The most famous and very historically important monument in Pula, Croatia, the old Roman Amphitheater, today is the venue for summer performances, which can seat about 5,000 spectators and the underground passages, once used by the gladiators, nowadays hosts the Croatian National Film Festival. Popularly called Arena of Pula, which was once the site of gladiator bloodthirsty fights, 18th till 25th of July holds on the fight of the Croatian filmmakers. This starting and ending point of every sightseeing tour was built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Vespasian, at the same time as the magnificent Colosseum in Rome and still today remains the same for Croatian culture.

Pula Film Festival this year opens in very full Arena, with film directed by Nikša Sviličić “I believe in Angels” and keeps on very successfully with an interesting omnibus of short feature films “Zagreb stories” which are nine naturalistic views on every day city life, stories produced by Croatian film production wonder Boris T.Matić. The omnibus is unrelated perspective of surviving in urban world of established convenctions ' and animus that wins most attention. Beside the excellent national program festival Arena audience greets the international part and the real refreshment brings retrospective of Spanish film and Spanish great author Pedro Almodovar, films that gain a great interest of the audience.

Since the most deadly aspect of cancer is its ability to spread, or metastasize 56.Pula Film Festival awards film “Metastasis” directed by Branko Schmidt with 3 Golden Arenas, Award for Best Film to Branko Schmidt, Award for Best Production to Stanislaw Babić and Award for Best Actor to Rene Bitorajac. Once the film tumor is formed, this process is called metastasis. The Golden Arena for the Best Actor of our metastasis goes to a Croatian actor of the film, Rene Bitorajac, as a perfect metaphor for a post war nationalistic layer of society in Croatia.



“Film Metastasis imposed as a distinctive psychological study about urban margin characters, damaged by many aspect of urban post war reality. Schmidt has remarkable feeling for organization of composition scene, natured in real documentaristic and feature film components," explains Croatian film director and a head jury member Zrinko Ogresta. Also film “Love Life of a Gentle Coward” by Pavo Marinkovic wins Best Actress Award, Best Scenography Award and Best Montage Award, film “Blacks” by Zvonimir Jurić and Goran Dević wins Best Director Award, Best Side Actor Award and Best Tone Award and film “Donkey Kenjac” by Antonio Nuić wins Best Screenplay Award, Best Camera Award, and Best Music Award, 3 Golden Arenas for each film. The film „Blacks” gets award for” conciseness and well worked all form of an exposed film performance, reached to a rare film directing level in bare story elaboration. "



Croatian Film Critic Association awards Nuić’s film “Donkey Kenjac” with Oktavian Award and “Two Lovers” film directed by James Gray wins Best International Film Award. Croatian Film Lovers Association awards “Eden à l'Ouest / Eden Is West” by Costa-Gavras. And Krešo Golik Vjesnik Daily News awards Relja Bašić for lifetime achievement in Croatian Film Industry.

Radmila Djurica