{{ mainName }}

{{ newsTitle }} {{ newsVisible ? '✦' : '✧'}}

    • New Talents Open Call 2025
      As the only competitive program at ENFF, the New Talents Competition invites filmmakers or artists with their first, second or third short film, to compete for an Audience Award. Submit your film till 21 August 2025.
    • On Tour: Chajdas’s Imago at Cavia, Amsterdam
      ENFF lands in Cavia, Amsterdam for the first time! On Friday 28 February, we screen the post-punk psychological drama Imago by Polish director Olga Chajdas.
    • On Tour | My Late Summer | LHC, Utrecht | 07.12.24.
      Last night, we took On Tour to Utrecht for a special screening at Louis Hartlooper Complex and mingled. We showed our festival’s closing film, My Late Summer by Danis Tanovic, one more time! Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening filled with great film and fantastic company.
    • ENFF Closing Day | Filmhuis Den Haag | 01.12.24.
      Photos by Mladen Pikulic

Soft Creatures

In “Soft Creatures”, awarded in Motovun for the Best Croatian Short Film, a hypersensitive teaching assistant gives us an insight into the school battlefield.

Synopsis

Nena recently started working as a school assistant to seven-year-old Dejan who has learning disabilities. It’s one of the first Nena’s grown-up jobs, and Dejan is a tough cookie so every day is a new challenge for the two of them. Apart from that, she also struggles with the rigid school system around them. Things look pretty bleak until one day a fluffy white friend comes to visit.

MEKANA BICA

Croatia | 2021 | 19 min

DIRECTOR / SCREENPLAY: Ivana Skrabalo

PRODUCTION: Tena Gojic – Dinaridi Film

CAST: Valentina Loncaric, Maks Kleoncic, Mirela Brekalo, Mia Petricevic

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Danko Vucinovic

EDITING: Martin Semencic 

SCREENING: Saturday 26 November / 17:45 hours / Zaal 6 / Dutch Premiere

Director’s bio

Ivana Škrabalo is an award winning filmmaker from Croatia working as a film director, screenwriter, art director, and production designer. Ivana holds degrees in architecture and film directing from the University of Zagreb. She has had extensive experience in both smaller local and larger international productions as Art Director and Production Designer over the past ten years. Her production design was awarded twice with the national film award – the Golden Arena (Vegetarian Cannibal, The Eight Commissioner). Her short films were screened internationally: She Dreamt That She was Happy was in the competition of Drama Film Festival and Cinema Jove. Ivana participated in Berlinale Talents, Midpoint Shorts, and the Ekran + programme.

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Motovun Film Festival, 2021 – Corto Montonese Award for the Best Croatian Short Film | Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival, 2021 – Best Narrative Short | Hong Kong International Short Film Festival, 2021 | Pula Film Festival, 2022 – Nikola Tanhofer Award for the Best DOP in short film category