Pula PROfessional programme launched on Monday with a lecture “Popular themes and subjects in European student film”, given by Bert Beyens, president of GEECT (European Grouping of Film and Television Schools), a regional association of CILECT (International Association of Film and Television Schools) from Belgium. This specialised programme for film professionals and those who are yet to become professionals will abound in panel discussions, lectures, book promotions, and new audiovisual accomplishments. The theme of this year’s programme is Promotion and distribution of Croatian and European film, and the programme selector is Mario Gigović.
”Popular themes and subjects in European student film” by Bert Beyens
Beyens started his lecture with a presentation of his research from 2015, where he analysed popular themes and subjects of the most successful European student films. He emphasised that almost forty percent of those film deal with the theme of family, which is very indicative in the current social context. It is also interesting that these are mostly films set in urban settings, and that politics is not especially present in student films, as opposed to love (almost 20 percent of films). There is also a growing awareness of ecology, seen in the selection of themes over the last 10 years; however, there is a limited number of films dealing with this subject. As for genres, Beyens said there are no strict genre determination.
Beyens also pointed to the importance of ethics and aesthetics as priorities in the thinking and production of both student and professional films.
He also spoke about the themes of student films he watched following his lecture, at the Istrian National Theatre at 1 p.m., emphasising their originality. After the lecture, Mr. Beyens spoke to the representatives of Pula Film Festival and the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb.
Television as Artists’ Medium: Presenting the project New Collections
In the afternoon, a round table organised by Croatian Radiotelevison (HRT) was held, presenting the New Collections project of the Third Programme. The aim of the project is to support artists and artistic production in creating new audiovisual projects. In a span of 5 weeks, HRT aired a series of newly-produced video works and installations by known Croatian artists made within the framework of HRT.
The project was presented by Tomislav Pulić, the author of New Collections, art historian and curator Branka Benčić, and director and media artist Vladislav Knežević. Vlatka Kolarević, who is also the editor and host of the show, moderated the round table.
New Collections explores the path that television might take, and in doing so, gives a chance to new media artists to explore television as a medium, and put the relationship of art and television medium into context.
Branka Benčić spoke about the historical overview of the development of the interrelationship of art and television in Croatia, highlighting the early work of Dalibor Martinis and Sanja Iveković from the 1970s, while Vladislav Knežević emphasised the fact that New Collections have given an opportunity to artists from different fields to express themselves in various thematic and aesthetic frameworks. Tomislav Pulić pointed out that this project is proof that television can generate new, positive practices by opening its doors to artists, and in doing so, encourages contemporary artistic production. Pulić also announced that the second season of New Collections is in production.
In the following days of Pula Film Festival, there are still eight events and seven screenings within the Pula PROfessional programme. You can read more about the programme HERE.
