Attention all film buffs!

We are 24 hours away from the start of the 12th Student International Film Festival – STIFF, that’s happening from 27th until 29th November in Rijeka. This year’s theme – TRACE – will explore what is left behind us – experiences, memories, emotions, decisions – in 31 films from 15 countries, places in eight carefully curated programme blocks.

We start the festival with a film out of competition – “Not Funny” – followed by a Q&A with the authors, students from Rijeka’s Academy of Applied Arts. The programme continues with the first block, CRACKS, with films that question breaks in everyday life, followed by the opening ceremony. The day ends with CURRENTS and four films that will take us on inner flows of emotions, growing up, and illusions.

After the film screenings, we will move to SKC Gallery and the opening of the “Prior for Later” exhibition. Various authors will present their explorations into the visual and conceptual traces of freedom, identity, and social norms.

Friday brings us a very rich programme. Art-kino will host students from Belgrade in the afternoon, with screenings of their films from the blockade of the universities in Serbia, and a Q&A with the authors. Then we will fall into STITCHES with films showing us the space between visible and invisible, followed by SNAGS exploring growing up, childhood, and complexities of identity. The day ends with VIS-A-VIS taking us into a world of reflections and human relationships, from intimate stories to everyday bizarre situations.

Saturday is quite intense, with screenings and a masterclass. In Mini Art-kino Danijel Pek will hold a masterclass in film production, revealing development, financing and distribution strategies of film and TV projects. Next up, in collaboration with Cinehill, we will screen “The World’s Best Film Professor”, an awarded documentary followed by a Q&A with the director Vida Žagar. Three programme blocks make up the crux of the last day – AFTER ALL, BOLD BATTLES, and TIMELESS STORIES – questioning what is left behind – struggles, traumas, but also universal tales that transcend space and time. The festival ends with the award ceremony and a celebration of creativity of young people.

Prepare for three days of inspiring films, talks with authors, and exhibitions exploring human traces.

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The International Student Film Festival — STIFF is organized by Filmaktiv and the Student Cultural Center of the University of Rijeka, in co-organization with Art-kino and with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), the City of Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Rijeka Tourist Board, the Serbian National Council, the Council of the Serbian National Minority, and the Goethe-Institut Kroatien. The work of Filmaktiv is supported by the Kultura Nova Foundation and the National Foundation for Civil Society Development.