Zagreb main railway station becomes open-air cinema for classic Croatian film screening

(Photo: Milena Zajovic Milka)

ZAGREB, 11 May 2026 – Zagreb’s Main Railway Station was transformed into an open-air cinema on Sunday evening as audiences gathered on the platform for a special screening of the beloved Croatian film Vlak u snijegu (Train in the Snow).

Set beside railway tracks and trains, the screening created a unique atmosphere as the familiar sounds of the station blended with scenes from the classic film and the well-known song Kad se male ruke slože.

Railway workers and café staff even helped accommodate the large turnout by providing extra chairs for the packed audience.

The event attracted viewers of all generations, including many children, who sang along and applauded throughout the screening.

(Photo: Cinehill festival)

The projection was also adapted for blind, partially sighted, deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors in cooperation with the Film svima initiative.

(Photo: Milena Zajovic Milka)

(Photo: Milena Zajovic Milka)

The screening marked the opening of a new season of the Zagreb – filmski grad programme, organised under the Cinehill festival. The project, launched last year, has gained popularity for showing films at locations connected to their production history.

The programme continues on Friday, 15 May at 21:00 at Zagreb’s Studentski centar with a screening of the documentary Sretno dijete (Happy Child), directed by Igor Mirković. The film explores the influential Yugoslav new wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring bands such as Azra, Film, Haustor and Idoli.

(Photo: Cinehill festival)

Presented in cooperation with KSET, the documentary returns to the Studentski centar, where its premiere was held over three consecutive days in 2004. More than 3,000 people attended those screenings, and the film later became the most-watched Croatian film of the year with nearly 30,000 viewers.

The spring edition of the programme will conclude on 27 May at 21:00 in the courtyard of the Zagreb City Museum with a screening of the 1971 Oscar-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Directed by Norman Jewison, the film was largely shot in Croatia, particularly in the village of Lekenik, which stood in for a fictional Ukrainian village. Zagreb’s Upper Town was also used as a filming location, portraying St Petersburg in Imperial Russia.

(Photo: Cinehill festival)

The production went on to achieve major international success, winning three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. Its filming in Croatia remains one of the most significant international productions ever shot in the country.

Admission to all screenings is free.

The programme, which will continue in August, is supported by the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb Tourist Board, with screenings organised in cooperation with HŽ Infrastruktura, the Studentski centar and the Zagreb City Museum.