CROATIAN FILM FESTIVAL PULA '99 TO OPEN TONIGHT

PULA, Aug 12 (Hina) - Zeljko Senecic's "Dubrovacki suton" (Dubrovnik Dusk) will on Thursday evening open the Croatian Film Festival Pula '99 in the northern Adriatic port of Pula.#L# Closing on August 15, the festival will feature five domestic motion pictures, the chairman of the festival's council, Drazen Vrdoljak, told reporters. He said the most important thing was that the festival had survived the times when there was neither money nor climate for it. This year, however, huge efforts had to be done again to collect funds, Vrdoljak added. Commenting on a concurrent international film festival in nearby Motovun, Vrdoljak said the Pula arena, where the domestic festival is taking place, had been booked until August 9, adding the current time was the most suitable. He rejected comparisons with the Motovun festival, pointing out he would rather see five domestic films than attend the Academy Award ceremony. The Pula festival will also feature "Bogorodica" (Mother of God) by Neven Hitrec, "Da mi je biti morski pas" (Wish I Were a Shark) by Ognjen Svilicic, "Crvena prasina" (Red Dust) by Zrinko Ogresta, and "Garcia" by Dean Sorko. The festival will also feature a retrospective of Croatian films from the 1960s, medium-length films by younger authors, a round table called "Who Are the Right Holders to Croatian Films", and a photography exhibition by Damir Hoyka. (hina) ha