Skopje, 24 September 2026 (MIA) — The second Traveling Macedonian Film Festival taking place in independent cinemas across Croatia through September screened Tuesday evening in Zagreb the docufiction film “Iron Castle: My Macedonian Film Workshop” (2025) by Mitko Panov.
Panov attended the screening at Zagreb Cultural and Information Center’s Dokukino movie theater, alongside Macedonian Ambassador to Croatia Dragan Gjurchevski; Macedonian Cultural and Information Center in Zagreb director Mimi Gjorgoska Ilievska; and Dokukino manager Dina Pokrajac.
In their remarks before the screening, they highlighted the significance of the traveling festival for presenting Macedonian cinematography to the Croatian audience and for deepening cultural ties between the two countries.
“The second edition features a carefully curated selection of documentaries exploring universal human themes of identity, migration, nature and society,” Gjorgoska Ilievska said.
She added that the lineup includes films that are an important part of Macedonian cinematic and ethnological heritage.
The screening was followed by a conversation with Panov, moderated by Croatian film critic and historian Silvestar Mileta.
The discussion focused on the inspiration behind Panov’s latest film and the process of filmmaking as well as the topics raised by “Iron Castle,” which is set in a Demir Hisar psychiatric hospital.
“The meeting allowed for a direct dialogue between the author and the audience and made the festival evening even richer,” organizers said.
Earlier this week, the festival screened three documentaries by pioneering ethnographic filmmaker and screenwriter Vera Klichkova: “Mariovo Wedding” (1966), “The Rusalia Customs of Gevgelija” (1957) and “Easter Customs” (1954).
The 2nd Macedonian Film Festival screenings in Zagreb continue Thursday evening with Slovenian filmmaker Petra Seliškar’s “Grandmothers of Revolution” (2006), a documentary filmed in Slovenia, Cuba and Macedonia.
Also shown Thursday evening at Zagreb’s Dokukino will be Elizabeta Koneska’s “Hemboy” (2024), an ethnographic documentary produced by the Museum of Macedonia, which won the 2025 Grand Prix Audience Award at Croatia’s TEF Fest Krk.
The festival is organized by the Macedonian Cultural and Information Center in Zagreb with support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and in cooperation with the Croatian Network of Independent Cinemas and other partner institutions and organizations in Croatia.
Panov will also attend Friday’s screening of his film at the Edison Cinema in Karlovac. mr/
