Frooom!: Film “Anka i Dominik” has received another recognition

“Anka and Dominik – Space Friends”, a film created by our Frooom participants, has been selected for the International KidsNFilm festival and will be included in the competition program at the Children’s International Film Festival in Wales.

The International KidsNFilm festival provides a platform for young filmmaking talents from all over the world to showcase their filmmaking skills, whether through films they created themselves or those aimed at children and young people. The Children’s International Film Festival in Wales showcases films made by both young people and professionals in the categories of animation, live-action, and documentary films, and we are proud that another film by our students has been recognized and will be shown to an international audience.

This short film was shot in Rijeka during an advanced Frooom! film workshop and follows a young girl named Anka, who struggles to fit in with her school peers, leading her to meet Dominik, her new but unusual friend.

The film’s recognition is due to the efforts of our participants: Laura Kunda Gustavsson (as Anka), Lun Blečić (as Dominik), Neva Šakan, Vida Šakan, Anja Peloza, Nina Janežić, Laura Stanišić, Bruna Čepulo, Mia Vukanović, Dominik Velčić, Borna Janežić, Marul Lerga, and their mentor, filmmaker and educator, Veno Mušinović.

This is not the first recognition for “Anka and Dominik.” The film achieved this success in 2024 and was invited or has already been shown at the following film festivals:

• Snow Leopard Film Festival (Sweden) – November 3, 2024 – Main Competition Program
• Mice, Valencia, Spain – October 13, 2024 – Main Competition Program
• FIFES Comedy Film Festival, Luka (Croatia) – September 27, 2024 – Main Competition Program
• Fresh International Film Festival, Limerick, (United Kingdom) – April 15, 2024 – Main Competition Program
• KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) – March 1, 2024 – Main Competition Program

In 2023, the film “Anka and Dominik – Space Friends” won the Grand Prize for the Best Children’s Film at the Kookai Film Festival in India.

Additionally, the film has already been screened in San Francisco, where it delighted the audience.

A review of the film in American media reads:
“Anka And Dominik – Space Friends is absolutely heartwarming to watch! I love how the two main characters show the power of friendship throughout the film.
This film starts off with a young girl named Anka (Laura Kunda Gustavsson), who tries to fit in with her classmates, but they snub and ignore her and make fun of her. As Anka struggles to make friends, an alien named Dominik (Lun Blečić) comes down to Earth and offers to play with her. The two of them have a lot of fun together, and soon Anka asks Dominik to be her friend.
This live action film from Croatia is based around children and close friends. The actors are all elementary school children and they are adorable. In the beginning, Anka is an “outsider” who is ignored and made fun of at school by her classmates, and she is afraid that she can’t make any friends. After she meets Dominik, her mood changes and she becomes so much happier. Their relationship grows rapidly as we watch them play games outside and read books together. One of my favorite scenes is when they are sitting side by side reading and they choreographically change position in unison. Later, they are both coloring something and when they hold up what they were coloring, they have both created half a heart, which they put together to make one heart. It is at this point when the camera shows the librarian watching her and does not see Dominic and we wonder, is Dominik an imaginary friend? It’s sort of irrelevant because his presence serves Anka in bringing out her personal happiness. I love how Dominik comes into Anka’s life just as the bullying by the other classmates is starting to wear thin. I like how Anka and Dominik’s friendship is presented throughout the film. We see how both of them are equally happy to have a new friend, since both are struggling to fit in. I like how, when Dominik arrives at Earth, the first angle you get of him isn’t his face, which adds some mysteriousness. The costumes suit the storyline. Dominik’s antennae stand out, as they show that he clearly is not from Earth. Since the location is mainly the school building and campus, and the main characters are students, they suit the story. The music sets the mood of Anka and Dominik’s friendship. It is light, happy music, which perfectly symbolizes their friendship. There are a few special effects in the beginning of the film, when Dominik arrives on Earth. They are effective, because they show the audience that Dominik is not human. I like the costumes for the film because they remind me of my peers at school. That’s good because that means the costumes resemble what students wear today. My favorite part of the film is when Anka and Dominik meet. When Anka realizes she has a friend, it is very heartwarming. I also love the scene at the end showing Anka and Dominik a little later – older – and they have a fleeting glimpse of each other which makes them both smile.”