“Having your film premiere at Cannes is something you secretly covet throughout the entire process of making the film, so we are very happy about this. There was a lot of back and forth during its creation because the film has an unusual form and peculiar structure, so I am really glad the sectors have recognized this. Most of all, I’m happy that the work of the excellent professionals who collaborated with me on the film for a long time will finally see the light of day at the Critics’ Week – the Croatian-Spanish blend of the film crew was very inspiring and it engendered an interesting collaboration”, said Andrea Slaviček commenting on The Real Truth about the Fight being selected for Semaine de la Critique.

Between school trouble, mean girl drama, catchy lyrics, and a mysterious blue car, teenage Lena, sometimes distracted or interrupted, tells us the real story behind The Big Fight. But it seems like there is something she is not telling us.

Apart from directing the film, Andrea Slaviček also wrote the screenplay. Staring in the film is Vida Tunguz, with Ana Ugrina, Lucija Plesac, Lily Antić, Lola Jelčić, Nedim Hasanbegović, Adrian Babić Herceg and Pan Jelić comprising the rest of the cast. Director of photography is Alana Mejía González, Vladimir Gojun edited the film, Bojan Drezgić created the production design, Ana Nikačević designed the costumes, with Natalija Škrlec as make-up artist, Borja Barrera Allué as sound designer, and Biel Blancafort as music composer.

The Real Truth about the Fight is produced by Croatian company Antitalent, with co-producers Fractal from Spain and Blank from Croatia. The film’s producer is Katarina Prpić, with co-producer Marc Guanyabens. The film was supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the City of Zagreb.  

In addition, Vladimir Perišić’s sophomore feature Lost Country will also have its world premiere at the International Critics’ Week in Cannes. He co-penned the script together with Alice Winocou, with whom he also collaborated on his first feature Ordinary People – which also premiered at Semaine de la Critique in 2009.  

Lost Country is set in Serbia in 1996. Student demonstrations against Milošević’s regime are in full swing, while fifteen-year-old Stefan faces the most difficult of all revolutions – he must confront his own beloved mother, the spokesperson for the same corrupt government his friends are fighting against.

“Perišić has made a truly inspiring film, tough and gentle in equal measure, and I am happy that the selectors of this prestigious programme have recognized its value. A world premiere at a festival such as this is not only a wonderful validation, but it will also encourage the film’s subsequent success, and we really want it to reach as wide an audience as possible and leave its mark”, said the film's co-producer Ankica Jurić Tilić (Kinorama). 

The film stars Jovan Ginić and Jasna Đuričić, with Duško Valentić and Helena Buljan in other noteworthy roles, and Marija Škaričić, Vinko Kraljević and Goran Navojec completing the cast.

The film’s producers are Janja Kralj for French company KinoElektron, Nadia Turincev and Omar El Kadi for French company Easy Riders Films, and Vladimir Perišić for Trilema from Serbia. the co-producers include Vincent Quenault and Jeanne Geiben of Red Lion from Luxembourg and Ankica Jurić Tilić of Kinorama (Croatia), along with ARTE France Cinéma and Cosmodigital. The film was supported by the Film Center Serbia, ARTE France Cinéma, CNC, Luxembourg Film Fund and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre.

The list of feature and short films selected for the Critics’ Week is available on this link. 

The International Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique), launched in 1962, is a parallel programme running alongside the Cannes Film Festival. This year’s 62nd edition takes place 17th – 25th May, traditionally presenting 10 feature and 10 short films from across the globe. The aim of the programme is to showcase new talents, with artists such as Bernard Bertolucci, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Gaspar Noé landing their first major breaks precisely at Semaine de la Critique. The international jury will award four prizes: two for feature films (the Grand Prize and the French Touch Prize) and one for short films (the Leitz Cine Discovery Prize). The Critics’ Week also presents the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award is also awarded, while the selected films also enter the running for the Camera d'Or. More information about the programme is available on this link.

Cover photograph: (collage) scenes from The Real Truth about the Fight and Lost Country; International Critics’ Week visuals