On 31 May, the day that Zagreb Film Festival Artistic Organisation was mandated to vacate the premises of Cinema Europa, following the final screening and only several hours before the handover of the key to the City of Zagreb, the organisation received an interim order granting us the right to remain on the premises until further notice.

After several weeks of failed attempts to contact the City representatives, ZFF Artistic Organisation filed a lawsuit against the City of Zagreb for a written offer to sign a new lease agreement. The lawsuit is based on a legal provision that requires the Lessor to offer a new lease agreement to the existing Lessee, granted they have fulfilled all their obligations. ZFF Artistic Organisation believes that this has been repeatedly proven through its hard work and numerous recognitions. 

However, the Commercial Court decision is only a temporary measure, not a permanent solution, making the operation of the cinema dependent on the upcoming court hearings. This situation raises a series of logistical, organisational, and financial difficulties, which impedes the adequate implementation of the program at the established standard of quality. Not knowing whether we will have to leave the cinema in two weeks or two months prevented us from arranging programs or the distribution of films, while our employees and associates were kept in a state of uncertainty. For this reason, ZFF Artistic Organisation has decided to return the keys to the cinema to the City of Zagreb.

All our efforts were aimed primarily at ensuring the continuity in the activities of the cinema, to the satisfaction of all the residents of this city. Ultimately, our endeavours yielded several positive results. On 27 May, the City Institute for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage issued a resolution requiring the City to provide “detailed technical documentation for the restoration of the building within a maximum of 120 days.”

Although this may seem as a minor achievement, any step towards a transparent decision-making process and the resolution of the problem the City has been warned about repeatedly through the years is a step forward. The further development of the situation concerning the cinema will be closely monitored and we would like to thank you for all the support during the last three months.