After Us, the Flood Wins the Best Film in the International Competition in Croatia

After Us, the Flood, directed by Arto Halonen and written by Ossi Hakala, has won the Best Film prize Wild Goat in the international competition at the Croatian Avant-Garde Horror & Fantasy Film Festival (AGHFFF). The festival was held in Novigrad from June 5 to 8. The film was also selected as the festival’s opening film. 

 

The international jury of the festival’s competition included Chris Orgelt, program director of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF); Croatian film director and former chairman of the Croatian Directors’ Guild, Danilo Šerbedžija; and Canadian film editor Michael Doherty. The jury described the film as "a captivating work of science fiction that weaves together time travel, a dystopian future, and the perils of capitalism—framed within a poignant story of guilt and redemption. 

 

Avant-Garde Horror & Fantasy Film Festival’s core team consists of professionals who have distinguished themselves at major international genre film festivals. In addition to a diverse and high-quality film program, the festival also hosts panel discussions and masterclass workshops for film industry professionals. 

 

Before winning in Croatia, After Us, the Flood won the main prize — the Silver Méliès — at the Trieste Science+Fiction Film Festival in Italy. In October, the film will compete for the award for Best European Fantasy Film at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain, alongside seven other nominees. The film had its world premiere in October 2024 in the Free Spirit Competition section of the renowned Warsaw International Film Festival. In April, the film captivated critics at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), one of the world’s leading genre film festivals. 

 

After Us, the Flood has quickly become a favorite on the international festival circuit. In addition to Croatian AGHFFF, the film will be featured in competition at Sci-Fi London; Ravenheart Film Festival in Oslo; Dances With Films in Los Angeles; and Fantasy Film Festival in Paris, where it will also open the festival. The film will also screen at the Social World Film Festival in Vico Equense – marking its third festival appearance in Italy. 

 

After Us, the Flood is a bold and uncompromising sci-fi drama about human relationships, greed, and the reasons why humanity struggles to stop climate change. The cast includes Elias Westerberg, Linnea Leino, Tuomas Nilsson, Kasperi Kola, Petteri Summanen, Antti Reini, Pihla Penttinen, Jari Salmi, Tobias Zilliacus, Jemina Sillanpää, Robert Enckell, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Paavo Westerberg, Hugo Komaro, Vilma Sippola, and Andrei Alén.