On Tuesday, in the atrium of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, a professional lecture entitled "Why make films? Are films important?" was presented by Mike Downey, member of the Arts Council of the 62nd Pula Film Festival and Vice President of the European Film Academy, as part of the Pula PROfessional programme. During the lecture he shared his views with film makers, professionals and students about the making and goal of making films. "There is hope for film cinematography, especially if faith is set towards individuality and if we allow the individual to be the ultimate product of society again and not to be the exploited of society and, above all, a good consumer." said Mike Downey and added "I believe in the young generation of filmmakers that I see, even here in the audience, eager to let their voice out and change things. Yes, our fight is a good fight and never doubt the true power of film and its impact on the individual."
Mike Downey is a producer and Executive Director of the independent production company Film and Music Entertainment, founded in 2000. Since then he has produced more than 50 feature films. He is a member of the Artistic Board of the 62nd Pula Film Festival, President of the Motovun Film Festival and artistic advisor to the Zagreb Film Festival. Working closely with the organisation Amnesty International on the introduction of the human rights film award at international film festivals. Photos from the lecture HERE.
Also part of the Pula PROfessional programme, the second round table meeting entitled "Academies" was held in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Pula. The round table brought together representatives from three Academies, the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka and the Art Academy in Osijek. The newly formed cooperation between Pula Film Festival and the Academies and guidelines for further work and cooperation were discussed. There were several important conclusions. One of them is certainly that the Pula PROfessional programme supports students in the best possible way to ensure their transition from the student to the professional world, to assist them in achieving new professional collaborations, gain knowledge and learn from world renowned film experts and, perhaps most importantly, help them get an audience for their films! Photos from the round table "Academies" HERE.
To encourage and promote filmmaking to students of film and dramatic arts, this year the 62nd Pula Film Festival designed a special programme for this purpose, Student Programme, and in the category of the same name, 19 films will be screened on the 22nd and 23rd of July starting at 14:45 in a Cinema Valli. The screening schedule of the student films can be found HERE.
The exhibition entitled World Builders - scenography, was opened in the Gallery C8. The exhibition presents the "worlds" from this year's Croatian films in competition and sets which is the focus of this year's Pula PROfessional programme. The exhibition is open to all visitors. Photos from the opening of the exhibition HERE.
