“To a film that constructs itself from a subtle and intelligent approximation to a kid and his environment, building tension in a world where tenderness and cruelty can coexist by allowing time in to let us notice growing up and how love emanates. It’s a playful film that brought us joy and will remain with us and with the audience we shared the screening with. That’s how we love the film!”, said the jury statement at the Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, which awarded it the Grand Prix, and selected it as a candidate for a European Film Award nomination. The list of all awarded titles is available at this link.

That’s How I Love You is inspired by Croatian naïve painting, and created in co-production between Croatian company Plan 9 (Šimun Kuliš and Vanja Vascarac) and Portuguese Olhar de Ulisses (Luís Costa and André Guiomar).

Young actor Viktor Fabijančić appears for the first time on film, supported by Croatian acting greats – Zdenko Jelčić and Edita Karađole. The script was penned by Ivor Radmilović Pavlek.

This is Portuguese director Mário Macedo’s second feature made in co-production with Croatia – his first short was Cul-de-sac, co-directed with Vanja Vascarec (Vertigo/Olhar de Ulisses), which was screened this year at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

The Curtas Vila do Conde film festival is dedicated to following trends in contemporary film, with an emphasis on short films. Every year it screens a selection of up to 60-minute-long documentary, animated and fiction films. Festival winners qualify for the European Film Award nominations race, as well as entering the running for Academy Award nominations.

Cover photograph: scenes from That’s How I Love You