The 21st DOKUart documentary film festival opened in Bjelovar on Saturday. The opening ceremony took place at the Bjelovar Cultural and Multimedia Centre, with the festival commencing with a screening of Carmen Chaplin’s film 'Spirit of the Tramp'.
'Spirit of the Tramp' tells the story of the director’s grandfather, Charlie Chaplin. In it, Carmen Chaplin explores her family heritage and the narrative that links her family to Romani culture. According to one family tradition, Romani ancestry may have been one of the inspirations for the character of The Tramp. This is a Croatian premiere, and the film will be screened again on Sunday at 17.30.
Until Friday, 9 October, 13 documentary films will be shown at the festival, of which seven are Croatian premieres. The festival’s selector is Rada Šešić. This year, a sub-section titled Brave Film was also created, featuring the German film 'Driving Europe' by Felix Länge about modern slavery of workers in large companies, the film 'Sky Above Zenica' about the pollution in that city, and 'Red Slide' by Nebojša Slijepčević.
Also highlighted are Branko Schmidt’s film 'Bro Ram', which addresses the relationship between the local population and migrants in Croatia, and the Norwegian film 'Mysterious Package' about a legend from a Norwegian village. The audience will once again be offered a 3D screening, this time of Wim Wenders’ 'Pina', while two shorter European works will be shown in virtual reality, aimed primarily at young people.
The accompanying programme will include a documentary film workshop led by Bjelovar-based documentarian Đuro Gavran, a masterclass by producer Vanja Jambrović, and a round table on censorship and self-censorship in Croatian documentary film. Among those participating in the round table are Nenad Puhovski, Goran Dević and Jambrović.
1,500 pupils from Bjelovar’s primary and secondary schools will view the films, and filmologist Uroš Živanović will discuss them with the children. Marijana Kranjec, president of the DOKUart Association, thanked the City of Bjelovar and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. A single ticket costs five euros.
