The second day of the Split Film Festival showed how important the meeting of art and community is – how much such a connection can enrich us, but also how much it requires continuous effort and reflection. The festival was not reduced to a series of isolated events, but rather offered an authentic insight into the interest of the citizens of Split in art and culture.
In this regard, the side program of the Croatian short film staged on the playground in front of the Kvart gallery particularly stood out in terms of the interest of our fellow citizens. The audience, distributed less in the formed auditorium, and more on the walls and public benches, watched 6 films, of which the animated Psychonauts, by Niko Radas, received the greatest applause and sympathy. The most patient and interested were also welcomed by a short artist talk with the authors Tadija Tadić and Antonija Šitum.
The second day of the festival is also the first at the Academia Club Ghetto location. A festival banner was raised, marking the Academia Club Ghetto as a chill zone, a meeting place for directors, guests and the audience after the screenings. However, before socializing, short films from the side program Focus, a program focused on social issues and current affairs in which we live, were watched in an informal atmosphere.
The main competition programs were held at the Zlatna vrata Cinematheque and the Karaman Cinema. Short films were shown at the Golden Gate, with the presence of the festival jury consisting of Vlado Zrnić, David Lušičić and Thomas Mohr. The screenings continue in the following days. Two feature films from the competition were shown in the Karaman cinema. Belgian director Pieter Solta’s My Friend Miles received a great reception from the audience – a moving film portrait that explores universal life issues, while also functioning as a tribute to the art of cinema. After a short break, Tony Paraskeva’s Exit Medea was shown – a complex and poetic work that plays with language, genres and visual styles, leaving a strong impression even on film connoisseurs.
Saturday at STFF will be remembered for the diversity of the program and strong authorial expression, a day in which art was celebrated without compromise.