ZagrebDoXXL

The fourth edition of the participatory documentary platform ZagrebDoXXL aims to acquaint audience with the work of Croatian documentary filmmaker Boris Poljak, French documentarian Claire Simon, and Restart’s Documentary Film School.

Boris Poljak has made over 50 short documentary and experimental films, three fiction films and more than 200 commercials, which earned him many honours and distinctions at national and international festivals. He directed five short films, three together with Damir Čučić. His film Autofocus (2013) has won many awards at international festivals, including a Grand Prix at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film was screened at ZagrebDox 2016, and his most recent film They Just Come and Go (2017) was screened last year in regional competition. As part of his author’s night, after the screenings of three selected films, on Friday, 2 March, Boris Poljak will take part in a moderated Q&A session with the audience.

This year’s retrospective is dedicated to Claire Simon, a French director, writer, actress, cinematographer and editor, devoted to documentary film with utmost commitment. Her focus is anthropocentric, and her works are often categorised under the cinema vérité tradition. Her rich filmography includes over 15 award-winning films in which she often gives voice to marginalised members of society, such as women, immigrants and teenagers. A Q&A with this author is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 3 March, after the screening of her film 800 Kilometres of Difference (2001).

One of the panels at this year’s DoXXL platform is dedicated to Restart’s Documentary Film School. The school’s programme will be presented at the festival centre on Thursday, 1 March at 18:30. The participants are teachers and mentors from Restart’s Documentary Film School, Nebojša Slijepčević and Dinka Radonić, and former students Maja Alibegović, Ante Zlatko Stolica and Jasmina Beširević. The panel moderator is Nino Kovačić.