Films that will fill the halls of the 21st ZagrebDox

What makes a film a hit? Is it strong stories, compelling characters, current topics or awards at major festivals? The films in this year's ZagrebDox Festival Hits program category meet all of the above criteria, and they are five exceptional film achievements. The title that won the award for best international feature film and editing at the prestigious IDFA, Trains, by Maciej J. Drygas, consists exclusively of archival materials and brings a collective portrait of 20th-century Europeans, recording their hopes, desires, dramas and tragedies. The Landscape and the Fury, directed by Nicole Vögele, is a film essay that deals with the Bosnian-Croatian border area and explores issues of displacement, violence, but also everyday life often determined by life's coincidences. The film won the Jury Prize at the Visions du Réel festival, as well as the award for best film at the Doc Alliance.

Screened in Venice, Rotterdam, São Paulo, London, Doclisboa and Vancouver, Pavements, by American director Alex Ross Perry, is a hybrid of narrative, screenplay, documentary, music and metatextual forms, and an intimate look at the famous band preparing for a tour after reuniting. At the same time, the film also follows the preparations for a musical based on their songs, a museum dedicated to their history and a big-budget Hollywood biopic inspired by the story of the most important band of the generation. In the stunning documentary Rising Up at Night, director Nelson Makengo creates a vivid picture of the vitality of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rising Up at Night has been included in the programs of numerous relevant film festivals such as Berlinale, IDFA, Hot Docs, and won a special jury mention at Visions du Réel. Holding Liat, by Brandon Kramer, won the award for best documentary film at this year's Berlinale. After Liat Beinin Atzili was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, her Israeli-American family faces their own conflicting perspectives in the fight for her release and the future of the place they call home.

The favorite ZagrebDox program of all music connoisseurs, Musical Globe, brings us four feature-length documentaries. An emotional and inspiring biographical film about Zoran Predin, Praslovan by Slobodan Maksimović, follows the great artist's journey from Maribor to fame with Lačni Franz and his solo career. HAIYU - Rebel Singer Mariem Hassan and the Struggle for a Free Western Sahara, awarded at Sheffield DocFest and screened at DokuFest in Kosovo, explores the life and legacy of Mariem Hassan, whose music became a powerful voice of the Sahrawi struggle, combining personal stories, archival footage and interviews to highlight her influence and struggle for a free Western Sahara. Born to Be Wild - The Story of Steppenwolf, by Oliver Schwehm, follows the journey of the cult band Steppenwolf from Germany, through Toronto, to California. The film explores their hard rock sound, cultural influence and rise to fame through rare footage, archival footage and insights into the lives of the rock legends. In his documentary Funk YU, director and music lover Franko Dujmić embarks on a journey through the former Yugoslavia in search of the vinyl "Lily Street", meeting passionate collectors and DJs who share a connection between music, nostalgia, and a passion for collecting.

Another program category that fills both hearts and cinemas – Happy Dox – brings four cheerful titles to the big screen of Kaptol Boutique Cinema. A Song For My Land, directed by Argentine Mauricio Albornoz Iniesta, follows Ramiro Lezcan, a music teacher in a rural Argentine school who decides to launch a campaign to shed light on the tragedy of agrochemicals that are making students at his school sick. His journey encounters unexpected supporters and powerful opponents. Koki, Ciao, by Dutch director Quenton Miller, is a film about Koki, Tito's legendary parrot and comrade-in-arms, who meets Hollywood stars and world dictators. Koki, Ciao was screened at the recent Berlinale and Rotterdam. Romain Dumont's Street Light (DokuFest, Montréal, Cairo) follows Cheun, a beloved Parisian traffic warden who gets into trouble with a local inspector. My Swiss Army by Luka Popadić follows four Swiss army officers of immigrant background, offering a candid and insightful look at identity, integration, and a sense of belonging with a nice mix of humor and sincerity.