August 20, 2020 – After some audience members last year successfully saw films from boats, more attendees will be invited to watch from the waves at this weekend's Rab Film Festival

Visitors to this weekend's Rab Film Festival will have an experience as close to seafaring as it is to cinema-going. In response to epidemiological guidelines, the festival has had to think creatively about seating arrangements. And, they've decided to place over half the audience on boats.

“We rented two boats with a usual capacity of 150 people from which people can watch the films,” Rab Film Festival organiser Robert Tomić Zuber tells TCN. “Under epidemiological guidelines, we should be able to seat between 80 – 100 people across those.”

“A lot of people from Rab already have their own boat, so we invited all of them - and visitors who are here with boats - to come and watch the films for free from their own. We figured it was the safest way to approach the screenings this year.”


Some of the 2019 audience watched from boats. This year there will be even more. © Rab Film Festival

At 2019's Rab Film Festival, audience members were seated on a long pier, stretching out into the sea, flanked by a number of small boats. The screen faced out towards the open waters (main picture). “Last year we had about 200 people seated there,” says Robert. “This year it will be about 70.”

The 2020 Rab Film Festival begins at 8pm on Saturday 22 August and will this year showcase two movies. 'Current Sea' is a tense ecological documentary looking at the overfishing of Cambodian waters by intruding Vietnamese fishermen. “It's a documentary thriller, filmed by American director Christopher Smith,” Robert tells us. “The film was not premiered internationally until now. This is the first screening outside the US.”

The second film, 'Mater' by Croatian director Jure Pavlović, is described by Robert as something of a “little blockbuster here in Croatia.” A Dalmatian drama with lots of humour, the film had its world premiere at the prestigious Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival at the end of last year and was named best film from the region at the Belgrade FEST.

March 19, 2020 - Acclaimed journalist and filmmaker Robert Zuber and the team from the Rab Film Festival have launched a new collaborative platform called R+, with an initial hot topic - coronavirus. 

I have a few heroes in Croatia, from all walks of life. People who inspire with their genius, or dedication, or passion. Sometimes all three. 

Among them is a filmmaker and journalist called Robert Zuber (or more correctly now that I don't have to shorten the name to fit the title restrictions, Robert Tomic Zuber). We were introduced by a mutual friend, Andreas Wil Gerdes, last year, and have become good friends and journalist colleagues since.

Robert is the driving force behind the first Rab Film Festival, the only investigative documentary film festival in Croatia, with partners including the iconic Sarajevo Film Festival. 

This year's edition of Rab Film Festival, like everything else in the world right now, is on hold. But rather than sit and do nothing, Robert and his partners have some up with a new collaborative medium which can also tell your stories. Rather than me try and explain it, here is how the R+ team introduce the project.

R+

In moments of fear, anxiety, and frequent malicious fake news, we offer you a space opposite to despair.

We are witnessing great initiatives, people helping each other, streaming concerts, theatre plays, films, video stories with great messages. But, because they are scattered all over the Internet, often many of these great stories do not reach many citizens in these not-so-great times.

That is the idea behind R+. To be the one place where you will be able to express yourselves creatively, share your stories, experiences, search for information, and hear some less apocalyptic perspective while respecting the seriousness of our emerging everyday life.

R+ as of today is your platform, join us, use it, watch it, contribute to it yourselves. One by one, for each other, to preserve what is our essence - to be first and foremost human.

© Created by RAFF Film Festival on sincere emotion, valid information and determination not to give up on the bright sides of our everyday life.

A video welcome from Robert Zuber. 

And with coronavirus the hot initial topic...  

This is Rome.

Isolation lunch on the island of Rab.

Message to my generation by film director Nenad Puhovski.

Initial partners include Rab Film Festival (RAFF), AL Jazeera Balkans, Vecernji List, Radio 808, Exrey, and Kud Nikud. I hope that TCN will shortly be part of the project as well. 

All videos are with English subtitles, and you can learn more about the bilingual project from the official website here, including details on how to get involved.  

A great initiative. For the latest on the coronavirus crisis, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

What we can all do.