As part of the program of the 13th Star Film Fest, the “Cyanotype” workshop will take place, dedicated to one of the oldest photographic techniques that brings photography back to its very essence – light.
The workshop will be held on Friday, August 21, 2026, at 11:30 AM at Kazalište 21, where participants will have the opportunity to discover the magic of the analogue photographic process and create their own unique blue prints. Participation in the workshop is free, but it is necessary to fill out the online registration form, which you can find here.
Light is the heart of film, but also the foundation of cyanotype, a historical photographic process that predates digital technologies, colour film, and contemporary photography. This unique technique creates recognizable blue prints through the action of light alone, offering participants the opportunity to experience photography in a completely new way through a slower, experimental process.
During the workshop, participants will explore the entire cyanotype-making process – from preparing the surface and creating compositions to exposing them to light and developing their own photographic prints. Inspired by this year’s festival theme, Light, participants will create unique works that connect film, photography, nature, and everyday objects.
The workshop is intended for adults, regardless of previous photographic experience. Applications are open, and the number of participants is limited.
The workshop will be led by Martina Mladenović, selector of the Star Film Fest, author of the creative handbook “Cyanotype – The Magical Blue Old Photography Technique”, and holder of the intangible cultural heritage listing “The Art of Making Photographs Using Historical Processes”, inscribed in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia.
Through her work, Martina Mladenović explores light as a medium of creation, connecting historical photographic techniques with botany, heritage, and personal experience. In her authorial exhibition “Cyan&Tea”, she observes cyanotype and the tea ceremony as related rituals in which time, light, water, plants, and attention become equally important creative tools as the artistic gesture itself.
The cyanotype workshop is an invitation to slow down, observe, and create – a meeting with light as the oldest photographic tool.
