A total of ten films from China, South Korea, Germany, Israel, India, France, Russia, Bulgaria and Croatia, as selected by Andrej Plahov, were screened in the feature film competition, and Igor Bezinović took home the prize for Best Director.

The jury’s president was Mexican director Amat Escalante (Best Director in Cannes, 2013, and winner of Silver Lion in Venice, 2016), while the remaining members included Hungarian director Janos Szasz (European Film Award winner, 1994), Russian actress Elena Koreneva, Kazakhstani director Žana Isabaeva and Israeli actress Hadas Yaron (Best Actress winner in Venice, 2012).

A Brief Excursion also won the Voice Award, presented by a jury of six young critics, along with the Russian film Closeness by Kantemir Balagov which premiered in Cannes this year. Closeness also won the Best Film Award alongside the Chinese comedy I Am Not Madame Bovary by Xiaogang Feng.

The Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo Festival celebrates art film, and has included special guests and jury members such as directors Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Andrej Zvjagintsev, Sergej Loznica, Carlos Reygadas, Aleksandr Sokurov, and many others. Eduard Artemjev, who composed music for Solaris, The Mirror and Stalker, was honored this year during the festival’s opening ceremony.

A Brief Excursion premiered at the 46th Rotterdam International Film Festival, and will have its Croatian premiere at the 64th Arena Pula Film Festival. The film is produced by Studio Pangolin, distributed by Bonobostudio, and is co-financed by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.

Further details are available on the festival’s Facebook Page.

Cover photo: Igor Bezinović and Janos Szasz at awards ceremony