Mladen Stilinović

• Kino Valli, Pula (HR)
• 30.07.2026

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Mladen's passing, a small exhibition by Branka Stipancic presents a film at Kino Valli in Pula which documents a performance exploring the theme of bol (pain).
The Croatian language standard differs between pain (bol) in masculine and in feminine grammatical gender. In the masculine it refers to a sensation of physical pain and suffering, and in the feminine a sense of spiritual pain and suffering. This distinction opens a space in which language itself reflects the complexity of pain, a duality that finds its expression in Stilinović's work. Here, philosophical thought, poetic heritage, and intimate experience intersect, each element binding and shaping the others into a meditation on the human condition. By understanding the essence of the human experience and its powerlessness, he doesn’t oppose pain aggressively, too aware of the absurdity of such a fight. He accepts the hopelessness of the human experience and devotes himself to its antithesis which is not comfort, pleasure or ease. The antithesis to pain is freedom, the ideal of the human spirit devoid of the cold and iron systematism of grammar, terminology and definitions.

Screening on July 30th 2026 in Pula at Kino Valli