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    • New Talents Open Call
      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
    • ENFF 2023 On Demand!
      Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand!
    • What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
      We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema.
    • ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
      The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation.
    • Masterclasses
      Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material.
    • Work in Progress
      In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts.
    • Festival Timetable Available!
    • Check out the catalogue for our 2023 edition!
    • Music at ENFF
      Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience.
    • Film Marathon
      Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!

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.