Zagreb Film Festival

October 14th-21st 2012

Zagreb, Croatia

The tenth Zagreb Film Festival will be taking place from 14-21 October 2012. The screenings and events will be taking place in several venues in Zagreb: in cinemas Europa, Tuškanac, Grič and Dokukino Croatia and in Zagreb Dance Center which will be turned into an attractive cinema during the festival week. A part of the program will also be shown in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Novi Zagreb. By spreading across the Sava River, Zagreb Film Festival will merge with the city more than ever and will remain the biggest and most important film festival for the people and visitors of Zagreb. Some 90 films will be shown in seven programs. On average, the festival screenings are seen by around 30,000 viewers.

The main competition program of the festival will present new first or second films of international directors: eleven long feature films, ten short feature films and some fifteen documentary films. The films will be competing for Golden Pram Awards in their respective categories. Besides its international program, the festival will also present Checkers, the national short film competition program. It will include a dozen of films made by new Croatian authors in order to boost and promote Croatian film production.

Every year, Zagreb Film Festival presents a few additional programs the purpose of which is often educational. These programs are realized in cooperation with Croatian and foreign selectors and international festivals and institutes. Some of such previously presented programs include Red Westerns and Wheel (in cooperation with Rotterdam International Film Festival), Film: Protest, Film as Propaganda (selector: Daniel Rafaelić), Bunker (selector: Bernd Buder, Berlinale)... and many others.

Also, in order to help promote Croatian authors and short film production, for the third year in a row we are cooperating with relevant short film festivals (last year it was Tampere Film Festival). In addition to film programs, the festival features numerous presentations of festivals and institutes, book promotions, lectures, photo exhibitions and – in cooperation with Croatian Film Association – Palunko Screenwriters' Workshop.

The American Cinematheque and CAMEO are presenting a retrospective of animation from the Zagreb School. Directors Vatroslav Mimica and Zdenko Gaparovic will be on hand at the screening. The Zagreb School, which reached its peak in the 1960s, is considered one of the most modernist European animated film schools and produced some of the most important animated short films of its time. The screening will include: OPENING NIGHT by Nikola Kostelac; THE FLY by Aleksandar Marks and Vladimir Jutria; SMALL CHRONICLE by Vatroslav Mimica; SATIEMANIA by Zdenko Gaparovic; FISHEYE by Joko Maruic; THE CAT by Zlatko Bourek; Academy Award winner THE ERSATZ by Duan Vukotic; and LEARNING TO WALK by Borivij Dovnikovic.

The 14th World Festival of Animated Films - Zagreb 2000 is an ASIFA sanctioned event dedicated to the art of animation. Categories are: work from 30 sec. to 6 min. long; work from 6 min. - 15 min. long; work 15min. to 30 min. long, and artists film debuts. Submissions can be sent on VHS tapes, but for screening a film print or a BETACAM SP PAL tape must be provided. Award with cash prizes will be given as follows: grand prize, a first prize in each time oriented catagories, and best first production.

We are Europe's second oldest animation festival, better known as "Animafest Zagreb" or simply "Zagreb" among animation connoisseurs. Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia, and Animafest is the friendliest gathering place for all generations of filmmakers and fans of different genres and categories of animated film. During festival week, we aim to promote and advance the art and production of animated film in general, recalling the past through national, personal or thematic retrospectives, and assessing recent worldwide film production via both competitive and non-competitive programs. We also prepare exhibitions, lectures, panel discussions and other related events. During the rest of the year, we try to help and encourage film animators and their projects.

Through never-before exhibited art and objects culled from private and institutional collections, "ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950," now at the Skirball Cultural Center, explores the genesis of cultural icons such as Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and Captain America. In the midst of the economic and political turmoil of the 1930s and 1940s, comic books offered America champions who shaped the values of an entire generation. "ZAP! POW! BAM!" examines the creative processes and influences that drove young Jewish artists to express their talents through the storylines and art of comic books. The exhibition features rare vintage artwork and books, 1940s Hollywood movie serials, and colorful interactive displays including a drawing studio, a newsstand, a vintage Batmobile ride, and stations that allow children to dress up as Superheroes or transform themselves via a quick costume change in a telephone booth. Guest curator Jerry Robinson brings a long history as a comic book industry insider to the exhibition. Working with Batman co-creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Robinson named Robin, Batman's young protege. Robinson also co-created The Joker, Batman's nemesis and one of the first super villains. Included with Skirball Museum admission (tickets at the door): $10 General; $7 Seniors and Full-Time Students; $5 Children 2-12; Free to Members and Children under 2; Free to all on Thursdays.

From 6:00 - 9:00 pm, Gnomon School of Visual Effects welcomes back Pixologic for its first User Group Meeting since the release of ZBrush 3. Learn how two artists: Meats Meier and Ian Joyner use ZBrush to create models and illustration. In particular, Meier will be demonstrating his working processes when using ZBrush 3 for character creation and texturing and he'll show his efficient methods of base model creation using Zspheres. Then, he will take the sculpture all the way to a final model, ready to animate in an external 3D package. Ryan Kingslien will also talk in-depth about ZBrush 3 and what it's like to develop a next generation sculpting application. He'll demonstrate how to look at it, how to understand the brushes and what it means, as a developer, to be thinking about a users experience. The event will take place at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects - Stage 15, 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, California 90038. To RSVP to the free event, e-mail reserve@gnomon3d.com.

Gnomon School of Visual Effects and Pixologic are hosting the first official Pixologic ZBrush User Group meeting. Bay Raitt will discuss the strengths of ZBrush and its use in various production pipelines, i.e. Weta Digital, Valve Software. Meats Meier, The Gnomon Workshop, will demonstrate how he has used ZBrush in the creation of his personal artwork. Timur "Taron" Baysal will demonstrate modeling and displacement (medium to high rez details) and possibly rendering displacement in Messiah.

It will take place at Gnomon School of Visual Effects, 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, California 90038. A meet and greet time will start at 6:00 pm with the meeting beginning at 7:00 pm. RSVP to rsvp@gnomon3d.com. Please include your name, phone number and number of people you are bringing including yourself. For more information, visit www.gnomon3d.com/title.html.

The ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival has given poetry its own international film festival, the festival itself becoming the most important forum for an independent art form fusing poetry, film and new media. THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM will be screened as one of the Zebra Poetry Film Festival's official selections, Oct. 9-12, 2008 in Berlin, Germany.

Tired of paying just to have your project looked at? We are too. That is why we DON'T charge a submission fee. ZIFF 2004 is an irreverent film/video festival in its SIXTH year, held in San Francisco in the backyard of a bar called Zeitgeist (seats 300). We seek short films/videos (under 15 minutes) in any category /genre that will hold the attention of the average bar patron. Formats: 16mm, vhs, mini-dv. Preview on VHS (NTSC). Entry Fee: NO ENTRY FEE

ZEITGIEST is a unique and ambitious multimedia, musical event by P.J. Merola. This event is free and not for profit. It runs from May 29 - June 3, 2007 at 8:00-9:30 pm.

ZEITGEIST is an abstract, aesthetic exploration of personal belief and social myth -- told through a multimedia work of live solo percussion, stereo video displays and electronic music. Using animation, live performance, drama, humor, and narrative, ZEITGEIST attempts to bring its audience to a place that most likely counters what they believe as true.

Please visit http://www.zeitgeistnyc.com for a video preview and to make reservations.