17th Mediterranean Film Festival – one of the most important events regarding the film in B&H and the region, shall take place from 24th to 27th August in Široki Brijeg. The competition program brings 22 documentary films. The selector of the festival Damir Čučić has chosen eleven films in the category of short film – up to 30 minutes, and eleven films in the category of feature length film – over 30 minutes.

The international jury in two categories decides on the best feature length and short documentary film. Besides the six members of the jury that will select the winners of the 17th Mediterranean Film Festival on 27th August in Cinema Borak and award the Grand Prix MFF Projector and the second prize MFF Projector, the audience will traditionally decide on the third award by their votes. 

Besides strong documentary program, which Mediterranean Film Festival has the focus on, interesting film works will be screened for lovers of home production, and there will be great Oscar awarded names and world premieres.Cooperation with the most important world movie network HBO continues and we shall screen documentary film ‘Chuck Norris vs. Communism’ within the HBO Adria program. Besides HBO, 17th MFF will screen two feature films ‘Brooklyn’ and ‘Love and Friendship’, with the support of Operation Cinema, in the open air cinema in the town centre.

On Wednesday 24th August, within the OFF Program we have premieres of the films of home authors, documentaries ‘Petra’s Choice’ directed by Ivan Čolak, ‘Garage Rockin Craze’ by Mario Ćužić and ‘A Second Family’ directed by Zdenko Jurilj. Croatian film ‘Tourism’ directed by Tonći Gaćina will be screened at the opening ceremony of the 17th MFF, and beside it Italian documentary ‘Napolislam’, directed by Ernesto Pagano, will be screened on the first festival day. Besides the competition program, the second and the third day of the Festival bring the ‘American Film Showcase’ program, within which we shall screen the documentary ‘Meet the Patels’ in the Open Air Cinema.

Proofs of Mediterranean Film Festival’s steps forward, year by year, are the new programs we shall see at the 17th edition of this Festival. One of them is MFF Fora, program for children, which brings animated films for children in the morning hours, ‘Oops! Noah is gone’ directed by Toby Genkel and Sean McCormack and ‘Top Cat Begins’ directed by Andrés Couturier.     

For somewhat older generations and all those who would like to know, see and hear how things used to be, there is the MFF Retrospective program. Six great video recordings from ‘Sutjeska Film’ bring the beauties of Herzegovina and its people to the big screen. Films ‘Captured Land’ by Hajrudin Krvavac, ‘Stone and Soil’ by Ivan Fogl, ‘Water, Change Your Course’ by Žika Ristić, ‘Over the Neretva Towards the Sea’ by Sejfudin Tanović, ‘The Wheel of Life’ by Suad Mrkonjić and ‘Stingy Land’ by Ranko Stanišić will be screened on Thursday 25 August.

Besides Fora and Retrospective, the fans of film will have the opportunity to visit MFF Rendezvous, morning coffees with interesting film lecturers who will present their knowledge and views of current seventh art, production, creation and all that interests you about the film and you are not afraid to ask. These meetings will take place each day of the Festival in the morning hours in the Press Centre of MFF (premises of the Public Library).

This year’s Mediterranean Film Festival will be closed by the Croatian feature film ‘Life is a Trumpet’ directed by Antonio Nuić. This comedy, full of humour, optimism, music evergreens and first class acting performances, will be screened on Saturday 27 August, after the awards ceremony for the best films of the 17th MFF.

The film from the MFF Workshop, which was created in Široki Brijeg during the past weeks by high school students, attendees of this workshop, together with their colleagues from the USA under the leadership of Lucy Eagleson and Tyler Gunderson, will be screened at the opening ceremony on 24th August.

Along with the great number of films, important part of the Mediterranean Film Festival, besides relaxed atmosphere and a lot of fun, are the film quizzes, workshops, abundant awards and parties that make this Festival unavoidable cultural destination of the regional scene. Welcome to the 17th MFF!