Pula Film Festival Public Institution was established by the City of Pula in 2003 with the basic objective of organising the Pula Film Festival, but also many other creative and cultural events. The institution manages the Valli Cinema and the Arena stage, and provides logistical and technical support to many city and other events.
Valli Cinema
Today the only cinema in Pula located at the very centre dates back to the early 20th century, when it was called L’Alhambra. It was a venue that served for film screenings and sporting events, especially boxing matches. During the Italian government in the 1940s, the theatre was renamed to Sala Umberto. A decade later it housed the Cultural Centre, and soon later the Zagreb Cinema, which was closed in 2006 due to neglected infrastructure. After a complete renovation, with the financial support of the City of Pula and Croatian Ministry of Culture, the newly renovated cinema opened its doors on 18 July 2008, under the name of Valli, honouring actress Alida Valli, born in Pula.
Valli Cinema’s auditorium has 209 seats and annually it hosts a bit less than 80,000 visitors. Next to blockbusters, it screens European and global independent films of different genres and styles, organises exhibitions, lectures, presentations etc. Among the special programmes, there are FUŠ – Film u školi (Film at School), educational programmes for children and young people, Metropolitan Opera live in HD, matinees for the retired, birthday parties and a series of other specialised programmes in associations with many institutions and organisations from Pula, Istria and beyond. A significant part of Pula Film Festival’s programme, each year in July, is set in Valli Cinema.
Valli Cinema is a member of the international film organisations Europa Cinemas, CICAE and ECFA – European Children’s Film Association.
A display space for exhibitions is located in the cinema lobby.