Fiume o morte! () is a 2025 comedy docudrama film written and directed by . A co-production of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, it features reenactments and reconstructions of Gabriele D'Annunzio's occupation of Rijeka.
It premiered at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won the Tiger Award. At the 72nd Pula Film Festival, the film won six Golden Arenas, including Best Director for BezinoviÃÂ. At the 38th European Film Awards, it won Best Documentary. It was selected as the Croatian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Residents of present-day Rijeka, Croatia reenact images of Gabriele D'Annunzio's 1919âÂÂ1920 occupation of the city.
Director grew up in Rijeka. Regarding his approach for the film, he stated, "It's like a history lesson but retold in a fun way. In high school, I didn't like history that much because I didn't have a good storyteller, and history is basically about the art of telling a story. You can combine storytelling with facts, and it doesn't have to be terribly boring. It can be fun."
Principal photography was completed by mid-July 2022. The film was shot in Rijeka and Trieste, as well as at the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera and in the Italian part of the Karst Plateau.
The film premiered at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam on 2 February 2025. It won both the Tiger Award and FIPRESCI Award. By the beginning of July 2025, it attracted almost 30,000 viewers, making it the most-watched documentary film since Croatia's independence in 1991.
Wendy Ide of Screen Daily called the film "forthright, unflinching and very funny" and "a gloriously punk spin on the historical documentary genre". Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "both compelling and very amusing".