A film noir drama set in communist Yugoslavia in 1957, shot almost entirely in black and white, with charismatic lead actors: a group of former partisans, now working as filmmakers in the Yugoslav propaganda department, fall out of favor with the Communist Party: bigwig Emir is assigned to monitor the close friends Lovro, Nenad, Stevan, and Ivan – with the aim of uncovering the secret of their homosexuality and punishing them brutally for it. As the harassment intensifies, the protagonistsʼ quest for freedom turns into a struggle for survival. More relevant than ever!

“BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY: a hypnotizing insight into the human soul and destruction” (www.4film.hr)

Ivona Juka, born in Zagreb/Croatia, in 1975, works as a director and screenwriter. Her first short films were screened at numerous festivals and won several awards. For her documentary FACING THE DAY, she received the Award for Best Film at the goEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden/Germany and the “Heart of Sarajevo” at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her award-winning feature film YOU CARRY ME was Croatiaʼs entry in the Oscar race in 2016, as was BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY this year.

Filmography (selection): 2003 GARBAGE, 2006 EDITING (both short films), 2006 FACING THE DAY (documentary), 2015 YOU CARRY ME, 2024 BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY

Awards: Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, USA 2025)

Nominated for the Amnesty International Wiesbaden Film Award for Best Film about Human Rights. A three-member expert jury will decide the winner of this competition.