The 18th Festival of Tolerance finished on a positive note
In its first edition in Zadar, the Festival explored which topics the Zadar audience finds most interesting in terms of tolerance and dialogue expansion, but it also emphasized the importance of raising citizens’ and the audience’s awareness further and not abandoning the idea of building a more humane society. The festival attracted 1,150 visitors, both locals and tourists, enriching Zadar's cultural offer at the end of the summer.
"The first year of the Festival of Tolerance in Zadar is behind us, and the positive experience and support we have received, particularly from the audience, has encouraged us to begin partner-friendly preparations for its 2025 incarnation as early as tomorrow. Each of us possesses a talent, and when talents combine, the potential grows exponentially, so after the first year, we invite all organizations and individuals who wish to develop the program of future Festivals of Tolerance to contact us. We would like to express our gratitude to all attendees this year,” - said Nataša Popović and Andrej Fric, the directors of the Zadar Festival of Tolerance.
The films that were shown to the Festival’s recently expanded Zadar audience focused on contemporary issues, emotions and situations, emotions and situations that are difficult for us to discuss or fully comprehend, but they also provided answers to some questions through the seventh art and offered an opportunity for a better understanding of the times we live in. The bulk of the films shown were premieres curated by Snježana Tribuson and Boško Picula, produced by the civic and social organizations Jewish Film Festival Zagreb and the Center for Independent Culture Zadar (Kino Zona).
More than three hundred students and their teachers from Zadar secondary schools attended the morning educational programs where young people learned from practical examples how empathy and a warm human word are the least and most that each of us can do on our own. The film "One Life" and the testimony of Vesna Domana Hardy, a Holocaust survivor, helped the students understand the tragedies of the Holocaust. The film "The Siren", and a discussion with Nagham Oufan from Syria, Monika Čavlović, advisor from the Office of the Ombudsman and Fani Marinović, coordinator of the project "Building a Welcome Society" from the Volunteer Center in Zadar, presented the challenges encountered by refugee children.
The "Hope Far from Home" Tolerance Talk covered the problems faced by refugees and migrants in new settings, highlighting the differences in experiences based on the type of migration, as well as common difficulties such as language barriers, prejudices and precarious working conditions. During the discussion, it was brought up that Croatia has numerous positive examples of support for refugees and migrants despite the challenges. The system has room for improvement, especially now that refugees share a common denominator of migration, whether it be due to war, economic hardship or climate change.
The second Tolerance Talk entitled "Tolerance in Full Swing, That's My Thing" addressed the extremely crucial subject matter of peer violence and stressed that it is a problem that is more prevalent on social media than in school hallways. Everyone has more courage there and children often lack a fully developed awareness of how a victim feels, which is what we need to be aware of and talk about more in public.
The Market Festival surprised with the audience’s willingness to ask questions and discuss all sides of the concerns raised by the films "Island of Hope" and "The Sky Above Zenica" with festival representatives. Salaam Film Festival and RAFF – Rab Film Festival both showcased their projects and events as part of the market.
The Festival of Tolerance would like to thank everyone for their support, including partners and sponsors, associates, friends, a small but dedicated team, and most importantly the Zadar audience for their hospitality.
