The Pardi di Domani section explores the possible pathways cinema could take in the future, focusing on experimentation and innovative forms of poetry on film.

The three competition programmes in the aforementioned section are the International Competition, dedicated to up-and-coming filmmakers from across the globe, the National Competition, presenting the latest Swiss titles, and the Concorso Corti d'Autore, consisting of shorts by already established directors.

The short fiction film of director and screenwriter David Gašo, Peninsula, will have its world premiere as part of the International Competition.

“We are incredibly pleased that Peninsula will have its world premiere at Locarno. We really weren’t expecting this because this film was my graduation project at the Academy and it was conceived as a space for trying out new directorial ideas and experiments that our previous works might not have allowed us to do. We approached it unburdened, with a lot of playfulness and exploration, so we are extremely happy that it will have such a start on its festival journey”, said David Gašo on the occasion.

The weekend is reserved for recreational activities, while the twenty-minute film follows a group of several men who spend time in a hunting hideout in the heart of the forest surrounded by a bathing area.

The film stars Rok Kravanja, Uroš Kaurin, Stipe Kostanić, Luka Piletič, Siniša Ružić, Timon Špalj, Lav Novosel, Andrija Žunac, Ivan Lučev and Mark Fejer.

Tin Ostrošić is the director of photography, Marta Bregeš edited the film, Dino Ljuban was the production sound mixer and sound designer, and Tihomir Vrbanec was the re-recording mixer. Miro Manojlović and Ana Kovačić created the music score, while Sara Pavleković Preis designed the poster and credits. The production design was done by Jan Herenčić, while Paula Čule created the costume design, and Ivana Pralija was the make-up artist.

The film’s producers are Marta Eva Mećava and Lucija Perić, while the film was created as the director’s graduation project at the Academy of Dramatic Art, under the mentorship of professor Snježana Tribuson.

The project was financially supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, while the film’s co-production partners are companies Antitalent, Izvan fokusa, Little Red Dot and Sunny Shorts Film Market.

Also having its world premiere in the same competition programme, will be the short documentary Goats! directed by Tonći Gaćina and produced by Tibor Keser (KOMPOT).

“It is an exceptional honour for me to have a premiere in the main programme of this festival, especially with a short documentary”, said director Tonći Gaćina on the occasion of the world premiere at Locarno, describing the creation of the film:

“In researching the topic for a documentary about ships, I came across a wider problem concerning domestic goats that were abandoned in the late 1980s, after the withdrawal of the agricultural cooperative, and today causing various problems for the islanders. Similar stories and animals also plague other island and coastal towns. Goats on Mljet and Lošinj, cows in Opuzen, mongooses on Čiovo and Mljet – all introduced into the environment as an attempt to solve other problems or simply abandoned. Today, our society has found only one way out of the situation: take up firearms and kill them off – rationally, measuredly, bureaucratically.”

“Our previous film Tourism! also had its world premiere in Switzerland, in Nyon, so it seems to us that the Swiss love our Dalmatian stories! Jokes aside, we are delighted to be selected for this very prestigious programme that brings together the best works of the global short film production. And as soon as Locarno announced the news a little while ago, we received felicitations, as well as invitations from several other festivals, which makes us very happy because we are now confident that many people will see the film. It is certainly important to note that this film should be experienced in the cinema, due to its unique visual narrative that is truly gut-wrenching at times; our French co-producers warned us that we might need to put a graphic content warning for the film”, added producer Tibor Keser.

The film was directed and shot by Tonći Gaćina, and edited by Dora Slakoper. Sound editing was done by Ivan Zelić and Studio Nazor, while Ana Vuko created the graphic design. The producer was Tibor Keser, with executive producer Sara Jakupec. The French co-producer was Hélène Mitjavile (Melocoton Films). The film was produced by KOMPOT, in collaboration with La Udruga and Cinema Club Split.

In development, the project was presented as part of the DOK Short’n’Sweet pitching event at last year’s DOK Leipzig. That presentation earned it an invitation to present the project as part of the Focus WiP section at the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival, which eventually resulted in a co-production with French company Melocoton Films.

Goats! was supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the City of Rijeka and the Istria County – Regione Istriana.

The feature film Hysterical Fit of Laughter by the creative duo Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić co-produced with Croatian company Dinaridi Film, with co-producer Tena Gojić, will have its world premiere as part of the Concorso Corti d'Autore competition, dedicated to short films by renowned directors.

The film follows Sneža, a woman who enjoys playing rough with different men, while her son tries to spoil her fun.

“Hysterical Fit of Laughter represents a natural continuation of the successful collaboration on the feature film Have You Seen This Woman?, with directors Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić and producer Čarna Vučinić, whose visions we always want to support. The premiere at Locarno is an ideal start to the film’s festival journey, since titles from Locarno resonate strongly with the festival audience”, said co-producer Tena Gojić on the occasion of the world premiere.

The lead role in the film is played by Croatian actress Snježana Sinovčić-Šiškov, with Momir Milošević, Radivoj Knežević, Alex Elektra, Strahinja Marković and Bojana Lazić completing the cast.

Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević co-wrote the script and directed the film, while the director of photography is Aleksa Radunović. Editing was done by Olga Košarić, costume designer is Kristina Savić, and production design was done by Milena Grošin. The make-up artist on the film was Ana Bibić, while Luka Gamulin created the sound design.

The producers of the film are Čarna Vučinić and Damjan Knežević for production company NAKED, with co-producer Tena Gojić for Dinaridi Film.

Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević studied film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and have so far presented their shorts Foreign Body (2018) and Loop (2017), which premiered at Venice and Locarno respectively. Their debut feature Have You Seen This Woman? premiered in 2022 at the Venice Film Festival and was then shown at festivals around the world, winning numerous awards.

The Locarno Film Festival is one of the longest-running and most important European festivals, characterised by discovering future film talents and trends. Find out more about the festival at its official website.