Fiume o morte!

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Fiume o morte!
Festival poster
Directed byIgor Bezinović [hr]
Written byIgor Bezinović
Produced by
  • Vanja Jambrović
  • Tibor Keser
CinematographyGregor Božič [sl]
Edited byHrvoslava Brkušić
Music by
Production
companies
Release dates
  • 2 February 2025 (2025-02-02) (Rotterdam)
  • 8 February 2025 (2025-02-08) (Croatia)
Running time
112 minutes
Countries
  • Croatia
  • Italy
  • Slovenia
Languages

Fiume o morte! (Italian for 'Rijeka or death!') is a 2025 comedy docudrama film written and directed by Igor Bezinović [hr]. A co-production of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, it features reenactments and reconstructions of Gabriele D'Annunzio's occupation of Rijeka.

It premiered at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won the Tiger Award. At the 72nd Pula Film Festival, the film won six Golden Arenas, including Best Director for Bezinović. It was selected as the Croatian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.[1]

Premise

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Residents of present-day Rijeka, Croatia reenact images of Gabriele D'Annunzio's 1919–1920 occupation of the city.

Cast

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  • Lovro Mirth as Guido Keller and a narrator
  • Tonka Mršić as Luisa Baccara
  • Renzo Chiepolo as Vittorio Emanuele Pittaluga and a narrator
  • Goran Pavlić as Antonio Grossich
  • Nikola Tutek as Guglielmo Marconi
  • Silvana Zorich as the lady reading a poem and a narrator
  • Noemi Dessardo as the dancing Fiuman girl and a narrator
  • Sara Marsanich as Antonia Copetti and a narrator
  • Sandro Ferletta as the officer leaving D'Annunzio and a narrator
  • Igor Domijan as a musician in D'Annunzio's band
  • Berislav Pavišić as a musician in D'Annunzio's band
  • Ivo Šubat as the accordion player
  • D'Annunzio's officers:
    • Zoran Antić
    • Zoran Baldo
    • Šemsi Beljulji
    • Igor Broznić
    • Zoran Ćupić
    • Tihomir Dujakovič
    • Albi Enesi
    • Aleksej Lipizer
    • Željko Matovina
    • Branimir Paškvan
    • Albert Petrović
    • Eugen Starčević
    • Edvin Šabanović
    • Goran Šarić
    • Remzi Tatari
    • Zoran Zubović
    • Zoran Ždral
  • Soldiers playing "Giovinezza":
    • Zoltan David
    • Jasmin Okanović
    • Petar Tepšić
  • Killed D'Annunzio's legionaries:
    • Renato Barićevac
    • Aldin Bećar
    • Eldin Bećar
    • Antonio Blašković
    • Andreas Božić
    • Lino Brkić
    • Josip Buzuk
    • Jakov Crvić
    • Edi Dizdarević
    • Teo Đurović
    • Mateo Kos
    • Mark David Lajoš
    • Vito Lončar
    • Benjamin Miočić Stošić
    • Gabriel Palavra Vučković
    • Tin Pribanić
    • Andrei Uzelac
    • Benjamin Žuna

Production

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Director Igor Bezinović [hr] grew up in Rijeka. Regarding his approach for the film, he stated, "It's like a history lesson but retold in a fun way. In high school, I didn't like history that much because I didn't have a good storyteller, and history is basically about the art of telling a story. You can combine storytelling with facts, and it doesn't have to be terribly boring. It can be fun."[2]

Principal photography was completed by mid-July 2022.[3] The film was shot in Rijeka and Trieste, as well as at the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera and in the Italian part of the Karst Plateau.[4]

Release

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The film premiered at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam on 2 February 2025.[2][5] It won both the Tiger Award and FIPRESCI Award.[6][7] By the beginning of July 2025, it attracted almost 30,000 viewers, making it the most-watched documentary film since Croatia's independence in 1991.

Reception

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Wendy Ide of Screen Daily called the film "forthright, unflinching and very funny" and "a gloriously punk spin on the historical documentary genre".[8] Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "both compelling and very amusing".[9]

Accolades

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Award Year[a] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2025 Tiger Award Fiume o morte! Won [10]
FIPRESCI Award Won
Pula Film Festival 2025 Best Makeup Ivana Pralija Won [11]
Best Costume Design Tajči Čekada [hr] and Manuela Paladin Won
Best Production Design Anton Spazzapan Won
Best Casting Sara Jakupec Won
Best Production Vanja Jambrović and Tibor Keser Won
Best Director Igor Bezinović [hr] Won
Yerevan International Film Festival 2025 Golden Apricot Fiume o morte! Won [12]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

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  1. ^ Strizić, Ana (5 September 2025). "Redatelj filma koji je hrvatski kandidat za Oscar: "Ovo nam je ogromno iznenađenje jer prvi put u utrci imamo dokumentarac"". Gloria (in Croatian). Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Szalai, Georg (1 February 2025). "Reliving the Peculiar Nationalist Occupation of Rijeka in Adventurous Hybrid Doc 'Fiume o morte!'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  3. ^ Stojiljković, Marko (14 July 2022). "Igor Bezinović wraps shooting on Fiume o morte!". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Završilo snimanje dugometražnog dokumentarnog filma Fiume o morte! Igora Bezinovića". Croatian Audiovisual Centre [hr] (in Croatian). 18 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  5. ^ Barraclough, Leo (24 December 2024). "Lightdox Boards Rotterdam Tiger Competition Entry 'Fiume O Morte!,' About Italian Nationalist Poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  6. ^ Sales Ross, Rafa (7 February 2025). "Igor Bezinović's 'Fiume o morte!' Wins Rotterdam Tiger Award, 'The Tree of Authenticity' and 'Im Haus meiner Eltern' Take Jury Prizes". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  7. ^ Szalai, Georg (7 February 2025). "'Fiume o morte!' and 'Raptures' Win Top Rotterdam Film Festival Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  8. ^ Ide, Wendy (7 February 2025). "'Fiume O Morte!': Rotterdam Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  9. ^ Lodge, Guy (8 February 2025). "'Fiume o Morte!' Review: Irreverent Contemporary Reenactment of a Fascist Takeover Exposes the Absurdity of History". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  10. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (7 February 2025). "Rotterdam Winners: Gabriele D'Annunzio Picture 'Fiume O Morte!' & 'Raptures' Win Top Prizes". Deadline. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  11. ^ Stojiljković, Marko (17 July 2025). "Peacemaker crowned with the Grand Golden Arena at the 72nd Pula Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  12. ^ Salwa, Ola (23 July 2025). "Fiume o morte! emerges triumphant at the 22nd Golden Apricot International Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
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