The audience was deeply moved by this intimate drama and their positive feedback during a Q&A session with the film’s crew after the screening demonstrates that the film’s theme is truly universal and transcends the boundaries of social habits. The film’s director and main actor Juraj Lerotić, leading cast members Snježana Sinovčić Šiškov and Goran Marković, producer Miljenka Čogelja, Croatian co-producers Saša Ban and Nevenka Sablić, as well as director of photography Marko Brdar were in attendance.

Before the screening, Locarno FF Artistic Director, Giona A. Nazzaro announced the film, stressing the festival was honoured that the film’s team chose precisely Locarno to debut their project and that Locarno was the right place to present Lerotić’s feature debut Safe Place to the world.

“The premiere screening was wonderful. We are very proud that the film resonated with the audience and that we had such a wonderful conversation after the screening. We are also extremely honoured to be featured at a festival like Locarno, which is one of the largest and most important festivals in the world – especially in the Concorso Cineasti del presente programme, dedicated to discovering new talents and new directions in cinema”, said after the screening Safe Place producer Miljenka Čogelja. 

A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives are upturned, as if they have been pulled into a war invisible to anyone else. The storyline is condensed to a short frame of time and distilled to the most acute – saving a loved one.

The film is based on the personal experience of director Juraj Lerotić, also starring in the film. The cast is also headed up by Snježana Sinovčić Šiškov and Goran Marković.

Safe Place is a Pipster production, with Miljenka Čogelja as the producer, while the Croatian co-producer is the company Zelena zraka (Saša Ban and Nevenka Sablić). The film was created in collaboration with Slovenian production company December. 

The film was financially supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Croatian Radiotelevision and Slovenian Film Centre, in addition to winning the Eurimages Development Award at the CineLink Co-production Market at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

The competition Concorso Cineasti del presente included a total of 15 titles from around the world, while the films in the programme compete for the festival’s main award, the Golden Leopard (Pardo d’oro), the award for best director and, since last year, awards for best actor and best actress.

The Locarno Film Festival is one of the longest-running and most important film festivals in Europe, renowned for discovering up-and-coming film talents and new trends. This year, the festival ran 3rd – 13th August.

Cover photographs: Safe Place film crew attend screening at Locarno (© Locarno Film Festival / Ti-Press / Elia Bianchi); (left to right) Juraj Lerotić, Snježana Sinovčić Šiškov and Goran Marković (© Locarno Film Festival / Ti-Press / Samuel Golay); scene from Safe Place