August 23, 2020 – 21 films are in competition at Liburnia Film Festival, the country's leading festival promoting Croatian documentaries.

Liburnia Film Festival (LFF) returns this week to showcase the very best in Croatian documentary films. Held in the beautiful surroundings of Opatija, this is the 18th annual occurrence for Croatia's original documentary festival.

Opatija's small Summer Stage will host the festival's main competition programme, with an off-programme taking place at Villa Antonio in Opatija you will find. 21 films are this year competing for jury and audience awards, of which 9 are receiving their premieres at Liburnia Film Festival.


A scene from 2020 feature-length documentary 'Storkman' by Tomislav Jelinčić. The film follows Slavonski Brod widower Stjepan Vokić and his two famous, adopted house guests, the storks Malena and Klepetan. The film opens outdoor screenings on Monday 24 August at 20.15 © Transmedia Production

This year's international film programme is titled 'State of Emergency' and features 7 movies which focus on extremist movements in Europe. Part of this year's Liburnia Film Festival schedule is being run in conjunction with Rijeka Capital of Culture 2020.


A scene from 2020 film 'My Universe' by Zagreb-based filmmaker Yuliya Molina. Russian immigrant mother Galja and her feminist street artist daughter Nastja appear to be worlds apart, but actually have more in common than they'd like to admit. The 28-minute movie won Best Slovenian Film at the recent FEKK Film Festival in Ljubljana and will be screened outdoors, after 22.30, on Monday 24 August © Akademija dramske umjetnosti Zagreb

Educational programmes and discussions with filmmakers in competition make up the afternoon sections of the festival. Screenings begin at around 18.00 each day at Villa Antonio for the off-programme, with outdoor screenings usually beginning at 20.15. The festival is adhering to epidemiological guidelines and as a result, there are a more limited number of seats than in previous years.

The Liburnia Film Festival begins on the evening of Monday 24 August and ends late on the night of Friday 28 August.

ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - Croatia's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has expressed concern about the situation on the Slovenian-Austrian border, where there are huge traffic jams, urging the countries' authorities to find a solution.

Minister Gordan Grlic Radman has contacted his Austrian colleague Alexander Schallenberg, the Croatian Embassy in Vienna has been in contact with Austria's Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry since early morning, and the Assistant Foreign Minister has spoken on the phone with the Austrian Ambassador to Croatia, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

Croatian officials expressed concern about the situation on the Slovenian-Austrian border and called for an urgent solution in order to enable a faster flow of vehicles and reduce the "worryingly long wait" for entry into Austria, also for transit vehicles.

On Saturday Vienna introduced strict controls on the border with Slovenia because of the coronavirus, which has resulted in traffic jams that did not clear even on Sunday morning.

"We believe that we will soon find a solution, for the benefit of all travellers, so that they reach their destinations as soon as possible, and the latest information from the Austrian Interior Ministry is on easing up the strict measures and procedures and improving the flow of vehicles entering Austria," the Ministry said, adding they would continue monitoring the situation on the Austrian border and respond accordingly.

In recent days, Vienna has been reporting a steady increase in the number of infections in Austria, to which holidaymakers returning from Croatia have been contributing.

Last week, Austria included Croatia on the list of high-risk countries and warned against travel to Croatia, and since 17 August holidaymakers returning from Croatia have had to show a current negative test for the coronavirus or undergo testing within 48 hours and self-isolate in the meantime.

On Sunday, Austria reported 191 new cases of the coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours, underscoring that fewer tests were conducted on the weekends.

In the previous days, the number of new infections rarely dropped under 300.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, Austria has had a total of 25,253 positive cases and 732 deaths.

The situation on the Slovenian-Austrian border crossing of Karavanke was slowly getting back to normal on Sunday afternoon, the Slovenian police and traffic services said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - The Osijek branch of the Croatian Association of Returnees (ZPH) on Sunday commemorated August 23, the day of the Great Serbian aggression, occupation of the Baranja region and the expulsion of the non-Serb population.

Branko Pek, president of the ZPH Osijek branch, said that after the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) Novi Sad Corps on 3 July 1991 crossed into Baranja over the bridge at Batina, local extremists started intimidating local residents, which culminated on August 22-23, when local Serbs, with the help of the JNA, expelled all non-Serb residents towards Osijek and Hungary.

"Those who would not leave, mostly the elderly, paid for it dearly. The occupying forces used them as slaves for the most difficult kinds of work, and more than 200 people were killed during the occupation from 1991 to 1998, when the peaceful reintegration of the Danube region was completed," Pek said.

He said that Baranja had been under the protection of UN peace keeping forces since 1992 and that they, too, were resposible to some extent for the crimes committed against civilians as they did not do anyhting to prevent them.

"Those who ordered and committed crimes against innocent civilians are well-known to the authorities, some continue to move freely in the area, and nobody has been called to account for the crimes committed. We expect a just punishment for them," said Pek.

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August 23, 2020 - A total of 83,000 passengers will pass through Split's Ferry Port and Resnik Airport this weekend, while the total number of passengers who arrived at Split Airport will reach more than half a million passengers since the beginning of the year.

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that Jelena Ivulic from Jadrolinija said that 55,000 passengers and 13,500 vehicles in both directions would pass through their ferry port on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"There are more people leaving the island this weekend than coming. However, despite the fact that the season is somewhat slowing down, there is still great interest in Brac, which is why an extra ferry line will sail across Supetar this morning," she added.

No less active is the Split Resnik Airport, where 150 aircraft will land and take off this weekend, taking 28,000 passengers. Among them are about 20 private planes.

"August this year is at 40 percent of last year's traffic, and we expect that we will have 250 thousand passengers by the end of the month. It is interesting that in the first seven months of this year, we had 277 thousand passengers, and only in August, 250 thousand passengers. Thus, the total number of passengers since the beginning of the year is more than half a million passengers. Indeed, August has lifted our declining traffic," said Mate Melvan of Split Airport.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - While British tourists are leaving Croatia from Zemunik Airport near Zadar, new guests from Great Britain are arriving at Cilipi Airport at Dubrovnik despite the fact that the UK has put Croatia on a list of epidemiologically unsafe countries, the Vecernji List daily reports on Sunday.

According to the eVisitor system for the registration of guests, there were 670,000 tourists in Croatia on Friday, including 12,000 Austrians, 70,000 Slovenians and 15,500 Britons. Of the total number, 120,000 were domestic guests.

Two planes with 120 British nationals landed at Dubrovnik on Friday despite the UK's having put Croatia on its red list of epidemiologically unsafe countries and giving its nationals until Saturday to return home if they want to avoid quarantine.

"It is encouraging that despite that decision, Britons continue arriving in Dubrovnik. One of the reasons is that many work from home and no not mind quarantine. I hope that in the next few days we will manage to agree with the UK for it to switch from quarantine to a negative coronavirus test. London Airport can test 16,000 people daily and the City of Dubrovnik would cover the cost of testing, which amounts to £50 per test," Mayor Mato Frankovic, who in recent days has stepped up a campaign to attract British guests and help maintain flights from the UK to Dubrovnik.

Most of the tourists in Croatia are staying in Istria, Kvarner and Split-Dalmatia and Zadar counties.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - The Tourism Ministry said on Sunday that the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global travel and tourism sector, had awarded Croatia its Safe Travels Stamp, created in May this year.

The designation enables the identification of destinations and companies around the globe that have adopted global health and hygiene standards, the ministry said.

"As a popular European and Mediterranean destination we have been trying to cope with all problems and secure stability and security for local population and all travellers who have decided to visit us this year despite the current situation. In order to enable 'the new normal', we have prepared the necessary safety protocols and measures to make the stay of tourists in our country as pleasant as possible and to protect their health," Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac said.

Along with Croatia, the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp has also been awarded in Europe to Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Ukraine and Turkey. Twenty-two other destinations around the world have been given the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp, the ministry said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - On the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes - Nazism, fascism and communism - and in memory of the victims of the communist massacre in Macelj, a holy mass was said on Sunday in a church in Macelj.

The mass was followed by a commemoration in the graveyard next to the church in the northern Croatian village close to the border with Slovenia.

Thousands of victims died in Macelj, and with the 1,250 exhumed victims, including 21 priests, it is so far the biggest site of Communist crimes in Croatia.

Damir Borovcak, vice-president of the Macelj 1945 NGO, which organised the commemoration this year again, recalled the NGO's principle: "No to hate, no to revenge, we only want the truth available to the public."

He said that after the 1992 exhumations, the search around Macelj forests and mountains finally resumed, after 28 long years, during the term of the previous government.

"In May this year 82 new victims were found," he said.

Zdravko Cepo, president of the Macelj 1945 NGO, said that there were many graves around Macelj that needed to be thoroughly searched.

"We hope that we will manage to do that, that we will have the time and resources to find them and give them all a dignified burial," he said, adding that the search will continue in cooperation with the Veterans' Affairs Ministry.

As a delegate of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, MP Zdravka Busic also attended the commemoration. She called the Macelj area a sacred place that deserved to be respected and revered.

"Civilians, priests, nuns were killed here, and you see how many graves, mass graves there are here, still hidden in these forests. But let us be grateful for everything that the Croatian government has been doing, we have had an exhumation this summer, and I hope we are on the right path, a path of reconciliation," said Busic, undescoring that she hoped everyone will realise that every victim is equal.

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ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday laid a wreath and lit a candle at monuments on Goli Otok on the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, underscoring that it is important to nurture a culture of remembrance.

A government's memorial plaque had been erected there in memory of the victims of the communist regime killed on Goli Otok and in memory of victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

"It is important that we nurture a culture of remembrance, without truth there is no awareness or respect for the victims and ultimately no reconciliation in the context of every European nation, including Croatia," Plenkovic underscored.

"On the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, we are today on Goli Otok to pay tribute, in this particular case, to the victims of the communist regime, a totalitarian regime which marked the history of the 20th century, as well as of Croatia and the Crotian people," PM Plenkovic said.

Asked by reporters whether this visit was a correction of injustice, since prime ministers earlier often did not visit Goli Otok, Plenkovic said that it had been his wish to come to Goli Otok this year. "I am not the first prime minister on Goli Otok, in fact, the government's memorial plaque dates from ten years ago. Two years ago the parliament speaker was here, delegations often came, and this year I wanted to visit it personally and pay tribute," the Prime Minister added.

Asked whether this was a new direction for Croatia, since tribute will be paid in other places as well, Plenkovic said that these were separate things.

"We are here for the European Day of Remembrance in the context of totalitarian systems. Deputy Prime Minister (Tomo) Medved's visit to Grubori on August 25 with Deputy Prime Minister (Boris) Milosevic is of a different character. It has to do with crimes committed, first of all, against the Croatian people in the Homeland War, and then, unfortunately, with several omissions, misdeeds against citizens of Serb ethnicity in Croatia. I think it is good that we show respect to all victims," Plenkovic said.

Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic and the PM's advisor Zvonko Kusic also visited Goli Otok.

Goli Otok, which translates as Barren Island, is a northern Adriatic island. During the First World War, prisoners of war were interned on Goli Otok. Since 1948 the Goli Otok and Sveti Grgur prison camps operated for political prisoners. In 1956 Goli Otok was transformed into a regular prison. The prison closed down in 1988.

"Our complex history, like that of many peoples in Europe, is marked by great suffering. So today we condemn all totalitarian regimes and pay tribute to victims of all totalitarian regimes," Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved said while lighting candles at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the occasion of the European Day of Remembrance for victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

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