Croatian.film, a new online platform where users can watch free of charge Croatian short films which more often than not go unnoticed after they appear at film festivals despite their quality, was presented on Wednesday in Zagreb.

The project developer is the Arts Organisation Zagreb Film Festival, which has published 118 films, as well as an array of accompanying texts, at www.croatian.film. The list is expected to expand significantly and to cover all film forms in the future.

The Executive Director of Zagreb Film Festival Hrvoje Laurenta said that the platform was established in order to return short films to the public space, particularly because Croatia had a highly-regarded short film production - the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) had co-financed almost 450 short films since its establishment.

Laurenta finds the fact that one could watch the films "anytime and anywhere" extremely important, just like the fact that the films were adapted to any device (mobile phones, tablets, computers, and TVs), and that domestic production`s visibility would cross Croatian borders due to the fact that films had English subtitles and the accompanying texts had been translated to English.

"Although we have been working on the project for more than a year, we are only just beginning today. In the short term, we want to publish an even larger number of films and secure the platform`s sustainability, and in due time we want it to become a referential and relevant basis of the whole of Croatian short, mid-length, and full-length film production. We hope that we could make it happen by the end of summer," stated Laurenta.

Except for films, the platform contains data bases on films themselves, film professionals and productions, and news, columns, interviews with "filmmakers of the week", a list of film festivals, and it also provides for the possibility to sign in and comment on the content.

The croatian.film online platform is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture.