Veljko Popović’s Cyclists and ‘The Stranger’ In My Head by Petra Balekić will compete for Best Short Film at the 21st Guanajuato International Film Festival. Cyclists is scheduled to show on July 21st, 22nd and 27th, while ‘The Stranger’ In My Head will screen on July 22nd and 28th.

Cyclists is written, directed and edited by Veljko Popović. The film, inspired by the works of Vasko Lipovac, is a comedy spiced with erotica and summer colours capturing the spirit of a small Mediterranean town. The animation team includes Goran Stojnić, Chloe Roux, Lucija Bužančić, Sander Joon and Mario Vrandečić, while compositing is by Sina Jakelić, Gordan Mihalec and Darko Kokić. Music is by Pablo Pico, Siniša Jakelić and Nikola Džaja, and the sound designer is Jean-Baptiste Saint Pol. Producers are Milivoj Popović and Veljko Popović (Lemonade 3D), and co-producers are Patrick Hernandez (Bagan Films) and Lado Skorin (3D2D Animators). The film is a Croatian-French co-production, and the distributor is Bonobostudio, Zagreb.

‘The Stranger’ In My Head is an animated attempt of the authors reconstruction of Camus’ novel ‘The Stranger’, a book she had read twelve years earlier. Petra Balekić wrote, directed, animated and edited the film, while music and sound engineering is by Vjeran Šalamon. The producers are Aleksandar Battista Ilić and Vinko Brešan, and the film is produced by the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and Zagreb Film.

The short film Into the Blue, directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, is one of five films screening in the Mexicannes Showcase, a non-competition programme, and the film is scheduled to screen on July 24th and 25th. The film is produced by Motion (Croatia) and Blade Production (Slovenia), with support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Film Centre Slovenia. Kusijanović co-wrote the film with Christina Lazaridi, and the film stars Gracija Filipović, Vanesa Vidaković Natrlin, Dominik Duždević, Andro Režić, Nataša Dangubić and Marija Kohn.

Also screening out of competition, in the Midnight Madness programme, is Igor Bezinović’s short documentary film The Lovetts. The film will screen on July 22nd and 27th. The producers are Igor Bezinović, Bojan Kanjera and Jure Pavlović (Sekvenca), and the cinematographer is Danko Vučinović. The editor is Jan Kemsche, the sound designer is Martin Semenčić, the graphic designer is Petra Zlonoga, and music is by Mislav Kljenak.
All of the above films were made with support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.

The Guanajuato International Film Festival is one of Latin America’s most important festivals for young filmmakers. The festival will also organise workshops, conferences and concerts, and admission to all events is free of charge. All films competing at the festival have a chance to win a cash prize.

For more details please visit the festival’s official website. 

Cover photos: scenes from ‘The Stranger’ In My Head, Cyclists, Into the Blue, The Lovetts