Motovun Film Festival is entirely dedicated to films made in small cinematographies and independent productions, films that broke out through their innovation, ideas, and the power of their stories. In everything, except for the ambition and the quality, Motovun wants to be a small festival showing small films, small in the warmest sense od the word.
Motovun Film Festival is a five-day film marathon in which film screenings alternate from 10 a.m. until 4 a.m., with evening outdoor screenings and daily screenings in theatres. Festival program consists of around 70 titles from all over the world, from documentaries to feature films, from shorts to long forms, from guerilla made films to co productions. The only criteria in their selection is that they fit in the open-minded atmosphere of the festival with their innovations. This year the festival is being held for the twelwth time.
In the year of the first MFF in cities across Croatia cinema theatres were being closed down. That's why we renovated an old, long-closed theatre in a small medieval town of Motovun and we made the main square into an outdoor film venue.
On the very day of the opening of the first MFF, on August 10, 1999, there was not even one non-Hollywood film being shown in Croatian cinemas. Not even one out of around 3000 titles that are produced outside of big studios every year. That's why we chose films that were made all over the world.
In a country in which MFF was launched there was not even one international feature film event. That is why we launched the festival.
At the beginning, Motovun Film Festival was conceived as a noncompetitive program. However, as with many other aspects of the festival and contrary to initial aims of the organizers, events evolved through their own logic. So, Motovun Film Festival added new awards every year, reaching the list of five of them in total.
Nevertheless, the will to compete never took hold of Motovun completely. Although we are proud of every author who received any of our awards, we can still state that this festival is not about awards and awarding. Far from it.
The Propeller
Main award of the festival. It is given by an international jury to the best film in the main program.
Bauer Award
In order to contribute to the opening of national boundaries and cinema markets in the region, Motovun Film Festival will, for the first time, present Bauer Award - Film of the Year to the best film in the region.
All feature-length films made in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia between 1 June of previous year and 1 June of current year will be competing for the award. The films will undergo three rounds of selection in which they will be evaluated by film professionals from all countries of the region, equally represented.
FIPRESCI
Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique – the oldest and most prestigious association of film critics with members from around 50 countries of the world. The association's award, given by its international film critics juries, gained exceptional popularity among film authors.
Corruption-free award
Motovun Film Festival has a long tradition of highlighting films that raise social awareness. For many years now we have been awarding films that best deal with human rights.This year we have decided to focus on a even narrower aspect of this broad theme - we will award the best film that deals with the problem of corruption. In cooperation with Transparency International Croatia, and through a network of activists and organizations from other countries, we have collected suggestions for movies that deserve attention and we have chosen the best among them.
Motovun online
The award for the best film up to 15 minutes long. It is given by a jury of young Croatian film professionals. Along with the Propeller, the oldest festival award.