Bill Murray is heading to Croatia International Film Festival.
Murray will attend CIFF to screen his film, “The Friend,” which will open the fest on August 8 in Croatia’s coastal city of Sibenik.
Based on the bestselling novel by Sigrid Nunez, “The Friend” follows Iris (Naomi Watts), a writer whose life is upended when her friend and literary mentor (Murray) bequeaths her his beloved Great Dane.
Directed by Scott McGhee and David Siegel, “The Friend,” which debuted at last year’s Telluride Film Festival and then screened at Toronto, was released to North America by Bleecker Street in March.
McGhee and Siegel will also attend CIFF, a four-day event, with Murray.
“We’ve been yearning to visit Croatia ever since working with the great Croatian actor Goran Visnjic in our film ‘The Deep End,’” McGhee and Siegel said in a joint statement. “We couldn’t be more excited about now bringing ‘The Friend’ to CIFF.”
Last year, at the inaugural CIFF, the Bleecker Street film “Sasquatch Sunset,” starring Jesse Eisenberg, screened.
“Bleecker Street is very appreciative of new forums and opportunities for global voices within cinema to be heard,” says Bleecker Street marketing president, Tyler DiNapoli. “We loved being a small part of the festival last year with ‘Sasquatch Sunset’ and are excited for international audiences to discover ‘The Friend’ as the opening night selection, this time around.”
Created by Croatia-born, America-based Ella Mische, CIFF was conceived as a fest to elevate Croatia’s standing in the international film landscape. By attracting top talent and showcasing the best of global cinema, CIFF aims to position Croatia as a premier destination for culture and the arts.
Mische, who was part of the casting department on the 2022 Adam Sandler film “Hustle,” has worked in the entertainment industry for the last two decades, casting, directing, acting and producing. She decided to launch CIFF during the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023.
“During that time I saw a lot of my friends become depressed,” Mische told Variety. “With friends in New York and L.A., the topic of conversation was about how there was no work. I thought to myself, ‘Now is the time to create.’ I needed to figure something out.”
In its inaugural year, CIFF attracted 5,000 in-person visitors. Mische’s hopes to elevate the fest’s presence in the international film festival community by screening “The Friend” as the opening night film and having Murray, McGhee and Siegel in attendance.
The second annual CIFF will take place after one of Croatia’s oldest and most prestigious film fests — Pula Film Festival, begins its 72nd edition July 17. One week after CIFF, the 31st annual Sarajevo Film Festival, the biggest showcase of Southeast European cinema, kicks off. With Croatia being a neighboring country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mische hopes that, in the future, Sarajevo film fest attendees will first stop at CIFF.
In addition to “The Friend,” CIFF will feature a lineup of seven narrative and documentary films.
Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis’ doc “Wisdom of Happiness” is one of those films. About the Dalai Lama, the film debuted at the Zurich Film Festival in October 2024 and will screen as CIFF’s centerpiece film.
“Wisdom of Happiness” features the Dalai Lama, 89, speaking directly to the camera about the universal quest for inner peace and happiness and the potential for a peaceful and happy 21st century. Last July, Richard Gere and director Oren Moverman signed on to executive produce the project.
“I’m looking very much forward as a director to offer the ‘Wisdom of Happiness’ from the Dalai Lama to the wonderful public at CIFF 2025,” says Miller, who will be at CIFF to attend a Q&A following the fest screening.
In the film, the Dalai Lama reflects on balancing millennia-old Tibetan Buddhist traditions with contemporary values of our globalized society. The exiled religious and political leader of Tibet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet.
“This is a movie and a document for all time,” says Gere, who will not attend CIFF. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama is speaking from his heart directly into the camera, into all our minds and hearts.”
In addition to the 27 films screening at CIFF, the fest will feature a section titled the Student Film Corner, a place for college students in Croatia and neighboring countries to screen their thesis films. “Harfa,” a short documentary commissioned by Mastercard and directed by Miche is one of the 20 shorts screening at this year’s CIFF .
“What I love about producing in Croatia, particularly my film festival, is that my production office is located in the middle of the old City of Sibenik, where you bump into everybody you need for the production every few steps you take,” said Mische. “It’s like being in a gigantic Paramount studio lot, the whole city becomes a part of the production, from locals to international visitors.”
Mische, along with 10 CIFF team members, narrowed down this year’s 500 submissions, up from last year’s 150 submissions, to 27. The seven feature films screening at CIFF originate from countries including Croatia, Spain, Australia, the U.K., France, Austria and the U.S.
CIFF 2025 will focus on distribution, both domestic and international, by bringing distributors like Bleecker Street to participate in various CIFF panel discussions, including one titled Demystifying Distribution International.
“Working bi-continentally means having a unique perspective on the huge American film market and the European,” says Mische. “It has given me a specific lens to look at the business from a birds perspective, helping me to translate markets and translate cultures in order to obtain broader audiences.”
In all, CIFF will host five panel discussions: Directors on Directing, Actors Round Table, Demystifying Distribution International, Behind the Lens and Women In Business.
Films at CIFF, which has been authorized and will be sponsored by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and the Croatian Audiovisual Center, will screen at historic venues across Sibenik, including the Square of the Republic of Croatia, St James Cathedral and the Barone Fortress, which is protected by UNESCO, United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural organization.
CIFF 2025 Feature Film Lineup:
THE FRIEND – directed by Scott McGhee and David Siegel
WISDOM OF HAPPINESS – directed by Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis
AN AMERICAN ABROAD – directed by Marcia Kimpton
THE ROOTS – directed by Omar Budemez
BEHIND THE LENS- directed by John Benitz
STOLEN DOUGH – directed by Stefano Da Fre
TRUST IN LOVE – directed by Mick Davis
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