Kino Otok – Isola Cinema Festival: goodbye Izola, see you in Ljubljana

The five festival days of the 19th International Film Festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema in Izola have come to a successful end, leaving behind a number of precious memories and many plans for the future of film and festivals. A rich and varied programme of film screenings for audiences of all generations, meetings between filmmakers and audiences, professional exchanges, live music performances and genuine socialising attracted around 5000 people to the pre-summer seaside town of Izola. The festival programme in cooperation with art cinemas in Cerknica, Idrija, Sežana and Tolmin has also been completed, followed by a cinematographic echo with screenings at Kinodvor in Ljubljana.

Izola hosted the main part of the festival

The festival programme took place in eight popular venues of the Kino Otok, both under the roof and outdoors, in Arrigoni Open-Air Cinema, Art Cinema Odeon, House of Culture Izola, Sončna dvorana JSKD Izola, in the park and on the beach of the Lighthouse, at Largo pri Špini and in the Manzioli Palace.

In the framework of a carefully selected international programme of auteur films, which did not compete with each other but coexisted in cinematographic sections, we screened 33 feature films and 62 short films for adults, young people and children at 41 public screenings. We also organised seven screenings for groups from Istrian schools and kindergartens, a film criticism workshop for young people, and hosted an international group of young selectors who presented past selections at the festival or selected films for future programmes of the Otok Institute, the main producer of the Kino Otok – Isola Cinema Festival.

The PRO Otok programme for film professionals featured five events, including a workshop titled Practical steps for sustainable cultural events in cooperation with Motovila and Umanotera, and an expert meeting of the Art Cinema Network of Slovenia on the topic of programming and cinema, which will resonate far beyond the festival days.

Last but not least, we enjoyed live musical performances at the Lighthouse and Largo pri Špini, which are an indispensable part of the festival’s events, which are primarily dedicated to film, but also strive to establish a dialogue between film and other art forms.

During Kino Otok, 16 international guests visited Izola, 12 of whom presented film works that we have included in this year’s programme. In addition, Kino Otok also hosted a number of authors from the Video on the Beach section, which is the only section with an international call for submissions.

The Otok in Ljubljana programme continues at Kinodvor and Kinodvorišče

Over the next two weeks, the Otok in Ljubljana programme will continue at Kinodvor, one of the key partners of the Kino Otok – Isola Cinema Festival, with three screenings from today to 21 June.