Asparagus Bear is set in the small, sleepy Mediterranean town of Umag, where the unexpected appearance of a bear in the midst of the wild asparagus-picking season causes a rift, dividing the community into sceptics and those who believe that the bear really exists. After a local event spirals out of control, the film examines the blurred boundaries between truth, lies, and the ways in which we try to tell them apart.

“It still seems surreal being a film director, let alone having my film screen at one of the biggest festivals in the world. If someone had told me just a few years ago that I would be sticking the TIFF logo at the start of my movie, I would have thought they were crazy.

Making this film, we didn’t have any particular expectations, other than one simple goal: to make a film that would be fun to work on and fun to watch. And we succeeded in that. Even if it hadn’t made it to any festivals, Medo would still hold a special place in our hearts. The fact that it was selected for a festival, especially a festival like this one, is simply an incentive to continue playing as we work on future projects.

Every movie is a reflection of the people who make it, and documentaries even more so depend on those who are featured in them. This story is unique because it features about 50 amazing protagonists during these 18 minutes. But we talked to at least 200 of them. Every person we put in front of the camera swept us off our feet with their character and perspective – cheered us up, made us think, and sometimes, made us sad (in a good way).

I will take this opportunity to thank everyone who gave us a moment of their time, everyone who gave us even the slightest piece of advice or information on where to dig, search and wander”, said director and screenwriter Ivan Grgur on the occasion of being selected for TIFF.

The film’s producer is Vinko Brešan, with executive producer Julia Martinović, and creative producer Nebojša Slijepčević, while the short is a Zagreb Film production. 

The director of photography was Magdalena Ptiček, while the film was edited by Dora Slakoper.

Asparagus Bear was supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the City of Zagreb.

The Short Cuts programme presents a hand-picked selection of shorts from all over the world and features 48 short films from 28 countries. The selection includes, among others, films by renowned authors, actors, and producers, such as Idris Elba (Dust to Dreams), Spike Lee (Talk Me), Joshua Seftel and Adam McKay (All the Empty Rooms) and many others.

The entire Short Cuts selection may be found HERE, while the rest of the programme is available here.

As previously announced, the debut feature film directed and written by Goran Stanković, which was realised in co-production with Croatian company PomPom Film (Marina Andree Škop), Our Father, will have its world premiere as part of the Discovery programme.

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest and most visited festivals in the world, while its competition programme winners directly qualify for the BAFTA and Oscar awards. This year’s jubilee 50th edition will be held from 4 to 14 September.