Moving the focus to conversation away from competition is the guiding force of Slano Film Days which starts today in Croatia.
Mirsad Purivatra, the event’s creator and the former director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, says he is aiming to create a new format of film industry initiative.
“People are coming here not to have any kind of red carpet, no pitching, no projects,” says Purivatra, who started Slano last year. “The idea is to meet each other as filmmakers, to speak about film, to speak about our experience, knowledge, and to inspire each other.”
The annual event’s second edition takes place in the Croatian town of Slano, just outside Dubrovnik, from June 17-21. Purivatra chose the town after he and his wife moved there to live following the Covid pandemic, and he stepped back from running Sarajevo after 27 years.
For a small group of emerging film talents from the Balkan region, Slano Film Days will host lectures, screenings, excursions, lunches, dinners and parties. Thanks to Purivatra’s contacts book, it will welcome a roll call of international guests that would satisfy much bigger events.
Ruben Ostlund, Steve Buscemi, Daniel Bruhl, Maura Delpero, Pawel Pawlikowski and Juho Kuosmanen are just some of the names headed to the Adriatic coast next week.
Up to 20
Size only matters for Slano in terms of keeping it small, however. Purivatra has invited fewer than 60 guests, with a guiding line of “up to 20 speakers, up to 20 participants, and up to 20 people from the film industry.”
He was motivated to create the event after discussions at Sarajevo about the relentless nature of the industry, especially at festivals. “Usually in the film business it’s just running, running, running,” says Purivatra. “Everyone is coming to present a film, spend one or two nights at official dinners, give 20 interviews, and not have the chance to speak in an informal atmosphere.”
Slano Film Days is budgeted at €200,000, with 30% coming from regional film funds, 15% from local institutions, and the remainder from corporate sponsors. None of the high-profile guests are paid to attend, which Purivatra says is part of the ethos. “I appreciate this; they’re coming to support this idea and be together with other filmmakers.”
While some guests are coming to Slano from far afield, the regional element is essential to its director, both culturally and financially. “70% of the guests are regional guests, which is so important to our budget,” says Purivatra. “It’s incomparable with the costs related to [wider] Europe or America.”
The event is partnered with Sarajevo Film Festival, including through the Cinelink Workshop. The emerging regional filmmakers include creators of 12 projects across features and series, who will engage in informal development discussions with script doctors next week. They will then present their projects as part of the Cinelink Industry Days in Sarajevo this August.
Slano is also participating in a Female Filmmakers Support Programme with Sarajevo and insurance company UNIQA, through which it will provide financial assistance to women directors from the six countries where UNIQA operates in the region: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Montenegro.
With just days to go before the second edition gets underway, Slano was still adding speakers to its lineup. WME agent Elizabeth Wiederseim is flying over from Los Angeles to meet the rising regional talents; while the event has also added casting directors Nancy Bishop and Timka Grin and talent agents Anila Gajevic and Bojana Rnjak to its roster, as well as Bosnian director Danis Tanovic and top international producers Philippe Bober and Peter Spears.
Slano is built on the back of Ponta Lopud, a similar event held from 2021-2023 on the nearby island of Lopud. The connection continues via the Artist Retreat, which offers one filmmaker from the region the opportunity to spend four weeks on Lopud working on a script.
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