Fiume o morte! (ENG)

Fiume o morte! is a hybrid, experimental work that blurs the boundaries between documentary and historical fiction. Director Igor Bezinović combines raw archival footage with stylized reconstructions and sharp interviews, making the past come alive not as a reconstruction but as a mirror of the present. In 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, a proposal was made to assign the city of Fiume to Croatia. The Italian poet, aristocrat, and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio was outraged and proclaimed the Italian Regency of Carnaro. Fiume o morte! interweaves this historical episode with contemporary reflections on extremist ideologies, examining how political romanticism and violence can go hand in hand. Fiume o morte! premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won both the Tiger Award and the International Film Critics’ Prize.