen began the principal photography of his newest feature film under the working title “Halima’s Path”. It is a touching story of a good-natured Muslim woman, Halima, who unsuccessfully tries to identify the remains of her son killed in the Bosnian war. She realizes that the only solution to find his bones is to find her long lost niece who now lives in the Serbian part of Bosnia.
The shoot will last until April 6th.
The production company is Arkadena Zagreb from Croatia. The project has been funded by the Croatian Audiovisual Center, as well as with funds from the Slovenian Audiovisual Center and the Foundation for Cinema from Bosnia & Herzegovina. Three public TV stations are also participating in the production: Croatian TV, Slovenian TV and the TV of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina. The cast includes top actors from Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia.
The project is shot on film in Croatia, on locations 35 km south of Zagreb, playing the Bosnian countryside.
The premiere of “Halima’s Path” is expected in the Fall of 2012.
“A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT” AWARDED IN ALBANIA
“A Wonderful Night in Split” has been awarded the Jury Prize at the Film Food Festival in the city of Pogradec, Albania. This was the first edition of the festival; it was held from the 29th of August until the 4th of September 2011. A total of 68 short and feature films from 9 South East European countries participated in the competition. More info: www.balkan3f.com
“A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT” IN POLAND
On June 29th 2011 “A Wonderful Night in Split” has been screened in Mediateka theater, in Warsaw, Poland as part of the presentation of Croatian culture. These Days of Croatian Culture, organized by the Croatian Embassy in Warsaw, were held from the 27th of June until the 2nd of July; 9 selected feature films and several animated shorts were screened during the presentation.
“A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT” IN ROME
“A Wonderful Night in Split” has been selected as one of 11 feature films to present the Croatian cinema at the “Incontri con il cinema Croato” (“Meetings with the Croatian Cinema”) in Rome, Italy, from 11-14 of November 2010. The screenings are organized by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and will give the overwiev of the Croatian cinema from the very first feature film to the latest works. More info: www.fondazionecsc.it
DECORATION FOR POLISH FILM DIRECTOR ANDRZEJ WAJDA
Following the official proposal by the Croatian Film Director’s Guild, the President of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Ivo Josipovic has decorated famous Polish film director Mr. Andrzej Wajda for his extraordinary body of work and for standing up against the war in Croatia during the early nineties. The decoration was awarded to Mr. Wajda on October 28th, 2010. in Warsaw, Poland by the Croatian Ambassador to Poland Mr. Ivan del Vechio. Arsen has participated at the award ceremony as the President of the Croatian Film Director’s Guild. He has given Mr. Wajda an additional present from the Croatian filmmakers – a tie with motives from the city of Split – and has invited him to visit Croatia next year.
(photo: Ambassador del Vechio, Andrzej Wajda and Arsen)
“NO ONE’S SON” IN ST. PETERSBURG
“No One’s Son” has been invited to participate at the First International Film Forum which will take place in St.Petersburg, Russia from May 2-9, 2010, as part of the grand celebration of the 65th Anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism in the Second World War. The Forum program will include showcase of modern Russian and foreign films covering global conflicts of our era and retrospectives of war classics. The Film Forum is held under support of the Russian Federation Ministry of culture, St. Petersburg Governor and the City Administration. For several days Arsen will be present as a guest of the Forum, presenting the film and participating in the festivities. More info: 2010.en.spbkinoforum.ru
JURY MEMBER FOR THE DAYS OF CROATIAN CINEMA
Arsen will be serving as a member of the Jury of the 19th Days of Croatian Cinema, a national film festival which showcases newest Croatian non-theatrical audiovisual projects, from documentaries, animated, short and experimental films to commercials and music videos. The festival will be held from 6-11 of April 2010 in Zagreb’s Student Cultural Center. The other Jury members are Rada Sesic and Dean Sosa. There are 107 films in competiton, besides dozens of selected commercials and music videos. More info: www.sczg.hr
BEST ACTOR AWARD IN ORENBURG, RUSSIA
Alen Liveric has been awarded the Best Actor Award for his outstanding performance in NO ONE’S SON at the East-West International Film Festival held from 23-28 of November in Orenburg, Russia, a city on the border between Europe and Asia. There were 10 distinguished European films in the competition selection. Alen received the Gold Sarmatian Lion, a replica of a gilded figure of an lion made by Sarmatians, an ancien people who lived in the area 2500 years ago. More info: www.east-west-festival.ru
NO ONE’S SON AWARDED IN VALLADOLID
“No One’s Son” was awarded the Youth Jury Award in the “Meeting Point” program of the 54th International Film Festival in Valladolid, Spain, held from the 23rd until the 31st of October. There were 16 films from all over the world shown in this competitive program. In their statement, the jury consisting of 5 young Spanish filmmakers have stated the following: “For its harsh portrait of the social context of the post war Balkans, a complex story line which is perfectly resolved, the marvelous interpretation of the main actor, accompanied by an outstanding score and the original technique of the film”. More info: www.seminci.com
A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT SCREENED IN LONDON
Taking part in the program of the 5th European Psychoanalitic Film Festival, “A Wonderful Night in Split” was screened on Friday, October 30th, at the British Academy for Film and Television, 195 Piccadilly Street in London. The festival took place from the 29th of October untill the 1st of November and showcased prominent Central and Eastern European films with panel presentations about themes concerning European cinema and its relationship to psychoanalysis. “A Wonderful Night in Split” was presented by Croatian psychoanalyst Stanislav Matacic, the panel discussion about the film was moderated by Italian psychoanalyst Paola Golineli, while Arsen, who was present as well, answered many questions from the audience and gave more detailed insight into the process of creating the story and the film as well as his ideas behind the project. More info: www.psychoanalysis.org.uk
THREE UPCOMING FILM FESTIVALS FOR NO ONE’S SON
“No One’s Son” is scheduled to participate in official programs of the following three upcoming European film festivals:
– Sevilla European Film Festival, in Spain, from 6 -14 of November, as part of the competitive program of the European Film Academy. More info: www.festivaldesevilla.com
– Festival of European Films in Segovia, Spain, held from 18-24 of October, as part of the main program. More info: www.muces.es
– East-West Film Festival in Orenburg, Russia, held from 23-28 of October, in the main competition program. More info: www.east-west-festival.ru
GRAND PRIX IN BERGEN FOR NO ONE’S SON
“No One’s Son” was awarded the Grand Prix at the 10th International Film Festival in Bergen, Norway (21- 28 of October). The jury, consisting of three well-known Norvegian directors has chosen the film among 14 previously selected films from Europe, competing for the main award. The prize also includes 50.000 Norwegian Kroner, to be given to the director. There were total of 140 films shown at the festival. More info: www.biff.no
SCREENING OF TWO FILMS IN LONDON IN OCTOBER
Both “No One’s Son” and “A Wonderful Night in Split” will screen in the center of London in October of 2009. “No One’s Son” is participating in the competition program of Raindance Film Festival. The screenings are at Apollo Cinema, 19 Lower Regent Street, near Piccadilly Circus, on: Saturday, October 3rd, at 6:30PM; Monday, October 5th, at 3:30PM.
“A Wonderful Night in Split” will be shown at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), 195 Piccadilly, as part of the 5th European Psychoanalitic Film Festival. The screening is on Friday, October 30th at 9AM, followed by an hour long discussion. Arsen is scheduled to participate in the discussion.
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SELECTS “NO ONE’S SON”
On September 7th 2009 the European Film Academy announced that it has included “No One’s Son” in their prestigious Selection 2009, as one of the best European films during the previous year. By this “No One’s Son” gets the right to compete for the nominations for the European Film Awards, which will be announced in Sevilla on November 7th. The award ceremony will take place on December 12th in Germany. This is a great acknowledgement of the film’s qualities since there is just one additional film from the region included in the Selection 2009. (more info: www.europeanfilmacademy.org)
“NO ONE’S SON” AT 2 MORE FILM FESTIVAL IN SEPTEMBER
“No One’s Son” will participate in competition programs of two additional film festivals, taking place in September:
– Cinefest in Miskolc, Hungary, from the 11th to the 20th of September 2009. (more info: www.cinefest.hu)
– Raindance Film Festival in London, from the 30th of September to the 11th of October of 2009. The screenings will take place at the Apollo Cinema at Piccadilly. On September 11th the festival announced the shortlisted nominees for this year’s Raindance Film Festival Awards: “No One’s Son” is shortlisted in the Best International Feature category. (more info: www.raindance.co.uk)
“NO ONE’S SON” AT 44th KARLOVY VARY FILM FESTIVAL
“No One’s Son” has been included in the “East of the West” competition program of the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film will screen on July 4th and July 5th 2009; Arsen will be present to introduce the film and answer questions after the screening. (more info: www.kviff.com)
The film has also been accepted into the competition program of the 15th Film Summer Festival in Warsaw, Poland, from July 5-12, 2009.
(more info: www.latofilmow.pl)
ARSEN RECEIVES “VLADIMIR NAZOR” ANNUAL AWARD
On June 19th 2009, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Bozo Biskupic has awarded Arsen the prestigious Annual Award “Vladimir Nazor” for the best achievements in film in 2008, for directing the film “No One’s Son”. Among others, the selection committee wrote in their explanation: “The basic directorial approach is dual, seemingly incompatible: on one hand it is authentic, with great deal of truthfulness and persuasiveness, while on the other hand is stylized, emphasizing its tragic dimension…. The social and critical aspects of the film “No One’s Son”, the argument about its cultural expression, the questions about subjectivity and identity, its esthetic dimension as well as its esthetic results, strongly confirm that this is an extraordinary artistic achievement”.
AWARD FOR THE BEST CROATIAN FILM IN 2009
The web site www.film-mag.net has selected NO ONE’S SON for its annual award as the best Croatian film in 2008. The award, presented for the fifth year in a row, is in the shape of the letter “F” and will be presented to Arsen on February 1st, at the Museum Mimara. In their statement, the editors wrote: “In a well-rounded convincing and expressive story, Matisic; and Ostojic; portray Croatian reality that bears the yoke of past sins, which still continue having a destructive effect. This demanding drama has been impressively transferred to the screen visually, as well as in the aspects of directing and acting.”
MORE COMPETITION SELECTIONS
“No One’s Son” will participate in the official competition selections of the following upcoming film festivals:
– Palm Springs International Film Festival, in Palm Springs, USA,
from January 6-19 (more info: www.psfilmfest.org)
– 7th Spirit of Fire International Film Festival, in Siberia, Russia,
from February 20-26
– 37th FEST in Belgrade, Serbia, from Februay 20th to March 1st
(more info: www.fest.rs)
– 13th International Sofia Film Festival, Bulgaria, from March 6-15
(more info: www.cinema.bg/sff/2009)
– 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival in Cleveland, USA, from March 19-29 (more info: www.clevelandfilm.org)
– Vilnius International Film Festival, Lithuania, March 19th to April 2nd
OSCAR SCREENINGS
“No One’s Son” will have the following Oscars screenings during the campaign for the 81st Annual Academy Awards:
– on Thursday, December 11th at 6 PM at Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills
– on Saturday, January 3rd at 1:30 PM at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the official screening for the members of the Academy)
PRESIDENT
At the regular Annual Convention held on November 4th, Arsen has been elected the new president of the Croatian Film Director’s Guild. This post is held for 2 years, with one possibility to extend and is a non-paid position, usually offered to distinguished film directors in Croatia.
More info: www.dhfr.hr
TWO COMPETITION PROGRAMS
“No One’s Son” has been selected for the official competition program at the two upcoming European film festivals:
– 24th Warsaw International Film festival, to be held from October 10-19 in Warsaw, Poland;
– 18th Film Festival Cottbus, to be held from November 11-16 in the city of Cottbus, Germany.
More info: www.wff.pl
www.filmfestivalcottbus.de
“A WONDERFUL NIGHT…” ON DVD
The dvd of Arsen’s first film “A Wonderful Night in Split” starring rapper Coolio among others, produced by Alka Film and distributed in the United States by First Run Features in association with Global Lens, has finally hit the video stores in North America. The dvd can also be ordered through Amazon or First Run Features web sites.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
“No One’s Son” will have its international premiere at the 13th Pusan International Film Festival, held in the South Korean city of Pusan, from October 2-10. This out-of-competiton premiere will mark the first time that a Croatian film participates at an international film festival through the European Film Promotion, an organization established to promote quality European films in the world. Croatian Ambassador to Japan and South Korea Mr. Drago Stambuk will be present at the screenings in Pusan.
More info: www.piff.org
www.efp-online.com
CROATIAN CANDIDATE FOR OSCAR
On September 12th, the 17-member committee of the Croatian Filmmakers Association has selected “No One’s Son” to be the official Croatian representative for the 81st Annual Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. This is the second time that Arsen’s film is an official Croatian representative for the Academy Awards – in 2006 it was his highly successful first film “A Wonderful Night in Split”.
CROATIAN PREMIERE
“No One’s Son” had its Croatian premiere on September 3rd in the city of Sisak, close to the border with Bosnia, where most of the shooting took place. It was a rare occasion that a major Croatian film was shot in this city and had its premiere there. The premiere was attended by the mayor of Sisak Mr. Dinko Pintarić, other local dignitaries and many cast and crew members. After the premiere the film had a very successful one-week run in the local cinema, achieving its best box office results yet this year.
ABSOLUTE WINNER IN PULA
No One’s Son became the absolute winner of the 55th Pula Film Festival, held at the Croatian coastal city of Pula from July 19-26th. The film was awarded the following:
Gold Arena for the Best Film
Gold Arena for the Best Director
Gold Arena for the Best Lead Actor
Gold Arena for the Best Music
Gold Arena for the Best Special Effects
Gold Arena for the Best Sound Design
Critics Award “Oktavijan”
In the popular vote for the Audience Award, the film was second, losing the first place for a fraction of a point.
More info: www.pulafilmfestival.hr
NO ONE’S SON IN CANNES
The first public screenings of Arsen’s new feature film NO ONE’S SON, produced
by Alka Film from Zagreb, in association with Croatian TV and TV Slovenia and financially supported by the Croatian Ministry of Culture will happen as part of
the Film Market during the 61st Cannes Film Festival. There are two scheduled screenings, primarily intended for film professionals, distributors and journalists:
Tuesday, May 20, at 10:00 at Palais G screening room
Thursday, May 22, at 17:30 at Palais B screening room
These screenings are organized by the Croatian AudioVisual Center, as part of the presentation of the newly produced Croatian films.
THE HUNTING PARTY
During the Fall of 2006 (with additional shooting in the Winter of 2007), Arsen
was the 2nd unit director on THE HUNTING PARTY, a new film by Richard
Shepard (“The Matador”), starring Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Diane Kruger.
The producers were Mark Johnson (“The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Rain Man”)
and Scott Kroopf (“The Last Samurai”, “Runaway Bride”).
The film successfully premiered in the USA in the Fall of 2007, distributed by
The Weinstein Company.
TWO FESTIVALS OF CROATIAN FILMS
“A Wonderful Night in Split” is invited to participate at two presentations of Croatian films during the early Fall of 2007: The first one is the “Croatian Film Festival – NYC” organized by Doors Art Foundation, to be held in the Museum of Moving Image and Tribeca Cinemas in New York, from 13-16 of September.
More info on www.cffnyc.com
The second presentation is “Closer Croatia – Croatian Film Festival” organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in UK, to be held at Riverside Studios in London from 11-14 of October.
More info on www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Arsen is scheduled to attend both screenings and participate in the program.
54. PULA FILM FESTIVAL
Arsen Anton Ostojic was elected the president of the Jury for the 54th Pula Film Festival, held from the 12th to the 21st of July 2007 in the Croatian coastal city of Pula. This festival is a Croatian national film festival, traditionally held during the summer in the famous 1st century Roman amphitheater featuring all films made in Croatia in the previous year.
The other members of the jury were: actor Tonko Lonza, film critic Diana Nenadic, musician Tamara Obrovac and cinematographer Branko Linta.
NO ONE’S SON
During 32 days of shooting in March and April of 2007 Arsen directed his second feature film “NO ONE’S SON”, based on a contemporary play by Croatian playwright Mate Matisic and produced by Jozo Patljak from Alka Film. The film centers on Ivan, a 36-year old ex-rock singer and a disillusioned war veteran who lost both legs in the recent Croatian Homeland War. Ivan discovers a dark family secret which fundamentally changes his life he now wants to end. The film was shot in Sisak and Zagreb, in Super 35mm. The principal cast consists of leading Croatian actors: Alen Liveric as Ivan, Mustafa Nadarevic as his father, Biserka Ipsa as his mother, Zdenko Jelcic as a Serbian refugee, Darija Lorenci as Ivan’s ex-wife, a newcomer Niksa Mirksic as Ivan’s son, Goran Grgic as the police inspector, Slaven Knezovic as Mika, among others. The film was financed by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, Croatian Television and Alka Film, with the participation of Television Slovenia.
ARS SEPTIMA SCREENWRITING PRIZE
The non-profit organization Ars Septima, headed by Arsen A. Ostojic, created to foster young and undiscovered screenwriting talents in Croatia, announced the winner for the 2007 National Competition. The selection committee with Zvonimir Berkovic, Ante Tomic and Arsen A. Ostojic awarded Hrvoje Sadaric for his script “F20”. The winner received 10,000 Croatian kunas and the right to participate as the Croatian national winner in the competition for the well-known Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Prize organized by the Foundation for International Film Artists from Los Angeles. There were total of 50 screenplays submitted for the national competition, which is considered a success, considering how difficult it is for up-and-coming screenwriters in Croatia to get their first break.
The submission deadline for the 2008 competition will be January 18th 2008.
More info on www.arsseptima.hr
US DISTRIBUTION FOR “A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT”
“A Wonderful Night in Split” has been acquired by Global Film Initiative from New York for U.S. distribution and it will be included in the Global Lens slate of films in 2007. The Global Lens film series was launched in 2003 to support the distribution of unique and critically acclaimed cinematic works. Since its founding, the series has provided a platform for exceptional storytelling and opened a window into the diverse world in which we live. “A Wonderful Night in Split” will have special screenings throughout the U.S. in selected venues, such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, The California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, The San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, The Wexner Center of the Arts in Columbus, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Academy of Arts in Honolulu and a dozen others. It will be available on DVD through First Run Features.
• More info: globalfilm.org/a-wonderful-night-in-split
GRAND PRIX IN BRUXELLES
“A Wonderful Night in Split” has been awarded Grand Prix as the best film of the 9th Festival of Mediterranean Films, held in Bruxelles from the 23rd of November till the 2nd of December 2006. There were total of 66 films from Mediterranean countries shown at the festival.
The award also includes 5,000 Euros from the Minister Francoise Dupuis for theatrical distribution in Belguim, as well as bilingual French-Flemish subtitles from Laser Title Industries.
This Grand Prix presents the 23rd award or recognition given both nationally or internationally to “A Wonderful Night In Split”. This festival also most likely wraps up the 2-year long festival tour for the film, during which it has been screened at 28 festivals or selections in competition, 11 festivals out of competition and 7 special international screenings.
AWARDS IN NORTH CAROLINA
“A Wonderful Night in Split” has been awarded 4 awards at the 8th RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem in North Carolina, USA, held from March 16th to 19th. The film was awarded the
– Best Narrative Feature Film,
– Best Director,
– Best Screenplay and
– Best Cinematography awards
in the narrative feature category. More than 80 features, documentaries and shorts participated in the competition.
3 FESTIVALS IN THE UNITED STATES IN MARCH
“A Wonderful Night in Split” will participate at three international film festivals in the USA in March of 2006. These festivals are:
*RiverRun International Film Festival
in Winston-Salem, North Carlina, from 16-19 of March; screenings are
– on Friday, the 17th at 3:30PM and
– on Saturday the 18th at 10:30PM
*30th Cleveland International Film Festival
in Cleveland, Ohio, from 16-26 of March; screenings are
– on Thursday, the 23rd at 9:45AM and
– on Friday, the 24th at 4:45PM
*Silverlake International Film Festival
in Los Angeles, from 24-30 of March; the screening is on Monday,
the 27th of March at 7:45PM in ArcLight Cinema, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd
(at Vine) in Hollywood.
PREMIERE OF A PLAY “BILLIE HOLIDAY”
On February 11th 2006, the Croatian National Theater in Split has premiered an original play “Billie Holiday”, starring Ksenija Prohaska, Robert Kurbasa and Ivan Bozicevic, co-written and directed by Arsen Anton Ostojic. The play depicts just one hour from the life of a famous jazz singer Billie Holiday, after she was released from a prison and just before she had a major concert in Carnagie Hall in New York. This is the first theatrical experience for Arsen and it marks a very successful collaboration with the lead actress and the co-writer Ksenija Prohaska.
ACADEMY AWARDS SCREENINGS
“A Wonderful Night in Split” will have a total of 6 screenings on the West Coast during the first half of January 2006 as part of the campaign for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. These screenings are:
– Friday, January 6 at 9:15 PM, at Regal Theater, Palm Springs
– Saturday, January 7 at 5:15PM – a closed Academy screening in LA
– Sunday, January 8 at 2:30 PM at Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater in LA
– Tuesday, January 10 at 1:30 PM at Regal Theater, Palm Springs
– Friday, January 13 at 9:00 PM at Smith Rafael Film Center, San Francisco
– Sunday, January 15 at 8:30 PM at Smith Rafael Film Center, San Francisco.
QIFF: THE BEST DIRECTOR AWARD
Arsen Anton Ostojic has been awarded the Best Director Award for A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT at the 3rd Queens International Film Festival, held from 17th to 20th of November in the Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, New York.
More than 100 films, including almost feature films, participated in the competition. Director Ostojic was present at the awards ceremony to accept the award.
This film is an official Croatian entry for the next year’s Oscar Awards. This is already the 18th award or an accolade which this film has received in the past 15 months since it first screened at a film festival.
SPECIAL JURY MENTION IN MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
“A Wonderful Night in Split” was awarded the Special Jury Mention at the 27th Festival of Mediterranean Films held in the French city of Montpellier from the 20th until the 30th of October 2005.
This award is the 17th domestic or international award or an accolade given to this film.
* The photo shows Arsen on the stage accepting the award in front of the jury (photo by Eric Catarina; click on photo for larger view)
AUDIENCE AWARD IN HUNGARY
“A Wonderful Night in Split” is awarded the Audience Award at the 1st International Film Festival in Pecs, Hungary. The festival was held from the 27th of September until the 2nd of October 2005. A total of 25 films from a dozen Central and Eastern European countries participated at the festival.
THE OFFICIAL CROATIAN ENTRY
The Film Artists’ Association of Croatia has selected “A Wonderful Night in Split” on September 30th, 2005 as the official Croatian entry for the 78 Annual Academy Awards, in the Foreign Language category. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles will announce all nominations by the end of January 2006. Last year, “A Wonderful Night in Split” was nominated by the European Film Academy for the “Discovery-Fassbinder Award” as the best first or second film in Europe in 2004.
GRAND PRIX IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA
“A Wonderful Night in Split” was awarded the Grand Prix for the best film at Black Sea Film Festival held from the 10th until the 14th of August, 2005 in the coastal city of Constanta, Romania. The international jury, whose president was the well-known British producer Mr. Nik Powell, the president of the European Film Academy, has also awarded the film the Award for the Best Camera. In addition, the separate jury of distinguished Romanian film critics has awarded the film their Critics Award. There were 25 feature films shown at the festival from a dozen countries. The awards ceremony was broadcast live on the Romanian National TV.
* The photo shows the president of the jury Mr. Nik Powell handing the award to Arsen. (photo by Mirel Leventer; click on photo for larger view)
SCREENING IN VENICE
There will be a special screening of the film “A Wonderful Night in Split” during the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, 4th of September, at 5:00 PM in Sala Zorzi, Palazzo del Cinema
“EASTWEST FILM DISTRIBUTION” SIGNS ON
EastWest Filmdistribution company signed on to represent and distribute “A Wonderful Night in Split” worldwide. EastWest Filmdistribution is a feature film sales company which specializes in the promotion and sale of quality European and Independent feature films, with offices in Vienna, London and in Los Angeles. It was founded in November 2004 by Sasha Wieser and Steve Walsh who each have over thirty years experience across all aspects of international film production and distribution. With a strong global network of experienced film professionals, EastWest has a passion for world cinema and a firm belief that the films we represent deserve and will find a worldwide audience.
CITY OF ZAGREB ANNUAL AWARD
The Mayor of the City of Zagreb has awarded Arsen Anton Ostojic a prestigious annual City of Zagreb Award for his outstanding cultural contribution in film during the previous year. The gala ceremony was held in Dverce castle on May 31st 2005.
SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
“A Wonderful Night in Split” will participate in the main competition program of the 31st Seattle International Film Festival in USA (May 19th to June 12th). The screening dates are: June 8th at 9:45 PM and June 10th at 5 PM. Arsen will personally attend the screenings. (May 9, 2005)
AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE SCREENING
The film “A Wonderful Night in Split” will be screened on the 7th of April in Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street, in Santa Monica, starting at 7:30 PM as part of the American Cinematheque presentation of Croatian films.
(March 15, 2005)
MARKET SCREENINGS IN BERLIN
“A Wonderful Night in Split” will be screened at the Market during the Berlinale. Two screening dates are: February 12th at 5 PM in Cinestar 4 and February 16th at 9:45 AM in Arsenal theatre. Film will be represented by the distributor East-West Distribution from Vienna/London.
(January 31, 2005)
BEST FILM BY THE SURVEY OF CROATIAN FILM CRITICS
Croatian-based monthly film magazine “Hollywood” in its January 2005 edition had published a survey of 26 most eminent Croatian film critics who have chosen “A Wonderful Night in Split” as the best Croatian film in the past 5 years.
Voters:
Tomislav Kurelac
Nenad Polimac
Gordan Bobinac
Elvis Lenic
Damir Primorac
Josko Celan
Alemka Lisinski
Damir Radic
Matija Curic
Zeljko Luketic
Daniel Rafaelic
Vlado Ercegovic
Diana Nenadic
Dragan Rubesa
Jurica Heidl
Marko Njegic
Vladimir Sever
Dragan Jurak
Arsen Oremovic
Ivo Skrabalo
Jakov Kosanovic
Sanjin Petrovic
Igor Tomljanovic
Bruno Kragic
Bosko Picula
Aldo Paquola
(January 5, 2005)