Traditionally, Animafest Zagreb features a Croatian Film Competition in two programs. Most of the films this year were both engaging and well-crafted, demonstrating that the Croatian animation industry continues the tradition established by the renowned Zagreb School of Animated Film. Among the standout works across the two blocks were the winning film ‘School Show’ by Ana Horvat, ‘The Last Straw’ by Dorotea Radušić and Mislav Rotim, and ‘Strive’ by Krešimir Pernek. Although these films differ significantly in their themes and styles, they are united by their attempt to expose pressing social issues such as ideology, environmental pollution, and life in a post-capitalist world. 

Ana Horvat’s ‘School Show’, produced by Umjetnička organizacija Anima, is based on the director’s childhood memories. The story takes place during a school performance in the 1980s, where Pioneers in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia sing songs and recite poems. The music featured in the film comes from the regular repertoire for such events, and these familiar songs play an important role in creating the nostalgic atmosphere that defines the film, rooting it in reality.  

During the performance, a girl on stage notices an unfamiliar man in the audience behaving strangely. He looks a bit different from the rest of the audience, wearing a blue tracksuit, with a long beard and sunglasses, and no one seems to notice him except for the young Pioneer. His suspicious behavior reveals the contrast and dangerous intersection of the innocence of childhood and the cruel world of adults. This is further intensified by the above-mentioned music and the visual aesthetic, with two-dimensional figures resembling stick figures. Motifs such as the sun, clouds, trees, and buildings hark back to kids’ drawings, a simple and thus all the more potent background for a film about childhood trauma.   

School Show

‘The Last Straw’, directed by Dorotea Radušić and Mislav Rotim, tells the story of sea creatures struggling with the man-made problem of marine pollution. Like ‘School Show’, it is animated in 2D, and its characters, including a hermit crab, a seahorse, a sea turtle, and sardines, are designed in a style typical of children’s animation, with large, innocent-looking eyes. Together, they embark on a journey to find a clean part of the sea where they can settle and begin a happy life in a healthy environment. 

The film has a clear educational dimension and could easily serve as teaching material for children about the devastating consequences of pollution, encouraging environmentally responsible behavior. ‘The Last Straw’ concludes with the hopeful message that the world has not yet reached the point of no return. Although humanity is hanging by the titular last straw in the face of environmental crisis and climate change, there is still time to make a difference.  

On the other end of the spectrum sits a decidedly more complex story rendered through impressive technical achievements. Krešimir Pernek’s ‘Strive’ is set in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk world inhabited by gray-skinned anthropomorphic creatures with glowing eyes and pig-like snouts who struggle to survive in a devastated area. The narrative follows three protagonists distinguished by the colors of the light emanating from their eyes – blue, yellow, and red. Each character faces a different personal struggle as they attempt to resist a mysterious black fire that repeatedly appears before them, seemingly intent on possessing them. 

This setting evokes Dante’s Inferno, reimagined in a striking and imaginative futuristic manner, where greed and moral weakness condemn the characters to eternal punishment. The black fire functions as a mysterious demon, threatening to drag these creatures into the abyss. The hellish atmosphere is created with dark shades of gray and black, combined with gasping sounds of characters who are trying to escape their doom. The film’s visual and aural intensity creates an anxious feeling in the viewer throughout the film, and release happens only when the red character successfully frees himself from the black force. The blue and yellow characters are not so lucky; they find a temporary but elusive escape in alcoholism and shopaholism. 

Strive

‘Strive’ is created using 3D animation and contains no dialogue. Consequently, the characters’ movements and body language, as well as the film’s sound design, become essential for understanding the narrative. Although mostly focused on the individual demons of each of the three characters, the film deliberately leaves room for multiple interpretations, though it could serve as a critique of consumerism and capitalist society. With the blue-eyed creature surrendering to a raucous nightlife of vice, or the yellow-eyed one displaying an overwhelming need to buy everything in the shopping mall, the film depicts the gluttonous downfall of their own, condemned creation. 

Although ‘School Show’, ‘The Last Straw’, and ‘Strive’ address very different subjects, they are ultimately united in their portrayal of vulnerability: from children confronted with a threat that adults fail to notice, through nature exposed to human negligence, to the individual desires fostered by society. These films invite the audience to recognize the consequences of indifference and the importance of personal responsibility. In doing so, they demonstrate that contemporary Croatian animation is not merely reflecting social reality but actively questioning it, proving that animation remains one of the most compelling artistic media for examining the moral and social dilemmas of the present.  

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Contributed by: Lucas Legović

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