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Awarded Israeli director Shemi Zarhin at the 7th Festival of Tolerance with his feature film 'The World is Funny'
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Nataša Popović, director of the Festival, in company with Mustafa Nadarević at the 7th Festival of Tolerance
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Crowd in the Cinema Europa at the 7th Festival of Tolerance
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French director Franck Apprederis introduced himself to the 7th Festival of Tolerance audience with his feature film 'The Time of Silence'
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'Anti-Masonic posters' exhibition consists of the Nazi propaganda posters which were made in Serbia during WWII., and its owner is a world-renowned designer and illustrator Mirko Ilić
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Visitors of the 7th Festival of Tolerance at the 'Anti-Masonic posters' exhibition
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Volunteers of the 7th Festival of Tolerance at the Cinema Europa stage together with Branko Lustig
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Volunteers of the 7th Festival of Tolerance
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Branko Lustig talks to students about his own experience of living in the concentration camp
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Before Branko Lustig's lecture there was a screening of the film 'Wunderkinder' about musically unusually talented children developing a deep and genuine friendship extending beyond their different religions and nationality
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Award winning Israeli musician and film music composer Ishai Adar was our guest at the 5th JFF
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World renowned Israeli etno-musician performed on the 3rd JFF
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Doris Schechter and Denise Benmosche, executive producers of documentary Ahead of Time, came to the screening of their film at the 5th JFF
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French director Graham Guit was present at the screening of his film Hello Goodbye at the 5th JFF
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Popular Slovakian director Matej Mináč talking to the audience after the screening of his film Nicky's Family at the 6th JFF
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Mirko Ilić, world renowned graphic designer and illustrator and author of the Festival logo, was the International Talent Workshop lecturer on the 5th and 6th JFF
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American director and Emmy Award winner Michael W. King introducing his film The Rescuers which was screened at the 6th JFF
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Famous Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård was present at the screening of film Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg at the 4th JFF
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Art director and illustrator David Polonsky was present at the screening of animated documentary Waltz with Bashir at the 3rd JFF
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Famous actor Rade Šerbedžija was our guest at the 3rd JFF as he attended the screening of film Fugitive Pieces
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German director Jochen Alexander Freydank came to 3rd JFF as he attended the screening of film Toyland for which he won the Academy Award in 2009
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Renowned German director and Academy Award winner Florian Gallenberger was our guest as his film John Rabe opened the 4th Festival
The Zagreb Jewish Film Festival was first organized in 2007, as the only Jewish film festival in the region. In its first year, it spanned across three days, in the following two it covered five days, while from its fourth edition, its duration is seven days. The public interest for the Festival grows with each year.
Our work thus far and numerous recognitions from various institutions and individuals have proved that the Association offers a program that is very much so needed in today’s society – not only on the level of contributing to the cultural program of the City of Zagreb and presenting quality and highly esteemed works, but also on the level of influencing awareness about the meaning of tolerance and acknowledging diversity in a society which is going through a recession, as well as through a crisis in values and moral.
What has singled out this Festival as internationally unique from the very start is its devotion to the subject of the Holocaust and the education of all generations, especially schoolchildren, through various lectures and workshops on the necessity of understanding the different. We are dedicated to education and warning the wider public about the omnipresent neo-fascist iconography in the public life of Croatia and wider, about the verbal and graphic hate speech, and the violent behavior of certain social groups and individuals. Far too often, we turn our heads away from these problems instead of confronting them. Even today we are witnesses to the usage of the symbols of hatred which surround us on a daily basis, sometimes aptly hidden behind the curtain of sports events, especially football matches, concerts, and the notion of patriotism. The community in which we live, and in which this Festival is held, has still not become aware of the atrocities that took place in our recent history, nor has it properly confronted this topic. That is why this Festival is an important public platform which, with each year, is visited by more and more people and which ever so clearly reminds us of the terrors of the Holocaust: it should not be forgotten!
With the purpose of reaching out to and educating diverse target groups and recognizing the needs of the community in which and for which we work, we divided the Festival into the following program units:
- Film program
- Educational mornings - education programs on the Holocaust and tolerance
- International Talent Workshop
- Music program
- Thematic exhibitions
- Promoting volunteer work and the “Solidarity among Generations” project
In the seven years during which the Festival of Tolerance - Jewish Film Festival has been held, its programs have thus far been visited by approximately 48000 viewers. Due to the availability of educational and cultural features to the wider public, with a particular view toward socially deprived groups, the Festival’s segments are free of charge to all visitors and participants, regardless of the extremely high cost of organizing such high quality programs.
After the Festival’s 6th edition, the cities of Rijeka and Sarajevo recognized the cultural, artistic, educational and moral value of the Festival of Tolerance.
The public interest for the Festival grows with each year. In the debut year of the Festival, a total of 2,000 visitors attended its program, in the fourth year the number of visitors rose to 7,000, while the most recent 7th edition and its film and accompanying program attracted as many as 10,600 people, which, in percentages, is an increase of 530 percent in a mere six years.
