Guestbook
I like it here very much. I like it because here you can see films that otherwise you cannot see in other festivals that are definitely much more mainstream than this one. The other reason is the city itself, the whole atmosphere. I feel very pleasant here. I am really glad to be here and to have the opportunity to watch films that otherwise you can’t see neither in the television nor in the cinema. So in that sense this festival is a kind of window into that kind of films that I certainly like but don’t have the opportunity to see.
This is the first time that I’m in the Split Film Festival. My impression is that it has a very good program, very tough program with a combination of experimental and popular films, but with more art cinema than commercial and mainstream. We have a festival like this in Italy, but it is an honour for me to be here.
I love the city very much. And I think that the selection of films is very different. They all have in common that their authors don’t make compromises. You have many movies to choose from, and you will probably love some and you will not like other ones. But I think that is a very good variety for a festival.
The programme of the Festival is remarkably brave, worthwhile, intriguing and challenging. It is very rare that a festival presents films of promising directors, that are not in a wide distribution, and that is why I have to congratulate Branko and the whole crew of the festival.
Moreover, Split Film Festival is one of the few festivals that produces its own films, that allowed young filmmakers to make their short films in only two weeks under the mentorship of the great Bela Tarr. That is something really valuable that the croatian government, relevant institutions and foundations must recognize and support. The festival deserves a much bigger support than it gets now.
Croatia has a lot of film festivals, but usually people think that they must be entertaining, commercial, mainstream oriented, they expect parties, celebrations and so on, but everyone forgets serious films and serious film making. Only a few festivals nurture young film makers and film making, only a few of them take risks. Split Film Festival does that, and that’s why it is a rarity.
It is an exciting location to be and it is interesting for me to screen my film here considering that the screening is inside the old city which was built in the 3rd century, very long time ago. In my film „Songs from the Nickel“ the buildings that are old there are from the end of the 19th century and that already seems like ancient ancient history that is disappearing whereas here it is so much older but it is very present .
I came here ten years ago and I shared room with John Smith, very eminent English filmmaker. We had very good time and we have very good time now. Split is very nice city, very pleasant city to visit. You have a very interesting festival with an interesting mix of different works, from art house cinema to avant-garde cinema. It’s quite diverse. I think you have a festival that has no equal in Europe. There are a number of festivals, in Germany in particular, but for the country of size of Croatia, it’s a relatively small country, it’s a very big festival and important festival. I am very pleased to be included in the program and to come here again after ten years. I wanted to bring Rosemary [producer of the film “Not You Again!“]. I’ve known her for 15 years and I told her about the first time I came here. I told her it is a great city, that it was the home of Roman emperor Diocletian. It is a great place to be.
My impression is that this is a very important festival and there is a great diversity. Also films from the past are brought forward such as Miklos Jancso. These fantastic films are tucked away that can get forgotten if you don’t keep showing them like here. Plus the weather is fantastic and being English that’s great.
The festival is wonderful. It has a very particular choice of movies which I like. I like to open my mind to another styles and not just conventional movies. So that’s important that this kind of festival exists for me. Good choice of movies, nice and intimate ambience. It encourages me to do more movies. The festival is a good inspiration.
It’s an amazing town and it is a wonderful festival. There is sun, sea, wonderful food and audience for your film – what more do you want!
Split Film Festival continues with a good quality, carefully selected program while on the other side it continues to show us eternal classics of the world film such as Miklos Jancso and Bela Tarr. It is great honour that they are guests of the festival. I think that Split Film Festival stands out from a bunch of festivals that we have now in Croatia, not only because it is one of the first that started this festival fever, but because it continues to educate the audience in terms of film. It regards a rarely cinephile festival which at the same time represents new media practices and experimentation in feature and short films, but classic works as well.
I am very happy to be in Split as I have never been in Croatia before. I like the city very much, and this stone and marble reminds me of Italian cities. As for my film, it was a very good screening, there was a lot of people and they all stayed until the end which is a good sign as it’s quite extreme subject. Most of them stayed for Q&A, there were a lot of questions and we had a long discussion, so I think it was a very good screening. In the daytime the sun and the beach, watching great films in the evening – it is a nice festival!
