Two powerful cinematic stories – one about the fragility of childhood friendship, the other about a lifelong love of cinema – marked the second evening of the Ponta Lopud Film Festival. In the garden of the Grand Hotel, audiences enjoyed Lukas Dhont's Belgian drama Close and Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian classic Cinema Paradiso, while the daytime programme brought together emerging filmmakers and acclaimed industry professionals around questions of authorship and film production.

During the morning masterclass, the producers of the participating teams presented strategies for developing their projects, while Peter Spears Academy Award-winning producer of films including Nomadland, Call Me by Your Name and On Swift Horses – offered comments and guidance. Spears spoke about navigating projects through financing, team-building and distribution, but also about the patience that independent filmmaking demands from those who choose to pursue it.

The afternoon masterclass brought together Belgian director Lukas Dhont and Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, who moderated the conversation. Dhont, whose debut feature Girl (2018) won the Camera d'Or at Cannes, and whose second feature Close (2022) received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination, spoke candidly about the burden of expectations that often accompanies the early stages of a directing career and about preserving one's artistic voice under public scrutiny.

The evening screenings opened with Dhont's Close (2022), a subtle drama about friendship and the fragility of identity, which the director personally introduced to the audience. It was followed by Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian classic Cinema Paradiso (1988), a story of love for cinema inseparably intertwined with Ennio Morricone's music. The film was introduced by music editor Suzana Perić and Italian composer and close Morricone collaborator Alessandro De Rosa, thereby continuing the musical thread that has guided this year's festival towards its finale.

"This is my first time in Croatia and my first time at the Ponta Lopud Film Festival. It is also the first time I will be watching Close outdoors, which will be a new experience for me as well. The film emerged as a kind of tribute to everyone I loved during a period when perhaps I did not know how to show that love in the way I wanted to. I hope the film will mean something to the audience – that is what matters most to me. It is a great honour to be here and to have had the opportunity to present the film just ahead of a screening of Cinema Paradiso, a film I deeply love," said Lukas Dhont.

This evening, audiences will have the opportunity to attend a screening of the Croatian film Koke (2026), the feature debut of director Igor Jelinović, inspired by a true family story and following, with humour and emotion, two sisters embroiled in a dispute over the inheritance of an old stone house on a Croatian island. The film, which enters regular theatrical distribution in July, will have one of its earliest public screenings on Lopud and will be presented by director Igor Jelinović and lead actress Snježana Sinovčić-Šiškov.

Throughout the festival, audiences can also take advantage of a dedicated boat transfer aboard the Argosy from Dubrovnik. Departure from Lapad, in front of the Faculty of Economics, is scheduled for 7:00 PM, while return departures from Lopud (in front of Hotel Lafodia) are scheduled for 11:30 PM and 1:30 AM. Further information about the programme and accompanying events is available at pontalopud.hr and on the social media channels of the Ponta Lopud Creative Platform. Tickets are available through the Entrio ticketing platform.

The Ponta Lopud Creative Platform presents three cultural programmes throughout the summer of 2026 and warmly welcomes everyone passionate about the arts, especially film, music and literature. The Ponta Lopud Film Festival, the first of the three events, takes place from June 25 to 28 and is dedicated to the art of cinema. It will be followed by the popular Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival from August 27 to 29, bringing music lovers to the island, while Ponta Lopud Book Bridge, held from September 17 to 19, will transform Lopud into a literary haven and bring the season's cultural programme to a close.