Belladonna, and the film’s team, will arrive in Rotterdam following the Sundance Film Festival where the film has been selected to compete in the International Short Film category. Dubravka Turić’s debut film, which she wrote, edited and directed, will be screened in the Short Stories: Without Warning section in Rotterdam. Belladonna is a short film about three different women who meet in an ophthalmologist’s waiting room, where they, unexpectedly, experience a moment of closeness. The film stars Aleksandra Naumov and Nada Đurevska, while Lana Barić, Dražen Kühn and Anita Matković also appear in the film. Zdenka Gold, of Spiritus Movens, is the film’s producer while Ivana Ivišić, from Everything Works, heads promotion and distribution. The cinematographer is Branko Linta. Last year, Belladonna was selected as the Best Short Film in the Orizonti programme at the Venice International Film Festival.

The animated film Here There, directed by Alexander Stewart, will come to Rotterdam directly from Slamdance, where it is being screened in the animated film category. Here There begins as travel notes, with sketches made during the summer of 2014 at the Croatian coast and in Zagreb, but details soon turn to abstract impressions from the edges of memory. The film will be screened in the Couleur Locale section which, through five selected films, reflects on distance from home. Alexander Stewart’s film was co-animated by Darko Masnec, the colorists are Ivan Košutić and Jelena Oroz, while the sound engineer is Gideon Kiers. Bonobostudio’s Vanja Andrijević produced the film. 

The International Film Festival Rotterdam, which will announce its full programme on January 22nd, is one of the biggest and most influential film festivals which – besides attracting more than ten thousand professionals and visitors each year – dictates future film trends and uncovers up and coming new filmmakers. Due to its wealthy programme, high numbers of visitors and an exceptionally developed industrial segment (the film market CineMart), Rotterdam is considered a first class festival. More information can be found on the festival’s official website.