The sixth edition of the Ponta Lopud Film Festival came to a close on Sunday evening with a major open-air concert dedicated to Ennio Morricone, further strengthening Lopud's reputation as an internationally recognised haven for film professionals, emerging filmmakers and art lovers. Dedicated this year to film music and to the life and work of the legendary composer, the festival brought together evening screenings, the festival brought together evening screenings, the development of new film projects and a rich musical programme that guided audiences towards its grand finale.

The festival's final day at the Rector's Palace opened with music sessions during which young composers presented musical material developed for their projects, receiving feedback and guidance from music editor Suzana Perić. Joining them for the masterclass was composer and close Morricone collaborator Alessandro De Rosa, who offered participants an insight into the process of creating a film score. The daytime programme concluded with the panel discussion Independent Film Today, which brought together the festival's Masters and emerging filmmakers, moderated by film critic Mark Kermode, to exchange perspectives on the present and future of independent cinema.

The highlight of both the evening and the festival as a whole was the concert dedicated to Ennio Morricone in the garden of the Grand Hotel. The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Robert Homen, performed Morricone's most memorable film themes alongside vocal soloist and concert producer Thana Alexa, harmonica virtuoso Antonio Serrano, the Chamber Ensemble Camerata Mostar and the Morricone Quartet. The combination of symphonic sound, jazz and harmonica beneath the summer sky brought together guests, participants and island residents alike, before the evening continued with the festival's closing party celebrating another successful edition.

"This concert was, for me, a kind of discovery – a discovery of the soul, personality and genius of Ennio Morricone, but also a discovery of my own voice within his compositions. I am a jazz singer who usually performs my own music and arrangements, but through Morricone's music I felt inspired to explore different expressive possibilities within my voice and my musicianship, which allowed me to fully understand the playfulness and depth of his music. I do not think Lopud has ever witnessed a concert quite like this before, and it has been an honour to serve as the producer of this event," said Thana Alexa.

Over the course of four festival evenings, audiences gathered beneath the open sky to watch five films that connected international and Croatian cinema: from Reinaldo Marcus Green's musical biographical drama Bob Marley: One Love, which officially opened the festival, through Luca Guadagnino's Call Me by Your Name, screened ahead of its upcoming tenth anniversary, Lukas Dhont's Belgian drama Close and Giuseppe Tornatore's classic Cinema Paradiso, to Igor Jelinović's Croatian debut feature Koke (Honey Bunny), which had one of its earliest public screenings on Lopud.

Alongside the screenings, the heart of the festival was its working programme built around two Croatian and regional projects in development – History of Illness, directed by David Gašo, and The Long Weekend, directed by Katarina Koljević – whose creative teams developed their projects through workshops and mentoring sessions alongside internationally recognised colleagues. Through sessions dedicated to production, authorship, criticism and film music, emerging filmmakers learned directly from guests including producer Peter Spears, directors Reinaldo Marcus Green and Lukas Dhont, actor Alexis Manenti, director and actor Dragan Bjelogrlić, director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović and film critic Mark Kermode, while young composers developed their musical vision under the mentorship of Suzana Perić.

With this sixth edition, the Ponta Lopud Film Festival has once again remained a place where cinema lives among people, where knowledge and inspiration are shared generously and where the island of Lopud continues to affirm its role as a creative refuge and a bridge between generations, cultures and cinematic visions. Through its tribute to film music and Ennio Morricone, this year's festival reminded audiences that music is an inseparable part of the cinematic experience and signalled its ambition to continue growing in the years ahead as an internationally recognised platform for artistic exchange and professional development.

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, was held from June 25 to 28 and was 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.