Ivona Juka’s feature Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day at 41st Warsaw Film Festival
The feature Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day, directed and written by Ivona Juka, has been included in the Free Spirit section at this year’s 41st edition of the Warsaw Film Festival, which runs from 10 to 19 October. It is the leading film festival in Poland, since 2009 accredited by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations) as having a competitive feature film section, which puts it on a par with festivals such as Berlinale, Cannes, Venice, San Sebastián, Karlovy Vary and others.
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day will have its first screening in Warsaw on Wednesday, 15 October, followed by a Q&A session with director Ivona Juka and/or producer Anita Juka.
The story is set in 1950s Yugoslavia, at a time of rising political pressures and ideological control. Four close friends – famous filmmakers and war veterans – raise the authorities’ suspicions owing to their sexual orientation. Communist party loyalist Emir is tasked with sabotaging their careers and upending their lives. The search for freedom turns into a struggle for survival, while Emir gradually starts to question his own beliefs.
Last year Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day was voted Croatia’s official submission for the 97th Academy Award in the category of Best International Feature Film. Ivona’s previous feature, You Carry Me, was also Croatia’s Academy Award submission, going on to became the first Croatian film to be purchased by Netflix for worldwide distribution.
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day stars Dado Ćosić, Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Slaven Došlo, Đorđe Galić and Elmir Krivalić, with Marko Braić, Anja Šovagović Despot, Ivana Boban, Goran Grgić, Enes Vejzović, Milica Mihajlović, Voja Brajović and Svetozar Cvetković completing the cast.
Award-winning crew members who worked on the film include director of photography Dragan Ruljančić, editors Nenad Pirnat and Nina Velnić, production designer Zvonko Sarić, make-up artist Ana Bulajić Črček and costume designer Goranka Krpan. Golden Globe-nominated composer Michael Brook created the film’s music score.
The film’s producer is Anita Juka in front of 4Film, a company whose portfolio includes Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool (Sundance, Berlinale), Emin Alper’s Burning Days (Cannes), Maksym Nakonechny’s Butterfly Vision (Cannes) and Ivona Juka’s You Carry Me (Karlovy Vary).
The film is a co-production between Croatia, Canada, Poland, Cyprus, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Warsaw Film Festival is the premier film festival in Poland, since 2009 accredited by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations) as having a competitive feature film section, which puts it on a par with festivals such as Berlinale, Cannes, Venice, San Sebastián, Karlovy Vary and others.