Liburnia Film Festival is now accepting applications for the sixth edition of LFF Rough Cut, a consultancy workshop for documentary projects in the rough cut phase, focused on author driven films from across the region. The mentors are award-winning editors Hrvoslava Brkušić and Jelena Maksimović.
The call is open to all kinds of documentary films, regardless of length.
Directors, editors, and producers from the region (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo) are eligible to apply.
The workshop combines individual consultations with group work.
You can apply here
We accept applications until June 21, 2026
For any questions, contact us at: [email protected]
About the program
In documentary filmmaking, the needs of each creative team are unique. This is especially true during the rough cut stage: a phase rich in both opportunities and limitations. Everyone reaches the rough cut in a distinct emotional and intellectual state, ranging from complete satisfaction to feeling like they’ve hit a brick wall.
What LFF Rough Cut offers is a respite, away from the competitiveness of the documentary film market, where participants can reconnect with their films in peace, by working in a small group and taking the time to face their dilemmas. This relaxed environment for watching, exchanging ideas, and analyzing films in this exciting stage is the signature working model of LFF.
We do not aim to shape or adapt films to market trends or mass audiences. Instead, the goal is to facilitate work in a way that respects your vision and does not pigeonhole the film into a tidy box. In this sense, the focus of the workshop is not on how to sell, distribute, or promote your project, but on the film itself. We open up a space for the creative team to refine their shared vision so that, with professional support, they can gain new momentum or bring their work to completion.
Designed for those who thrive on close collaboration, this workshop offers an intimate, highly personalized experience with our two mentors. LFF Rough Cut shifts the focus away from technical editing toward collective viewing, deep analysis, and tailored guidance. Group exploration takes priority here. Moving from Opatija to Rijeka, selected teams will screen their work-in-progress materials, exchange feedback in group sessions, and dissect specific challenges in one-on-one mentor consultations.
The work continues between modules, as filmmakers develop their cuts independently while receiving continuous guidance through remote online consultations.
Module I / August 26 – 28 / Opatija, Croatia
The first module of the workshop takes place during the Liburnia Film Festival. Participants are invited to become part of the festival, enjoy film screenings, and partake in additional activities within this context.
Module II / December 2026 / Rijeka, Croatia
The second module takes place in December in Rijeka. This module focuses on analyzing the implemented changes, reflecting on the work done so far, and finalizing the film’s vision.
Independent work and consultations
Between the two modules, filmmakers continue to work independently on their films, with guaranteed mentorship support and remote individual consultations.
Heads of Studies
Hrvoslava Brkušić
“The atmosphere provided by the Liburnia Film Festival is incredibly inspiring and important to me. For a few intense days, we immerse ourselves in cinema and watch films that are still finding their true path. Over the past six years, I believe we have successfully created a workshop that refuses to view films through the lens of a commercial industry which increasingly dictates cinematic language. Instead, by bringing together diverse filmmakers from both institutional and independent backgrounds, we strive to uncover the authenticity behind each approach and champion freedom of form. This way of talking about cinema brings the joy back to our craft.”
Biography
Hrvoslava Brkušić graduated in Film and Television Editing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb and holds a master’s degree from the Department of New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts. As a film editor, she has collaborated on numerous documentary, experimental, and feature films screened at festivals such as Rotterdam, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Sarajevo Film Festival, 25 FPS, and Oberhausen. In her own artistic practice, she works through film, video, sound installations, and live performances, and her works have been presented at festivals and exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. She is one of the coordinators of the Klubvizija film laboratory and teaches at Restart’s School of Documentary Film as well as at the Department of New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.
Jelena Maksimović
“For six years now, Opatija and the LFF Rough Cut workshop have been a place of connection, of discovering new films, and exchanging ideas. With each new project, I experience that same spark of excitement all over again, just like the very first time.”
Biography
Jelena Maksimović graduated in Film and Television Editing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. Since 2015, she has been working as an associate professor at the Faculty of Media and Communications in Belgrade. As an editor, she has worked on numerous award-winning films, including “The Load”, “You Have the Night”, “Celts”, “Landscapes of Resistance”, “El Shatt – Blueprint for Utopia”, and “Silence of Reason”. These works have been screened at major international festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Toronto, and Rotterdam. In addition to her film projects, she has collaborated extensively on video works, spatial installations, and theater productions. She co-directed the documentary film “Taurunum Boy” and directed “Homelands”. Her feature directorial debut, “By the End of the Day”, is currently in post-production and is expected to premiere this year.
Practical Information
- The organizer will select up to five film projects from the applications.
- It is preferable, but not mandatory, for the director and the editor of the film to participate in the workshop as a team. If they are unable to attend together, the project can be represented by a single person.
- The project’s producer may join during the second module in Rijeka if necessary.
- The workshop is open both to films produced under fully professional conditions and to documentaries created within cinema clubs or independent, alternative productions.
- The participation fee is 350 euros for feature-length projects and 250 euros for short-form projects.
Travel expenses, accommodation at the workshop locations, and meals for participants are their own responsibility and expense; however, the organizers are available to provide information and assistance regarding these matters.
You can apply here
LFF Rough cut is supported by the City of Rijeka, Croatian audiovisual centre, Kultura Nova Foundation and the City of Opatija.
