A festival for and tailored to the youngest audience, KinoKino – International Film Festival for Children, where going to the cinema turns into a special and different experience, this year will have its special, 5th edition as part of the 18th Zagreb Film Festival, from 9th to 15th November at two locations in Zagreb, in Urania – the space of creation in Eugen Kvaternik square and at the Croatian Music Institute in Gundulićeva Street.

From Monday 9th to Friday 13th November in Urania – the space of creation, the main competition program of KinoKino will be held, consisting of the most important recent films for children from all over the world, while the weekend is reserved for the accompanying program (Classics and First Time at the Cinema) at the Croatian Music Institute, on Saturday and Sunday, November 14th and 15th.

The award-winning films from the main program come from Germany, Austria, Sweden, but also from Lithuania and Ireland, and they share a universal message about how everyone has the right to their own place in the world, regardless of their origin and the conditions they grew up in.

Too Far Away by German director Sarah Winkenstette, screened and awarded at numerous festivals from Zlín to Chicago, deals with a developing friendship between two rivals on the school football team who have in common that they are both newcomers to the new city – one from a German village and the other a refugee from Syria. At first, they don’t seem to have much in common, which changes completely over time. Oskar and Lili, Where Nobody Knows Us directed by Arash T. Riahi, an Austrian film about a Chechen refugee family whose mother tries to commit suicide to avoid deportation, is a bittersweet odyssey about children who, although separated from their mother, do not give up the search for her. The sequel to the family adventure comedy and the Swedish film hit Sune, Best Man by director Jon Holmberg comes to Zagreb after winning the most important awards of the Swedish Film Academy: for best film, best director, best supporting actress and actor and after being screened at the prestigious Berlinale within Generation Kplus, and it brings us new troubles of the quirky Andersson family, who deal with their internal conflicts with a lot of heart and humor. The film The Castle by Lithuanian director Lina Lužytė is a drama about growing up that follows teenage girl Monica on her path to realizing her musical dreams, despite all the obstacles that stand in front of her.

The best films will be decided on, as always, by a professional and the children’s jury, while all visitors will decide on the winner of the audience award.

Despite the pandemic, the most popular accompanying program of the festival will take place, First Time at the Cinema – a block of fiction and animated films intended for preschool children who encounter moving pictures on the big screen for the first time, in a weekend edition at the Croatian Music Institute.

As part of another accompanying program – Classics, envisaged as a space for watching older films that are unavoidable for today’s generations as well, Train in the Snow by director Mate Relja will be shown, who put a classic of children’s literature by Mato Lovrak on the big screen and made it a national classic. Despite the fact that more than four decades have passed since it was shot, the film is still relevant to children and adults due to its universal message and it is just as popular today as when it was released, which was certainly contributed to by music composed by Arsen Dedić, including an all-time favourite song When Little Hands Join Together (Kad se male ruke slože). The screening will be held in cooperation with the inclusive audio-visual program of the association Filmaktiv and the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of the Primorsko-Goranska County – Film for All.

In order for the children’s time at the cinema during the festival to be filled not only with fun but also with learning, Čejen Černić, director of the successful sequel to the adventures of the boy Koko The Mystery of Green Hill (Golden Arena for Best Debutant), will hold a workshop called Second Step in Filmmaking, where she will, together with last year’s participants of the workshop First Step in Filmmaking, continue to work on the story they chose together last year for further development. Registration for the workshop starts soon, follow our festival page!