Zvonimir Munivrana’s suspenseful thriller Hallway to Nowhere follows a young girl’s attempt to gain more independence from her domineering father, in the course of which she enters into a stormy relationship with a law student, while the film also traces her relationship with a work friend. In the story about the search for identity set in the midst of Croatian contemporary reality, the main roles are played by Tara Thaller, Stipe Jelaska and Romina Tonković. The director of photography is Mario Oljača, the film was edited by Ivana Fumić, while brothers Yoann and Davy Bernagoult composed the score. The film was produced by Studio Corvus and Peglanje Snova, in co-production with Living Pictures, with producers Bojan Kanjera and Zvonimir Munivrana, alongside co-producers Stefan Orlandić and Dimče Stojanovski.

The film will have its world premiere screening on 20 March in Sofia.

Also screening in the international competition is minority co-production Cat’s Cry, directed by Sanja Živković, in which Marija Škaričić appears in one of the roles. The film, co-produced with Croatian company Artizana Film (co-producer is Irena Škorić), had its world premiere last year at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it won a jury Special Mention.

The Balkan Competition section also features a minority co-production with Zvonimir Munivrana (Studio Corvus) acting as co-producer, Luna Park, directed by Florenc Papas. The film had its first festival screenings last year at the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the 55th International Film Festival of India in Goa.

Minority co-production The Tower of Strength of Montenegrin director Nikola Vukčević and Croatian co-producer Dario Domitrović (Embrio Production) is set to appear in the same competition. The film premiered last year at the Cottbus Film Festival, going on to screen at a number of relevant festivals, such as the 45th Cairo International Film Festival and the 55th International Film Festival of India in Goa.

Little Trouble Girls is the feature debut of Slovenian director Urška Djukić, which had its world premiere in the Perspectives competition at the 75th Berlinale, and screens in Sofia as part of the Teen Competition. The Croatian co-producer is Katarina Prpić for 365 Films. The same competition will also feature Sonja Prosenc’ Family Therapy, co-produced by Tamara Babun Zovko and Matija Drniković (Wolfgang&Dolly). The dark comedy feature had its world premiere in the main competition of the famous Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

One of the special guests of the Sofia IFF is Oscar winner Danis Tanović, presenting his latest title My Late Summer (Propeler Film) in person to the audience. Last year, the film officially opened the Sarajevo Film Festival, continuing to tour the world, including the Warsaw International Film Festival, where it was awarded. It was also shown at other prestigious festivals such as Cairo, Vancouver, and Palm Springs and will soon appear at festivals in Paris (L’Europe autour de L’Europe Film Festival), Prague (Prague Film Festival) and New York (Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival).

This year, the Sofia Municipality Award for exceptional contribution to cinema is bestowed on Croatian director Rajko Grlić, and he will accept the award at the awards ceremony on 22 March. Grlić will also present his latest feature It All Ends Here (Interfilm) in Sofia, while the audience will have the opportunity to see a selection of his earlier works in a retrospective program featuring The Border Post (2006), Just Between Us (2010), and The Constitution (2016).

The Sofia International Film Festival is the biggest event of its kind in Bulgaria. Launched in 1997, the festival aims to showcase the best new titles of world cinema to domestic audiences, as well as the best Bulgarian and regional works to international audiences. It is also the only FIAPF- and FIPRESCI-accredited Bulgarian film festival. This year, the festival runs from 13 to 31 March. More details about the program and the festival may be found on its official website.