“Three segments of the Festival that are most important for us and for preserving the film in the future are the film screening activities through MFF, education through our workshops and production”, said Tomislav Topić, director of the Mediterranean Film Festival, at the press conference on the occasion of the opening of the 19thMediterranean Film Festival – documentary film festival that will take place from August 22 to 25. Misijana Brkić Milinković on the behalf of HT Eronet as the general sponsor, Zdravko Mustać, the festival selector, Lucy Eagleson Ribich, MFF workshop mentor and Zdenko Jurilj, director of the film ‘Sisters’ that will open this year’s edition of the Festival, were also present at the press conference, and informed the public about the festival, official competition program, off program, workshops and other events within the festival.

Around forty films will be screened at this year’s MFF, and Topić placed a special emphasis on home authors and creativity that this Festival is proud of.“Not everyone can brag with that, but we have succeeded to maintain this in the past years. The next festival will be our twentieth anniversary, we are working by all the festival rules and according to all the parameters we are the second festival in our country, what makes us really proud”, said Topić.  

The festival Selector Zdravko Mustać said that over 230 films from the Mediterranean parts applied for the festival.“I am sorry that we had a limit of 20 films for the competition, because there were great films that couldn’t enter the competition, but I am glad that, in agreement with the festival director, I have created a new program, out of competition, ‘In Focus’, in which we will screen seven more documentaries”, said Mustać. He pointed that he had had a very hard task.

“I think that this MFF has actually placed itself on the map of the most important festivals of this kind in the world. The fact that awarded authors or films that have participated at a number of eminent festivals around the world want to take part at MFF in Široki Brijeg proves that this Festival has become one of the main festivals in this part of the world. Every visitor will have something to see”, said Mustać.

Misijana Brkić Milinković, head of the Corporate Communication Department at HT Eronet, which has provided rich awards for the visitors of the Festival, pointed that HT Eronet supports Mediterranean Film Festival with pleasure. They have recognised its potential and the wish for the local communities, even for a few days, to become the centre of culture, art, meeting people, lovely memories and positive events.

“Throughout all these years, we have been together, participated together in the growth and development of this festival, which, to the joy of all of us, has long exceeded the borders of our country. We are extremely proud that HT Eronet is the general sponsor of the MFF this year too. We have friends here, we mutually create new beautiful stories here”, said Brkić-Milinković.

The MFF workshop mentor Lucy Eagleson Ribich presented the short film that was filmed in Široki Brijeg, during the past days, by the workshop participants. This is a dark comedy typical for our region and, as she pointed, there is a significant step forward in the work and the quality and the film is 'more mature' compared to their earlier works.

“Now we are already a well-established team and children who have learned the basics at the first workshops, now are already assisting and sharing their knowledge with the younger group. From the sound mentors, set technique, acting, to young directors and producers who are now fully into the film", said the mentor of the workshop that is organised in cooperation with ‘Outside the Lens’ program.

The film that is opening the 19th MFF is the documentary ‘Sisters’, produced by Kadar production from Široki Brijeg.

“Our film is a serious and gloomy reality. I have always had some cramp in my stomach when coming to the local audience, when we are presenting something in front of them. The expectations are very big and I'm afraid of their reactions because they expect us to offer them a movie in the way we have done so fa, but we will offer something quite different. This film does not connect to TV documentarism, it is a poetic documentary. So far, after the premiere in Sarajevo, we got very good reactions and I hope this film will have a successful festival life", said Jurilj and added that sisters Draženka and Šima Čuljak will be at the premiere screening in Široki Brijeg.

Mediterranean Film Festival, which was supported by the US Embassy in BiH and the Office of the EU Special Representative in BiH, among others, will be held from 22 to 25 August in Široki Brijeg. There are ten feature documentaries in the competition that will compete for the MFF Projector award, the ‘Grand Prix – Jack Daniel’s’, and short documentary films that compete for MFF Projector award ‘Best Short’. The audience will also choose the best film by their opinion and this one is wining the MFF Projector ‘Audience Award’.