Manifesto
A GAME, A THOUGHT, A DREAM
From a mother whose name is Art-kino and from an unknown father, emerging from the cultural depths of Rijeka came RIFF – Rijeka Film Festival.
The mother has passed onto it her most powerful traits: artistic excellence, open-mindedness, social responsibility, dedication, integrity and passion for knowledge. We do not know what will RIFF do with all that, though we are eager to follow its growth and development. However, one thing is for sure: RIFF is already playing, thinking and dreaming, just like Art-kino is doing. Just like what in 2020 the European Capital of Culture – Rijeka, who is hosting this new film festival, is doing.
From something called ''a new psychology of personal freedom'' , we have learned that fun is one of the basic human needs and that we, people, are along with dolphins and whales quite possibly the only living things who spend their entire lives playing, and because we do that, we engage in lifelong learning! That is why, accompanied by pride and prejudice, we say: Rijeka Film Festival is first and foremost a joyful party, and indeed it is a multi-generational party, because let’s not forget that we are playing our entire lives!
Still, don't let the fun fool you, since RIFF is also a partybreaker. RIFF is a thinker, a philosopher who is scouring the Earth and questioning its views of the meaning of life, justice, truth and beauty. Some of RIFF's teachers have insisted on the film not narrating and not showing things, characters or actions, but rather thinking them. And so RIFF welcomes film-thinking and invites everyone who see film as a strong incentive for thinking and an opportunity for cognition.
Precisely because rational cognition is not the only thing that gets us through life, Rijeka Film Festival also wants to be a place for intentional dreaming, and we all know just how essential dreams are. In the 1970s, B.F. Kawin started one of his books about film with a question: ''Film is a dream – but whose?''
If this reader is dreaming, then they should dive into Rijeka Film Festival and discover their dreams!
