Saturday is the day when RAFF officially begins, and the program is packed with events from the morning! Choose what you like, or even better – come to all our programs.
10,00 – Festivalski trg Pjaceta
“QUEENS GAMBIT” with Elizabeta Gojan – guest is Croatian opera diva Dunja Vejzović.
There is no more logical and spectacular start to the series of conversations by legendary journalist Elizabeta Gojan, in her favourite format called “Queen’s Gambit” than with the prima donna Dunja Vejzović on Rab. Because few places in the world can match the love affair between Dunja Vejzović and Rab. Mutual inspiration, who gives more to whom – Dunja to Rab or Rab to Dunja? We, the listeners and viewers, and the lucky ones who will watch and listen to “Queen’s Gambit” live at Pjaceta, are certainly the biggest winners.
10,30 – Zimsko kino
RAFF JUNIOR – “Fox and Hare Save the Forest” – a family animated film about the power of friendship, dubbed in Croatian.
A group of cheerful animal friends lives in a beautiful and large forest. One day, strange things start to happen: the Owl disappears, and the river overflows and gets closer to their homes. The animals unite, led by the Fox and the Hare to find their friend the Owl, find out what is happening, and save their homes. A fun family animated adventure that celebrates the power of friendship. The film is a co-production of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
(71 minutes long)
Partner Country program – Kingdom of the Netherlands
11,00 – Festivalski trg Pjaceta
RAFF TALK – INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM OUTSIDE OF NEWSROOM
The world is rapidly changing, and so are the media. While this brings new forms and formats, it also brings some painful changes. Newsrooms are no longer safe places for journalists, collectives of like-minded professionals whose goal is to report in the highest public interest. Newsrooms are increasingly just corporate outposts, where even a slight deviation from corporate policies or the interests of the owners can result in dismissal or departure. More and more quality journalists are outside newsrooms, and more and more projects have no platform for publication. Leading journalists from the region discuss the risks of new circumstances, but also new opportunities and possibilities: Zoran Kusovac, Nataša Božić Šarić, Aleksandar Trifunović, and Mila Moralić. The conversation is moderated by Žarka Radoja.
12,30 – Zimsko kino
„Propagandist“ – documentary, competition
108’, The Netherlands 2024., r. Luuk Bouwman
Using previously unpublished interviews, diaries, family recordings, and propaganda films, Propagandist follows the rise and fall of Dutch filmmaker Jan Teunissen, who lived from 1898 to 1975. During World War II, he became the most powerful man in the Dutch film industry. As the head of the SS Film Department and the Dutch Nazi party, NSB, he became known as the “film emperor” and the “Dutch Leni Riefenstahl.”
The film was awarded the best Dutch documentary film at IDFA – International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.
Partner Country program – Kingdom of the Netherlands
20,00 – Kino Murnau / Festivalski trg Pjaceta
SLICE OF LIFE / SPLASHBACK
53’, 2019./2023., Croatia, USA, Canada/Croatia; dir. Luka Hrgović, Dino Julius
Two short films by enthusiastic authors who have shown that it possible to make a film even without significant institutional support. It is possible to storm festivals or end up on the HBO platform, if you are determined enough. In their first film, Slice of Life, they show how they imagine a sci-fi story in a utopian Los Angeles of the future. In their second film, Splashback, they go back in time – to the historic moon landing in 1969. But warehouse worker George at NASA at the time is working on a completely different invention, a urinal net to prevent splashback when men go to the toilet.
Free entrance
20,15 – Ljetno kino
OPENING CEREMONY OF 7TH RAB FILM FESTIVAL
RAFF opening ceremony, guest and participant greetings, and program announcement. After a brief formal opening of the festival, the film screening follows.
PRIVATE LIFE – feature film, competition
105’, France, 2025., dir. Rebecca Zlotowski
When a renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner learns of the death of one of her patients, she is deeply disturbed. Convinced it is a murder, she decides to investigate…
This mystery film is also the first French film in the rich opus of American Oscar winner, actress Jodie Foster, who plays the lead role.
22,00 – Festivalski trg Pjaceta
RAFF BEAT – Kristijan Beluhan Quintet
Kristijan Beluhan, as a singer, composer, lyricist, and producer, has left a deep mark on jazz, soul, and funk music in Croatia over the past 30 years. Don’t miss the concert, which is also a retrospective of his career and work, bringing many hits to kick off the 7th RAFF.
Free entrance
