On Friday, August 18th, a press conference was held on the Vladimir Nazor promenade in Sisak for the 10th Star Film Fest, which will take place in Sisak from Thursday, August 31st till Saturday, September 2nd, 2023.
Festival director Matija Holjevac, festival producer Tomo Rajić, competition program selector Martina Mladenović, Sisak mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček and representative of SFF’s general sponsor, INA Damir Butković spoke about the upcoming edition at the press conference.
“THIS YEAR IS THE JUBILEE YEAR…”
“This year is a jubilee year,” emphasized festival director Matija Holjevac in his opening remarks. With this edition, the organizers tried to summarize all the last 10 years of the festival, which, according to the director, resulted in a lot of quality content.
In the realization of the festival, for the last three years since the earthquake hit the area of Sisak-Moslavina County, the biggest obstacle has been the location itself, which resulted in the festival being held from edition to edition at different locations, and this year those locations are the Sisak City Museum and the Vladimir Nazor promenade, a green oasis in the center of the city, which, as Holjevac says, is an idea “already seven years old that is finally being realized.”
SELECTION OF FILMS THAT SURROUNDS THE ENTIRE WORLD
Film selector Martina Mladenović presented this year’s competition program. Out of a total of 978 short films submitted from around the world, 38 of them will be shown at the tenth Star Film Fest in the categories of documentary, feature, animated and experimental films. Mladenović emphasized that this year’s selection is specific due to the large number of films from Croatia and the region, although the selection “circles the whole world”, which shows that SFF attracts directors and filmmakers from all over the world.
The “Grand Jury” of the festival, consisting of actor Goran Grgić, director Goran Dević, director and producer Bobby Boško Grubić, cinematographer Davor Bjelanović and screenwriter and writer Bojana Babić, will award a total of 11 awards, and this year’s edition is also specific for the “small jury” which consists of high school students from Sisak and Petrin, who will award the Award for the best student film.
PROGRAM OF THE 10TH STAR FILM FEST
Tomo Rajić, the producer of the festival, introduced this year’s program, which consists of the workshop “Video production for social networks“, a panel discussion “AI in the world of film“, two screenings of out-of-competition films – the documentary “Deserters” by actor and director Damir Markovina and “The Diary of Paulina P” Neven Hitrec. The evening program will be left to relaxation and music with concerts by Sisak bands L.H.D. and Pristojni Jeleni, a performance by the famous hip-hop artist Kandžija and a set by the king of the party, DJ Kneža.
The mayor of the city of Sisak, Kristina Ikić Baniček, emphasized that 10 years ago she had the honor and pleasure of attending the birth of a story called Star Film Fest, which, as she says, has grown into a tradition, but also a serious film festival that brings the whole world to the city of Sisak.
The representative of the general sponsor of INA, Damir Butković, also addressed the media and stated that INA is proud to support SFF this year as well and that they are always ready to support events that contribute to increasing the quality of life of the local communities where we operate and provide assistance in enriching cultural and tourist offers. We believe that a good relationship between business and culture contributes to the development of a successful society.
You can watch the entire press conference on the official Facebook page of Star Film Fest, and for any additional information you can contact us at info@sfilmfest.com.
