From September 23 to 26, Široki Brijeg will once again be dedicated to documentary film. The 27th Mediterranean Film Festival brings four days of film screenings, meetings between filmmakers and audiences, and a program featuring documentaries from the Mediterranean and around the world.

19 documentary films will be screened in the official competition program of this year’s MFF – nine feature and ten short documentaries. A total of 250 films from 17 Mediterranean countries were submitted to the festival, and the selected program presents diverse artistic approaches and poetics, topics, and perspectives on the contemporary world.

In addition to the competition program, the audience will also have the opportunity to explore the "In Focus" program, featuring a selection of short documentaries from Mediterranean countries. It offers an overview of contemporary documentary production, exploring themes such as identity, everyday life, family, social change, memory, and the Mediterranean region itself.

A special place in the program is reserved for local filmmakers. The festival will screen “Follow Me with Your Heart” by Zdenko Jurilj on Thursday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. It is a documentary dedicated to the life and work of Fra Slavko Barbarić. Through archival footage, documents, and personal testimonies, the film tells the story of his life and the projects that marked his work.

This year’s OFF program features a fiction film that will be screened in the Open air cinema on Friday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. The audience will have the opportunity to see the film “Honey Bunny” by Igor Jelinović, which opens up the issue of family relationships, ambition, property, and family expectations through the story of two sisters. The film won the Best Film award at the last edition of Pula Film Festival, as well as Best actress and Best Screenplay awards. 

The OFF program also features the documentary film “Vjesnik – Last Edition” directed by Dražen Klarić. The screening is scheduled for Saturday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Cinema Borak. The film focuses on the final edition of the Vjesnik newspaper and the destiny of the iconic Vjesnik skyscraper, while also unfolding a broader story about journalism, the media, and social change.

Youngest audiences won't miss out on their own festival program this year either. As part of MFF Fora, the live-action/animated action-comedy “Coyote vs. Acme” will be screened at Cinema Borak on Saturday, September 26, at 10:00 a.m.

The international jury in three categories will decide on the best works at MFF. Members of the jury for the best feature documentary film - MFF Grand Prix are Alena Džebo, Johannes Pause and Vinko Brešan, while the jury members for best short film - MFF Best Short are Miro Barnjak, Siniša Gačić and Almin Kaplan.

In addition to the Grand Prix and Best Short, the audience will traditionally award their prize, while the Best Camera award for the best cinematography will be awarded by the Association of Cinematographers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This year's MFF once again confirms its Mediterranean orientation, but also its openness towards different film cultures and author’s perspectives. From stories that come from the immediate festival environment to films that talk about universal human experiences, the program of the 27th edition brings documentary film in all its various forms.

This year, too, the MFF is more than just film screenings. It is a meeting place for filmmakers and audiences, a place for conversations, get-together with a special festival atmosphere that has made Široki Brijeg an important location for documentary films in the region for years.

Four days of film, encounters, and stories that stay with the audience long after the final shot, await you from September 23 to 26. The festival's general sponsor is HT Eronet.