History Film Festival is an international festival of historical documentary films organized by ISTRA FILM. The Festival is taking place in Rijeka, Croatia.
History Film Festival aims at offering viewers and film experts an insight into contemporary film and TV production of historical documentary films, at the same time providing a place where film professionals can meet and share their creative ideas for future projects.
In 2021 the festival will be especially focused on films connected to the following subjects:
- THE BERLIN WALL and compelling stories from both sides of the Wall
- EUROPEAN RAILWAYS and TRAINS as symbols of connecting people and part of Europe's mutual heritage and culture
- BIOGRAPHICAL DOCS - films that reveal stories of famous and once famous, but forgotten people (artists, musicians, filmmakers, politicians, athletes, etc.)
- CROATIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
- stories from TOTALITARIAN REGIMES
From its first year (September 2017) History Film Festival cherishes and extends its collaboration with documentary filmmakers from all over the world. All of the films we showcase at History Film Festival tell history in exciting, often unusual, sometimes very intimate and visually attractive ways, but they also shed revelatory light upon the present which is exactly one of the aims of History Film Festival. These films show all the talent and passion of documentarists who always seem to find innovative and creative techniques of shaping history into exciting story. Furthermore, we believe that documentary filmmaking based on the archives and research is essential for the understanding of the past and the present, especially as an answer to the era of fake news.
In 2021 we plan to showcase documentaries which confirm how history can be extremely exciting and promote diversity, tolerance, intercultural dialogue and reconciliation as a way of exceeding the past and building a better future.
Festival programme consists of a competition programme, and special thematic programmes (master classes, panels, exhibitions, etc.).
Official awards of History Film Festival are:
• Grand Prix
• Best Independent Production Documentary
• Best TV Production Documentary
• Best Director
• Best Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Editing
• Best Composer
• Audience Award
Official awards consist of a statue.