Two decades of film in Vukovar: 20th Vukovar Film Festival opens in spectacular style

Vukovar’s Eltz Castle park became the setting for the opening of the 20th Vukovar Film Festival, an anniversary edition that celebrates two decades of cinema in the Croatian city. Croatian musicians Matej Meštrović and Borna Šercar added to the ceremony with music from their upcoming Classic Crossover Revolution project.

The festival once again positioned Vukovar as a center of film culture in Slavonia. Its program brings together award-winning works from major international festivals, Croatian productions and films intended for a broad audience. Croatia’s national broadcaster, HRT, televised the opening live on its Third Programme.

“

When I say 20 years tonight, we do not need scenery, Vukovar is the scenery.

Festival director Darko Puharić said the city itself provided the setting for the anniversary. “When I say 20 years tonight, we do not need scenery, Vukovar is the scenery,” he said, describing the city’s distinctive energy and the festival’s future. He recalled that the event began in 2007, when Vukovar did not have a functioning cinema hall.

“

Twenty years later, the Vukovar Film Festival is alive, strong and looking to the future.

“Twenty years later, the Vukovar Film Festival is alive, strong and looking to the future,” Puharić said. He added that the anniversary should not only look back, but also create an obligation to look ahead.

Meštrović and Šercar performed two pieces, “Summer,” the third movement of Vivaldi’s “The Storm,” and “Croatian Rhapsody.” Their appearance linked the film festival with the concert project, which combines classical music and contemporary musical expression and will be performed at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb on September 27. Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek praised the festival for bringing audiences and film artists together, while artistic director Dragan Despot said he hoped viewers would enjoy the films alongside him.

“

It is a festival that over 20 years, in this special place, has managed to bring together an audience that builds the spirit of this city year after year and knows how to preserve its culture.