FESTIVAL

Artistic vision

The Festival is open to all new, creative, innovative, personal, radical, subversive etc. work (film, video, new media), of all lengths and genres, preferably from outside the mainstream, whether it’s involving traditional film techniques, or the latest technology of digital image.

“The energy and the artist’s personal vision we may feel in some of the works presented at the Festival might alter a little our conscience, lower our self-importance, thus helping us to break the chains that bind us to our everyday habits and hopefully let us endure and even find a delight in this horrible, yet the most beautiful world.”

History

The International Festival of New Film / Split Film Festival is the oldest international film / media manifestation of the Republic of Croatia. Ever since it was instituted in Split in 1996, the Festival promotes new, creative, personal, experimental, radical and subversive works, of all lengths, styles and genres, generally produced outside the mainstream, all the while keeping its primary focus on excellence and outstanding achievements. The Festival programme comprises a selection of titles from recent world film production, films screened and awarded on many well-known (Rotterdam, Berlinale, Cannes) and lesser-known festivals around the world. In addition, these are generally all Croatian premieres, which is why the Festival’s programme is hailed as one of the most significant film festivals in Croatia.

The International Competitions for Features and Shorts make for the core of the programme. Particular attention is paid to authors who do not hesitate to explore the aesthetic potential of film as medium, testing the boundaries of the visual language and thereby refining the taste of the audience. Two international juries bestow the Grand Prix upon the best features and shorts from the competitive sections.Aside from the competitions, the programme comprises – or has been known so far to comprise – the following sections: New Media (from the very beginnings supporting a more creative concept of moving pictures – for a few years, this was also a competitive programme juried by a number of world-renowned names), together with Forum 3, Gender, Reflections, Frame extended and Special Programme.

As part of its aim to endorse the dialogue between the national and the local cinemas on the one said, and their dialogue with the international film scene on the other, the Festival has realised a number of retrospectives, workshops, lectures and presentations of leading experts from the film art scene. To name but a few of the world-wide import, the retrospectives dedicated to Béla Tarr and Lars von Trier in 2001, as well as the retrospective of the Brazilian Cinema Novo and lesser-known works of Orson Welles. Also, the Festival has presented Croatian shorts in Rome and Paris.

Furthermore, the Split Film Festival has realised many cultural projects of considerable significance over the particular editions. Some of the most famous examples are the 2011 international film workshop conducted by Béla Tarr, famous Hungarian director, the 2009 retrospective of Nam June Paik, one of the greatest contemporary artist and the father of video art, first drive-in cinema, 2013 Monument Film Retrospective with a lecture delivered by Peter Kubelka, the father of film avant-garde, as well as the multi-media Midnight Moment project that was realised the same year, in collaboration with the New York Streaming Museum.

STFF is also known for its visual identity developed over the years, designs of (among others) Gorki Žuvela, Boris Ljubičić, Viktor Popović, Peter Bilak (the Netherlands) and Duje Škaričić. The Festival is well known for its specific style, posters and catalogues, not only across the country, but also worldwide.

Awards

Special Festival Award

Awards

Special Festival Award

2018

COMPETITION FEATURES

The Competition Features jury: Andrés Goteira, Joško Jerončić and Maja Kranjc has decided to reward two films.

GRAND PRIX

Grand Prix goes to Roman Bondarchuk’s VOLCANO, UA/DE, 2018, a multi-layered fairy tale that at the same time depicts a bitter reality with an ease.

HONORABLE MENTION

Special mention (Honorable Mention) goes to Sonja Prosenc’s HISTORY OF LOVE SI 201: with great amount of sensibility and unique aesthetics the film deals with a traumatic experience.

COMPETITION SHORTS

In the Competition Shorts category, the jury, consisting of Marina Gumzi, Toni Meštrović and Jan Soldat, has decided to reward the following films:

GRAND PRIX

FLAME, Sami van Ingen, FI 2018.
A celebration of a fortunate accident – discovery of a nitrate reel of a supposedly lost Finish film from the 1930s. But it is not only that: it is also a whole new show! Digital intervention is used to heal damaged continuity and to re-create the narration with new accents. Combination of filmmaking techniques from different eras creates a delightful cinematic experience, complexly built but light in its flow, and fresh despite the fact that it is grounded on an old and damaged source.

TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS:

SCIPIO’S ELEPHANTS, David Pantaleon / Pilar Aldea, ES, 2018.
A curious miniature that offers a short yet enigmatic plunge into the unidentified southern land inhabited by men, dogs, harvesting machines and the guardian of fire. The film draws its charms from the powerful cinematography and compact editing, as well as from the semiotic openness through which the audience can assign own meaning to the narration.

END CYCLE, Vladislav Knežević, HR, 2017.
The captivating use of the continuous circular flow of the camera and the visceral quality of sounds of cracking of the skin of performer’s slow transformation provide an experience of a both futuristic and historical scope. By translating a humanistic stance into a coherent filmic entity, END CYCLE offers a forceful meditation on destruction, suffering and the resistance of the body.

2017

COMPETITION FEATURES

The Competition Features jury: Caroline Chomienne (France), Hrvoje Hribar (Croatia) and Matthew Noel-Todd (United Kingdom) has decided to award:

GRAND PRIX

Andres Goteira
DHOGS
Spain

HONOURABLE MENTION

Jun Geng
FREE AND EASY
Hong Kong

Igor Bezinovic
SHORT EXCURSION
Croatia

COMPETITION SHORTS

The Competition Shorts jury: Dusko Dimitrovski (Austria), Merel Mirage (Netherlands) and Ivan Vidic (Croatia) has decided to award:

GRAND PRIX

Michael Miroshnik
DUST AND DELIGHTS
Israel

HONOURABLE MENTION

Irena Jukic Pranjic
GAMER GIRL
Croatia

Stefanie Kolk
CLAN
Netherlands

Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata
NEGATIVE SPACE
France

IVAN MARTINAC AWARD

Igor Bezinovic
SHORT EXCURSION
Croatia

2016

COMPETITION FEATURES

GRAND PRIX
Felipe Guerrero, Colombia
OSCURO ANIMAL

HONORABLE MENTION / SPECIAL AWARDS
Sergei Loznitsa, Ukraine
SOBYTIE / THE EVENT

COMPETITION SHORTS

GRAND PRIX
Ashim Ahluwalia, India
EVENTS IN A CLOUD CHAMBER

HONORABLE MENTION / SPECIAL AWARDS
Masahiro Tsutani, Japan
MOVEMENTS ARISING FROM DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS / BETWEEN REGULARITY AND IRREGULARITY II

Jela Hasler, Switzerland
THE MEADOW

SPECIAL FESTIVAL AWARD

For the outstanding contribution to the art of the moving image

Albert Serra
Spain

2015

COMPETITION FEATURES

GRAND PRIX
Juan Daniel F. Molero
VIDEOFILIA (Y OTROS SÍNDROMES VIRALES) / VIDEOPHILIA (AND OTHER VIRAL SYNDROMES)
Peru

SPECIAL AWARDS
Ingo Haeb
DAS ZIMMERMÄDCHEN LYNN / THE CHAMBERMAID LYNN
Germany

Damir Čučić
RAKIJAŠKI DNEVNIK / THE SPIRITS DIARY
Croatia

COMPETITION SHORTS

GRAND PRIX
Maryam Tafakory
I WAS FIVE WHEN I BECAME A WOMAN
United Kingdom

SPECIAL AWARDS
Daria Yurkevich
MAMIE, VANYA ET LA CHÈVRE / GRANNY, VANYA AND THE GOAT
France, Belarus

Izumi Yoshida
KINKI
Poland

2014

Competition Features
George Ovashvili
SIMINDIS KUNDZULI / CORN ISLAND

Special Mention
Antoine d’Agata
ATLASYorgos Tsemberopoulos
O EHTHROS MOV / THE ENEMY WITHIN

Competition Shorts
Guido Hendrikx
ESCORT

Special Mention
Karimah Ashadu
LAGOS SAND MERCHANTSShatha al-Haddad / Diaa al-Haddad / Abdelkarim al-Haddad / Yoav Gross / Ehab Tarabieh
IM TEKHAYEKH, HA’OLAM YEKHAYEKH ELEKHA / Smile, and the World Will Smile Back

2013

Competition Features
José Luis Valle
WORKERS

Special Mention
Mira Fornay
MÔJ PES KILLER / MY DOG KILLERJ. P. Sniadecki/ Xu Ruotao/ Huang Xiang
YUMEN

Competition Shorts
Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
YADERNI WYDHODY / NUCLEAR WASTE

2012

Competition Features
Matias Meyer
LOS ÚLTIMOS CRISTEROS / THE LAST CRISTEROS

Special Mention
Alessandra Comodin
L’ESTATE DI GIACOMO / SUMMER OF GIACOMO

Competition Shorts
Jan van Ijken
FACING ANIMALS

Special Mention
Vedran Šamanović / Sanja Šamanović
TERASA
Johan Rijpma TAPE GENERATION

2011

Competition Features
Bakur Bakuradze
THE HUNTER

Special Mention
Nikolaus Geyrhalter
ABENDLANDChristopher Murray / Pablo Carrera
MANUEL DE RIBERA

Competition Shorts
Igor Chojna
SEANS W KINIE TATRY / SCREENING AT THE TATRY CINEMA

Special Mention
Milja Viita
MONSTER ATTACKPascal Fendrich / Bernd Härpfer
STARGATE

2010

Competition Features
Charlotte Lim Lay Kuen / Malazija
LI FA DIAN DE NU ER / MY DAUGHTER

Special Mention
Johan Grimonprez
DOUBLE TAKE

Competition Shorts
Vuk Jevremović
PATIENCE OF THE MEMORY

Special Mention
Salh Diab i Yoni Gueta
LOOM

2009

Competition Features
Kevin Feng Ke
LETTERS FROM DEATH ROW

Competition Shorts
Bif – DIX

Special Mention
Blu – MUTO
Christine Webster – BLINDFIELD

2008

Competition Features
Albert Serra
EL CANT DELS OCCELS

Competition Shorts
Anssi Kasitonni TUTKIJAT / THE INVESTIGATORS

Special Mention
Rezaei Muradi Batol
LAILA

2007

Competition Features
Maria Saakyan
MAJAK

Special Mention
Albert Serra HONOR DE CAVALERIA

Competition Shorts
John Smith, PYRAMIDS / SKUNK (HOTEL DIARIES 5/6)

Special Mention
Yoni Bentovim / Emily Harris, THREE TOWERSDamir Čučić, LA PETITE MORTBrian Dugan Block, FAST, FASTER, FASTEST (AMERICAN ATTRITION)

2006

Competition Features
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
BABEL

Special Mention
Zhang Lu
GRAIN IN EARLech Kowalski EAST OF PARADISE

Competition Shorts
Edouard Salier / FLASH

Special Mention
Juanto Gimenez / MAXIMA PENAEmily Rochardson PETROLIA

New Media
Edwin van der Heide
SOUND MODULATED LIGHT

Special Mention
Christophe Auger & Laure Sainte Rose IMPRO N*6

2005

Competition Features
Jon Jost
HOMECOMING

Special Mention
Martijn Veldhoen,
(why do I keep going) FORWARD

Competition Shorts
Dariusz Krzeczek
LUUKKAANKANGAS UPDATED, REVISTEDPim Zwier
ROOSJE’S ATHLEET 35133

2004

Competition Features
Mohammad Schirvani
NAHF

Competition Shorts
Johann Lurf, (UNTITLED)

Special Mention
Marija Prusina
UTERUSOle Bendtzen, VENTER PA JOE

New Media
Gubo Gas
SHIMMY SHIMMY GRASS

Special Mention
Rosa Barba PIRATE SPACESThe Labyrinth Project,
BLEEDING THROUGH LAYERS OF LOS ANGELES 1920 – 1986

2003

Competition Features
Elissa Maree Down

Competition Video
George Barber

Special Mention
Oliver Pietsch
Chris Sheperd

Competition New Media
Robert Arnold

2002

Competition Features
Marat Magambetow

Special Mention
Nicole Hewitt
Gabriele Neudecker

Competition Video
Sandra Kogut

Special Mention
Tim Etchells
Carmelo Bene
Donigan Cumming

Competition New Media
Michelle Glaser, Andrew Hutchinson, Marie Louise Xavier

Special Mention
Hung Keung
Mark Amerika
G. H. Hovagimyan & Peter Sinclair

2001

Competition Features
Audrius Stonys

Competition Video
James Leech

Special Mention
Fabio Fiandrini / Ennio Ruffolo
Junko Wada

Competition New Media
Mouchette

Special Mention
Christopher CsikszentmihalyCesare Davolio

2000

Competition Features
Ben van Lieshout
Peter Tscherkassky

Special Mention
Jean Luc Godard
Matt Hulse

Competition Video
Andreas Gedin

Special Mention
Dan Geesin / Esther Rots
Selina Trepp
Herwig Weiser

Competition New Media
Andreja Kuluncic

Special Mention
Calin Dan
Giles Rollestone
Andrej Velikanov & Julia

1999

Competition Features
Ana Torfs

Special Mention
Avi Mograbi
Nicole Hewitt

Competition Video
Valerie Pavia

Special Mention
David Larcher
Laurel Swenson
Chantal Akerman

Competition New Media
Elsa Stansfield / Madelon Hooykaas

Special Mention
Roza El Hasan
Dan Oki

1998

Competition Features
Alyson Bell

Special Mention
Rada Sesic
M. & P. de Nooijer

Competition Video
Andrej Zdravič

Special Mention
Mounir Fatmi
Sandra Kogut Detkina Tania

1997

Competition Features
Jacob Thoesen

Special Mention
Malcolm Crowe
Thomas Keip

Competition Video
Vladislav Knezević

Special Mention
Jesper Bernt & Kare V.Polusen

Competition New Media
Jutta Kirchgeorg