21st International Film Festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema

This year’s edition of the festival, traditionally held in Izola from 4 to 8 June 2025, is organised in collaboration with the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica – Gorizia. 

Welcome to the 21st International Film Festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema! This year’s edition of the festival, traditionally held in Izola from 4 to 8 June 2025, is organised in collaboration with the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica – Gorizia. As part of this collaboration, Kino Otok presents two official programmes within the Kino Istra section: Kino Basaglia, curated by Mila Lazić, and the retrospective Oriente East – Occidente West: Borders through Film and History, co-produced by Kinoatelje.

This year’s Kino Otok focuses on crossing borders – mental, geographic, and social – and on the search for a shared language through powerful cinematic storytelling. Alongside the films, the festival offers a rich accompanying programme, including workshops, concerts in Svetilnik Park, and public talks with authors titled High Noon.

The programme features 129 films from 36 countries, including 45 feature films and 84 shorts, with the majority screening in Izola. The festival continues to explore the diversity of cinematic expression and build bridges between seemingly distant creative worlds. Fittingly, the opening film is Universal Language by Mathew Rankin, a subtle blend of Canadian and Iranian cinema that embodies this year’s central theme.

Entering its third decade, Kino Otok is deliberately slowing the pace, creating more space for deeper engagement with cinema and the world around it. From 5 to 8 June, every day at noon, audiences are invited to attend open talks with the festival guests – the first taking place at the Manzioli Palace, and the following ones at Largo pri špini.

Festival events begin on 3 June with a surprise screening at the Manzioli Open-Air Cinema. The official opening on 4 June will present Universal Language, and screenings will continue from Thursday to Sunday at the Arrigoni Open-Air Cinema, with highlights including: Fiume o morte! (Igor Bezinović, 2025), Pooja, Sir (Deepak Rauniyar, 2024) featuring guest Viki Grošelj, The Man of Aran (R. J. Flaherty, 1934) accompanied by live music from Polona Janežič, and Vermiglio (Maura Delpero, 2024).

GO! 2025 programme at Kino Otok includes:

Retrospective Oriente East – Occidente West: Borders through Film and History

• On Friday, 6 June at 18:00, the Cultural Centre of Izola will host the screening of Cuori senza frontiere (Hearts Without Borders, Luigi Zampa, 1950), a film that addresses the post-war border between Italy and Yugoslavia and opens reflections on collective memory. The screening will be followed by a presentation of the GO! 2025 programme.

Kino Basaglia

• On Friday, 6 June at 21:30, Volo (Silvano Agosti, 1975) will be screened at Largo pri špini – a legendary film about Franco Basaglia’s symbolic flight with his psychiatric patients.
• On Saturday, 7 June at 16:00, Art Kino Odeon will screen the landmark documentary Matti da slegare (Fit to Be Untied, Marco Bellocchio, Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia, Silvano Agosti, 1975), which documents revolutionary changes in psychiatric care. A discussion with director Stefano Rulli and curator Mila Lazić will follow the screening.

Both Kino Istra programmes will continue with the touring Kino Istra, starting on 3 July at the Trieste racconta Basaglia event, attended by director Erica Rossi.

Tickets & Sales
All ticket information is available here. Advance sales of festival passes and discounted tickets are available at mojekarte.si, at mojekarte.si physical sales outlets throughout Slovenia, and at Kinodvor. The festival box office at the Art Cinema Odeon in Izola will be open from 2 June onwards.