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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

The Staffroom

Remarkable debut by Sonja Tarokic depicts a drama within a school staffroom where the whole society vividly mirrors. Premiered in Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe Competition where it won a jury award, the film swept five Golden Arenas at the national FF in Pula.

Synopsis

After finding a job in an elementary school, counsellor Anamarija, brilliantly interpreted by Marina Redzepovic,  finds out that the system is not at all simple. It is a place full of plots and intricate relationships, where ego conflicts between teachers, parents, and the ambitious headmistress take place in a continuous dynamic. Although at first she tries to stay away and enthusiastically concentrates on the children, Anamarija eventually realises that it is impossible to be neutral. A turbulent relationship with an eccentric history professor who is shunned by other colleagues forces her to face the situation and decide if she is willing to sacrifice her integrity. A movie with a strong social message depicts the Croatian society through the school microcosm.

ZBORNICA

Croatia | 2021 | 126 min

DIRECTOR / SCREENPLAY: Sonja Tarokic

PRODUCTION: Ankica Juric Tilic – Kinorama; KinoElektron

CAST: Marina Redzepovic, Stojan Matavulj, Nives Ivankovic, Maja Posavec

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Danko Vucinovic

EDITING: Borna Buljevic

SCREENING: Saturday 26 November / 16:45h / Zaal 5 & Sunday 27 November / 13:15h / Zaal 2

The screening will be followed by Q&A with actress Marina Redzepovic. Dutch Premiere

Festivals & Awards (selection)

Karlovy Vary IFF, 2021 – Special Jury Mention, Ecumencial Jury Award | Zagreb FF, 2021 – Special Mention | Vilnius IFF, 2022 – Best Actress | FEST, Belgrade 2022 – Best Debut | Pula FF, 2022 – Grand Golden Arena for Best Festival Film, Golden Arenas for the Best Director, Best Actor, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actress, The award of the critic’s jury for Best Film in the Croatian Program | Herceg Novi FF, 2022 – Best Director, Best Actress

Director’s statement

This film is based on several different experiences I’ve read about and talked about with educational workers or experienced myself in one way or another. I wanted to step away from the concept of „case-story“ and create the almost indescribable helpless feeling we have in the real life when we belong to a closed community and are no longer capable of pinpointing how a certain problem began and why it can’t be solved.

Director’s bio

Sonja Tarokic (Zagreb, 1988) has an MA degree in film directing, and a BA degree in literature. She is the author of several short films. On Shaky Ground (2014), a dissection of a Mediterranean family that goes through the breakdown of its paterfamilias was screened at Rotterdam IFF and awarded the best Croatian short at Zagreb Film Festival, while her other films (You Bitch!, I’m a Self Made Woman, Smart Girls, Red) were screened and awarded at numerous international festivals, such as Sarajevo FF, Vila do Conde, Angers Premiers Plans, NEXT Bucha – rest FF, Brief Encounters FF. The Staffroom is her first feature film, which was developed through TorinoFilmLab Script&Pitch 2015 and FrameWork 2016 program, winning the TFL Production Award.