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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

Special Trains

Powerful, authentic and still relevant Croatian classic by famous film director Krsto Papic about the departure of Yugoslavian gastarbeiters to Germany. When they arrive, their names are replaced by numbers.

Synopsis

The story of a group of Yugoslavian “guest-workers” on their train journey to Germany. Camera follows how they are first medically examined by a German doctor, and then addressed by representatives of the trade union and employees of the Employment Service. During the organized transport, people talk about the reasons for leaving and the growing class differences in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When this new labour force registers at Munich’s main station, each man is given a number instead of a name.

SPECIJALNI VLAKOVI

Yugoslavia | 1972 | 15 min

DIRECTOR / SCREENPLAY: Krsto Papic

PRODUCTION: Ante Deronja – Zagreb Film

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Ivica Rajkovic

EDITING: Lida Branis-Bobanac

MUSIC: Lidija Jojic

SCREENING: Thursday 24.11. / 15:30h / Zaal 3 & Saturday 26.11. / 12:00h / Zaal 6 / Dutch Premiere

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Locarno International Film Festival, 1972, 1985 | Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, 2021 | GoEast | DOK Leipzig, 2014

Director’s bio

Krsto Papić (Vučedol, Montenegro, 1933 – Zagreb, 2013), internationally acclaimed Croatian film director and screenwriter, and one of the main representatives of Yugoslav author’s cinema. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. After assisting other directors, he made his directing debut in 1965 with an episode in the omnibus The Key, followed by his first feature film Illusion (1967). Since the late 1960s and through the early 1970s he made in alternation his crucial politically engaged feature films and his most important socially committed documentaries. He is generally considered among the best directors of former Yugoslavia. Papić was awarded with Croatia’s highest Vladimir Nazor Award for live achievement in cinema in 2006, and with Grand Prix Special des Amériques (for exceptional contribution to the cinematographic art) in Montreal, 2004.

Special Trains is part of the Old Gold – Classic program highlight, realized with the help of Zagreb Film.