December

For the delicate way in which the film shows the transition between adolescence and adulthood, and raises questions about dreams, friendship, love and intergenerational relationships, and its both modern and nostalgic representation of the mosaic of Balkan language, religion and culture. For the burbling electronic music, melancholy and non-conformist, which reinforces the aesthetic sensibilities of the film. For the dreamlike photography which is present throughout the film with mysterious lights, fleeting frames, Orphic nights, giant moons and mystical golden birds. For the relationships in the film, which are esoteric and liberatory, intertwined with death which represents passage and transition between genres. For the architectural locations which are, themselves, vivid characters. The Cineuropa Award at the 2026 TSFF goes to Fantasy by director Katarina Bogdanovic 'Kukla'.

A film that weaves reality and imagination with a sense of lightness and playfulness, and tells a story that carries the audience away. With precision, respect, and empathy, it explores the challenges of being a young woman in a deeply traditional environment.

The award for Special Achievement goes to Fantasy for the originality, ambition, and courage distinguishing its fictional world. Its director, Kukla, and director of photography, Lazar Bogdanović, create a hypnotic vision of a world in the making, where élan vital not only questions tradition but transforms the material, auditory, and visual traces of the past that haunt the present into a force of renewal that manifests itself through the protagonists’ everyday actions.

V vseh izraznih sredstvih vrhunsko izpeljan filmski prvenec Juraja Lerotića ni zgolj skrajno oseben, ampak tudi inovativen, tenkočuten in idejno domišljen. Precizna študija človeške krhkosti preko intimne izkušnje razgalja (ne)delovanje sistema.

Film, ki nas je nabolj presenetil in očaral. Film, ki poka od energije, življenja in naklonjenosti do svojih likov. Ne igra na karto v evropskem art filmu trendovskega minimalizma, ampak izrablja vse, kar se mu ponuja – od plazu besed do tišine, od plesa do posedanja v mali kuhinji in drogeraških tripov. In v vsem je dober. To je film sijajno zrežiranega igralskega ansambla, dinamike in neke čisto nove, sveže filmske energije.

JURY Award Of Recognition

Croatian: Film je izvrstan primjer filma iz jednog kadra sa živom mizanscenom i koreografijom pokreta. Ovaj politički vođeni komad uspio je pružiti vedar pogled na vrlo ozbilju ekonomsku situaciju u Europi. Film je inkorporirao jezike mnogih nacionalnosti, što je samo po sebi ogroman redateljski pothvat. Čestitamo redatelju i cijeloj međunarodnoj filmskoj ekipi koja je uložila nevjerojatan trud u ovaj spektakularan i tehnički fenomenalan kadar.

Section CortoEuropa

For the way it creates a satirical allegory of the state of European economy, without weighing the nation-character connection down. On the contrary it holds it up using a very effective sequence shot, with enticing and fluid pacing and artistic framing.