Vanja Svilicic’s Zagreb Cappuccino has won the works in progress award at the Pula Film Festival.

The prize comes for the first time with $8900 (HRK 50,000) in post-production services by Teleking.

The jury deciding the best film from the six pitches was comprised of Cannes programme advisor Joel Chapron, Slovenian producer Ira Cecić, and the Serbian Film Centre’s Miroljub Vučković.

The jury said in a statement: “Zagreb Cappuccino is a brave film about growing-up both of its characters and its author Vanja Sviličić, who presented the complexity of the lives of her characters using rich film terminology and showing respect for rules concerning television expression.”

The film is a drama, the director’s feature debut, about two women in their 40s who are old friends who have taken different paths in life. A night on the town leads them to meeting much younger men. The film is now editing with a 90-minute rough cut in progress.

The other projects pitched were:

The Bridge at the End of the World, dir. Branko Ištvančić

Producer Irena Skoric said this is “an arthouse thriller about the post effects of the war.” A man goes missing and police investigate his case as well as his past. Skoric added: “It is a story about people who have nothing, they only thing they have is the past, they are frozen in time but they need to build bridges.” The film is the final stages of editing.

New Folder, dirs. Zvonimir Jurić, Filip Šovagović, Ivan Salaj, Sara Hribar, Bobo Jelčić, Hana Jušić, Vlatka Vorkapić, Tanja Golić, Stanislav Tomić, Sonja Tarokić, Edi Mužina, Petar Orešković, Dalibor Matanić, Ivan Sikavica

This unusual film was boldly pitched as “something very new in filmmaking history,” as a film version of the Exquisite Corpse concept. 15 directors will work on the film, each makes one 5-minute scene based on one minute of the predecessor’s scene. “It’s a narrative experiment,” said the project’s originator. Shooting will finish by January in the year-long project.

The Saints, dir. Ivan Perić

The director described this feature as a “simple comedy” about two guys trying to get their friend out of prison. It is set in 1995-1996 so that the war still lingers in the minds of the characters. Peric said it is “very low budget” and it marks his graduation film. The project is still shooting but editing is being done concurrently.

The Enchanting Porkers, dir. Ivan Livaković

This fast-paced black comedy/satire is a surreal and explicit story about fame and celebrity culture. The director called it “a multi genre satirical antimusical.” It is in post.

Music Box, dir. Bruno Mustić

The coming-of-age story is about a 17-year-old girl running away in a quest to find herself. It is starting post now for release by the end of 2013.