STIFF’s 33 ways to Escape reality

STIFF 2024 brings a fresh dose of cinematic magic with 33 films that take us on various unexpected escapes from reality. These stories, divided into 9 programme blocks, were carefully selected by our curators Maša Drndić and Marta Ban. The films compete in three main categories: fiction, documentary, and animated film.

To help you explore all the cinematic gems STIFF has to offer, we’ve prepared an overview of all genres and competition categories organized by screening days. Come, escape with these films, laughing, crying, and reflecting on your everyday lives along the way.

Whether you prefer top-level animation, powerful documentary stories or emotional fictional tales, STIFF 2024 offers a rich programme for everyone. Join us and discover which film will provide you with the most thrilling escape!

Animated:
Swifts, Ada Napiórkowski, Estonia (Carried Away, 21/11) / Hervé’s Case, Luna Eliane, I Filippini, Belgium (Big Appetites, 22/11) / Windows from the South, Eugen Bilankov, Croatia (Boiling, 22/11) / Freshwater Bees, Emma Kanouté, Belgium (Whispers, 23/11) / Babushka Has a New Boyfirend, Dean Hamer, Croatia (Whispers, 23/11) / Stribor’s Forest, Ana Despot, Croatia (Mellowing, 23/11) / Oblik slona, Sam Kuwa, Japan (Mellowing, 23/11) / Cat, Fox and the Wolf, Aurore Muller Feuga, France (Out of the Shadow, 23/11) / Plica polonica, Agata Tracevič, Lithuania (Out of the Shadow, 23/11) / Your Place in Line, Eden Grosman, Israel (Thereafter, 23/11)

Documentary:

The Waiter, the Scientist and Jenny, Joe Snelling, United Kingdom (Carried Away, 21/11) / Breadcrumb Trail, Katarina Lukec, Croatia (Knots, 22/11) / The Neighborhood Street Fair, Ana Carolina Aliaga, Vitória Marques, Brazil (Big Appetites, 22/11) / Core Business, Lucija Marčec, Hrvatska (Big Appetites, 22/11) / Waiting, Not Waiting, Jonathan Brunner, Germany (Intermezzo, 21/11) / Juvies, Jure Štern, Slovenija (Boiling, 22/11) / Dysphonias, María Camila Pulgarín, Manuela Giraldo, Columbia (Whispers, 23/11) / Thank you mother, Izidor Bistrović, Croatia (Mellowing, 23/11) / Torn, Simone Hart, Jón H. Geirfinnsson, Austria (Out of the Shadow, 23/11) / In transit, Lucija Brkić, Croatia (Thereafter, 23/11)

Fiction:

Antitutoriel, Léonie Savard, Canada (Carried Away, 21.11) / The Taste of Pork Belly, Sophie Shui, Taiwan (Knots, 22/11) / Outside Noises, Amit Chish, Israel (Knots, 22/11) / Sous vide, Misja Overberg, The Netherlands (Big Appetites, 22/11) / Hot, Franck Hourliac, France (Intermezzo, 21/11) / Strangers in the Night, Matthias Krepp, Austria (Intermezzo, 21/11) / School Benches, Behrouz Shamshiri, Iran (Boiling, 22/11) / The Joy of Living, Szymon Wackowski, Poland (Boiling, 22/11) / See You ‘Round the Block, Daniel Gat, Israel, (Boiling, 22/11) / Wisdom Tooth, Yang Yixin, China (Whispers, 23/11) / The Ghosts You Draw on my Back, Nikola Stojanović, Serbia (Mellowing, 23/11) / A Cappella, Marcin Kluczykowski, Poland (Out of the Shadow, 23/11) / Whether I’d pass Lyon, Tessa Kortmulder, The Netherlands (Thereafter, 23/11)

STIFF’s time-honoured tradition of free screenings continues into our new decade. Join us again in Art-kino, let’s watch the best student films of the world together!

STIFF — Student International Film Festival is supported by Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), City of Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Serbian National Council, and Goethe Institute Zagreb. The festival takes place in Art-kino Croatia.