Zagreb Film Festival is taking place since 2003, presenting to the audience the best of recent independent international and domestic film production. From its beginning, ZFF is oriented towards discovering and promoting contemporary independent film and debut films of directors from around the world, and special category Chekers is dedicated to Croatian directors. In 2020, ZFF launches internet platform croatian.filmwhich became central place for the online promotion and viewing of Croatian films worldwide. With more than two decades of their activity as a festival, and later also as a distribution platform, ZFF played a crucial role in bringing up generations of audiences who enjoy film art.

Zagreb Film Festival will present a selection of short films from their official Short Competition Programme and Checkers 2023.

FILMS:

Short Cut Grass, David Gašo, Croatia, 2023., 26'

An early summer evening starts with a game. As one kid counts to three thousand, the others hide in a row of suburban gardens. Meanwhile, a young father spends the evening with someone else’s child, an old man awaits a call that will change his life, and the future of a friendship is threatened. The game ends when mosquitoes start rising from the grass. Short Cut Grass premiered at Oberhausen. At ZFF film won The Golden Pram in Checkers, the competition program for Croatian short film.

Please Make it Work, Daniel Soares, Switzerland, Portugal, 2022., 14'

While working as a cleaner at posh condos in the Swiss Alps, Portuguese immigrant Cláudia must simultaneously deal with a despotic boss, a daughter who snubs her, and the harsh mountain wind. Please Make It Work premiered in Locarno, followed by a screening at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. At ZFF film won Golden Pram for best international short film.

I'll Be the First, Martina Marasović, Croatia, 2023., 22'

Scenes from the life of Mara, a secondary school student.

Tits, Eivind Landsvik, Norway, 2023., 12'

A group of teenagers are spending the day at the beach. Among them are Oscar and Iben, whose unpleasant first encounter does not seem promising. When their friends leave them behind, one of them will make a friendly gesture. The film premiered in the competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

*films are in original language with English subtitles