The 13th iteration of Festival of Tolerance – JFF Zagreb will be held from 7 April to 13 April 2019 in the Zagreb cinemas Europa, Kinoteka and Tuškanac, while the accompanying program will be held from 1 April to 20 April 2019 in public spaces of the City of Zagreb in the form of outdoor exhibitions.
The Festival of Tolerance developed from the Jewish Film Festival as a unique cultural and educational platform that has been held continuously in Zagreb over the last 12 years. It has been fostering critical thinking and the creation of a more tolerant society, in an attempt to open up a dialogue between opposing sides and to contribute to the development of a healthier social environment.
The Festival ‘s starting point was to raise awareness about and maintaining collective memory of the Holocaust through films and personal testimonies about experiences in the camps by President of the Festival and two-time Oscar winner, Branko Lustig. This year, Festival of Tolerance will place special emphasis on the importance of accepting and respecting diversity and the fundamental principles of equality and justice.
On April 1, the streets of Zagreb will be host to the photographic exhibition Oni – They inspired by the project of the Studio Aleppo entitled Picturing (new) European citizens. Zagreb public spaces will come alive with pop up installations with portraits of four refugees currently living in Croatia. Prominent Croatian artists Ana Opalić, Mare Milin, Stanko Herceg and Ivan Posavec will show us their vision of four exceptional people from Syria, Iraq and Iran with tragic life stories.
The exhibition As if they are not here: reviving memories of Polish Jews will be held from 5 to 17 April in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. The Festival presents reproductions of murals found throughout Poland, which speak about the past of the Polish Jews. The murals appear in cities in which the Jews made up a significant portion of the population before World War II, and are created by small groups of urban activists who want to remind their fellow citizens of who their neighbors used to be. In Zagreb, the murals will be shown on panels divided into 12 thematic units that speak, in an accessible way, of the importance of reviving memories in public spaces.
The Film Program of the Festival of Tolerance comprises current films screened at some of the most significant world film festivals and awarded with some of the most prestigious awards. The film program of the 13th Festival of Tolerance offers several innovations in its program sections. A new program section, Tolerance on the Edge,will present films which have distinguished themselves with their innovative and creative way of discussing socially relevant topics such as refugees, migration, human rights, sexual and gender freedoms.
Another program novelty is the section Going Spaces, as part of which the interested public will be presented with an extended and virtual reality project. This type of platform has seen a large increase in recent years, though lectures and workshops intended for creators still are predominant at festivals, whereas projects that are already finished are less represented.
The entrance to all festival programs is free!
Photo source: Festival tolerancije- JFF Zagreb
