The award-winning short film Into the Blue is a story about 13 year-old Julija and her mother who run from domestic violence to an idyllic island where Julija spent her childhood. The director is Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović and the film is produced by the Motion (Croatia) and Blade Production (Slovenia). The film will screen in the international competition.

The Slovenian-Croatian-Austrian co-production Good Luck, Orlo!, directed by Sara Kern, is a family drama that starts with the death of a baby. In order to spare his family from sorrow, Orlo kidnaps a friend’s little brother wanting to take him back to his own mother. The film is produced by Cvinger Film (Slovenia), and co-produced by Kinorama (Croatia) and Zwinger Film (Austria). The film will also screen in the international competition.

Petra Zlonoga’s film Dota was made in honor of the 50th anniversary of Zagreb’s Genre Film Festival (GEFF, 1963 – 1970) with the theme of ‘Antifilm and new tendencies in film’. This is an audio-visual weaving of an animated line and a female voice. The film is produced by Kinoklub Zagreb, while Bonobostudio is the distributor. Dota is screening in the animated film competition.

Lucija Mrzljak’s animated film Corner is produced by the Estonian Academy of Arts. The film questions the laws of geometry and gravity. The film will screen in the non-competition programme ‘Visegrad Animation Forum: New Talents’.

The Leeds International Film Festival is Great Britain’s largest film festival outside of London. Each year the festival hosts more than 40 000 visitors, and its 31st edition will take place from November 1st to 16th. More information is available on the festival’s official website.

Cover photos: scenes from Into the Blue; Good Luck, Orlo!; Dota and Corner