The cinema of Croatia Croatia (pronounced /kroʊˈeɪʃə/ , kroe-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a country in Central Europe and Southeastern Europe at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Adriatic Sea. Its capital and largest does not have as long a tradition as in some other Central European countries: the serious beginning of Croatian cinema starts with the rise of the Yugoslavian The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 (de facto dissolved in 1991 with no leaders representing it) amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, film industry in 1940's. Three Croatian featu
Although motion pictures appeared in Croatia relatively early, for most of the 20th Century film was almost exclusively the domain of a few dedicated amateur enthusiasts, most notably Josip Karaman in Split Split is the largest Dalmatian city, the second-largest urban centre in Croatia, and the seat of Split-Dalmatia County. The city is situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, more specifically the eastern Adriatic Sea, spreading over a central peninsula and its surroundings, with its metropolitan area including the many surrounding littoral and, later, Oktavijan Miletić in Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is situated in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In 2008, Zagreb population was 804,200. Croatia lacked the political, economic and cultural infrastructure to support its own cinema industry. The most serious effort in that direction before World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · was the series of educational films produced by Škola narodnog zdravlja.
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War Period
The cinema of Croatia became an institution after the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on April 10, 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. The state was technically a monarchy and Italian protectorate from the signing of the Rome agreements on May 19, 1941 until (NDH) in 1941 Year 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. The new Ustasha The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement , members known collectively as Ustaše, but sometimes anglicised as Ustashe, Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian terrorist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was blend of fascism, nazism, Croatian ultranationalism, and Roman Catholic Clericalist Fundamentalism. The Ustaše regime quickly realised the need for modern propaganda tools modeled on those of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the government of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party , from 1933 to 1945. Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich) denotes the Nazi state as the historical successor to the mediæval Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) and to the modern German Empire (1 and Fascist Italy. After serious lobbying of these two governments for technical advice and resources, the first propaganda films were made in late 1941. Croatian filmmakers like Branko Marjanović learned very quickly and the 1943 documentary Straža na Drini later won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del, attended by Axis power The Axis powers (German: Achsenmächte, Italian: Potenze dell'Asse, Japanese: Suujikukoku , Hungarian: Tengelyhatalmak, Romanian: Puterile Axei, Bulgarian: "Сили от Оста"), also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II countries. After the collapse of NDH in 1945, Tito Josip Broz Tito was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. He was Secretary-General (later President) of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (1939–80), and went on to lead the World War II Yugoslav guerrilla movement, the Yugoslav Partisans (1941–45). After the war, he was the authoritarian Prime Minister (1943–63) and later President (19's victorious Communists also recognised the importance of the film industry and decided to build their own. Many technicians and co-workers of the Ustasha propaganda cinema industry during the war were in fact double agents working for the partisan side, with one main task: to keep the technical facilities untouched upon the collapse of NDH. Therefore, the new regime inherited the technical equipment, and more importantly trained personnel, including directors and top officials. The result of such a policy was the rapid development of the Croatian film industry, although initially under jurisdiction of the federal The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II (1943) until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia government in Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian: Београд, Beograd ( listen , pronounced [bɛ'ɔgrad]) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. With a population of 1,630,000 (official estimate 2007), Belgrade is the fourth largest city in Southeastern Europe,.
Early Communist Period
In 1947 Jadran Film studios were founded in Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is situated in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In 2008, Zagreb population was 804,200. A year later, Tito's Yugoslavia broke up with the other Eastern Bloc countries and gradually opened economic and other links to the West. That included the film industry, with Jadran Film infrastructure being used by Italian, West German and American filmmakers to produce historical epics and later spaghetti westerns. A whole new generation of filmmakers was thus formed, and many important experiences were learned in this way.
Zagreb Animation School
Main article: Zagreb School of Animated FilmsZagreb also stood out with its own animation film school, Zagrebačka škola crtanog filma (Zagreb Cartoon School). It was given that name at the Cannes film festival in 1959, when eight Zagreb cartoons were screened, and the French film historian Georges Sadoul first time named "l'école de Zagreb" (Zagreb School). The school was based on the production company Zagreb Film, famous for its symbol - a little horse. The most notable member of school (which was never a school in a proper, educational sense) was Montenegro-born author Dušan Vukotić, winner of the 1963 Oscar for his animated short Surogat. He was the first non-American to win the Oscar for animated film. Other important members were Vatroslav Mimica (later a feature filmmaker), and Vlado Kristl, who left Croatia in early 60s after the banning of his avant-garde, experimental cartoon "Don Kihot"(Don Quixote). The Zagreb school was revolutionary for the animations of the 50s, because it abandoned the Disney-like cartoon style, and introduced visual elements of avant-garde abstract painting, constructivism and cubism. A failure of the school was that it never experimented with other animation techniques than cartoons. Also, it never reached level of proper industry, remaining more like an artistic workshop. The Zagreb school was lively and successful during the 60s and early 70s, but after that Croatian animation faded and today it does not have the global role it use to have.
First Golden Era: Late 50s
Croatian feature films at that time were not easily distinguishable from the rest of the films made in former Yugoslavia, mostly due to the free flow of resources and talents. It has its first serious peak Croatian feature cinema reaches in late 50s, when Croatian films are probably most mature in then young Yugoslav production. Most important author of that era is Branko Bauer, Dubrovnik-born director whose most famous film is urban war thriller Don't Turn Around Son (Ne okreći se, sine, 1956). Loosely based on Carol Reed's film Odd Man Out, film describes a destiny of the fugitive from Ustasha Nazi camp who comes to Zagreb to find his son, realising that kid is at the Ustasha boarding school, and completely brainwashed. Hero struggles to leave Zagreb with his son, while deluding him all the way about the goal of their trip. Among other important Bauer's film important is Tri Ane (Three Annas, 1959), produced in Macedonia, about the father who finds out that his daughter, presumably killed in war, could be alive and adult person. Bauer's film Licem u lice (Face To Face, 1962) tells the story about corrupted director of the construction company who confronts the rebel worker during the communist party cell meeting. It is considered as first overtly political film in Yugoslavia. Other memorable 50s classic is Nikola Tanhofer, former cinematographer and specialist for action genres. His most famous film is H8 (1958), reconstruction of the real traffic accident when several passengers of the intercity bus between Zagreb and Belgrade were killed, and driver of the car who caused the accident escaped. Following in parallel three vehicles and dozen of picturesque destiny, H8 offers a mosaical picture of late 50s society, and it's dramaturgy resembles on a - then nonexistent - disaster movies genre. In that period, two Croatian films were Academy Award nominees for foreign language film. Both of them were directed by guests from abroad: Italian Giuseppe De Santis (Cesta duga godina dana - A Road One Year Long, 1958), and Slovenian France Štiglic (Deveti krug - Ninth Circle, 1960).
Modernism
In the 60s, Croatian cinema is affected by changes of style and embraces modernism. First established modernist film was Prometej s otoka Viševice (Promaetheus from Island Viševica, 1965) by former cartoonist Vatroslav Mimica. While using technique of the stream-of consciousness novel, Mimica tells a story about partisan veteran and communist executive who travels to a native island and faces ghosts of the post war past. Among other famous modernist classics, most significant is Rondo (1965) by Zvonimir Berković, and Breza (Birch, 1967) by Ante Babaja. Most popular author of that era was Krešo Golik, with his comedies. Most popular of his film is Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (Who Sings Doesn't Mean Wrong, 1970), romantic comedy set in the 30s Zagreb. Croatia also participated in pan-Yugoslav "black wave", although best authors and films of the black wave were Serbian. Most famous black wave classic from Croatia is Lisice (Handcuffs, 1969, by Krsto Papić), film which is politically relevant because it is a first cultural product which dealt with hushed secret of Yugoslav communism: repression against communists who stood by Stalin in famous breakup between Tito and Stalin in 1948. In the early 1970s, following Yugoslav constitutional changes, Croatia gained more autonomy in shaping its cultural affairs. This, ironically, didn't improved the Croatian film industry. Following the collapse of the Croatian Spring, Croatian Communist authorities in 1970s pushed for tighter control over films. As a result, the general quality of Croatian films declined.
Prague School and Genre Cinema
Fresh air in Yugoslav cinema came in late 70s and early 80s with so-called Prague School, group of authors educated at the famous Prague Academy FAMU. Amongst five directors usually presumed as Prague School, two came from Croatia: Lordan Zafranović, and Rajko Grlić. Grlić's most famous film is You Only Love Once (Samo jednom se ljubi, 1981), political melodrama which discusses the moral decay of the early communist establishment in late 40s. Film was in Cannes competitions. Lordan Zafranović's most famous films were Okupacija u 26 slika (Occupation in 26 Pictures) and Pad Italije (Fall of Italy), both of them war films in coastal Dalmatian setting, and both screened in Cannes festival.
Interesting phenomenon of the 80s Croatian cinema is so-called "neo-genre" production, works of directors who used Western commercial genres as horror, thriller, or detective movie and implemented it in late-communist society. Most famous author of that trend is Zoran Tadić, with its metaphysical, black-and-white thriller Ritam zločina (Rhythm of the Crime, 1981), and horror Treći kljuć (Third Key, 1983), which discusses the problem of corruption through kafkaesque metaphor.
90s: period of crisis
When Croatia became independent in the 90s, Croatian film suffers a difficult crisis. Due to wars, the market for Croatian films shrank, most of the theatres disappeared for good and none of Croatian films could expect to be financially viable without even greater support from the state. In the period of rule of Franjo Tuđman, government avoided direct censorship, but demanded more nationalist content, making it less accessible not only to audiences in other countries, but also in Croatia itself.
Croatian Film Today: Third Golden Era
After the political changes in 2000, Croatian cinema proved it could work in a completely free environment for the first time. As a result, at the beginning of this decade Croatian cinema flourishes again, and many critics write about "third golden era" (after the 1950s and 1960s). On of the most popular authors in the contemporary Croatian cinema is Vinko Brešan whose comedies Kako je počeo rat na mom otoku (How the war on my island started, 1997), and Maršal (Marshal Tito's Spirit, 1999) mix grotesque humor and political provocation. Brešan's war drama Svjedoci (Witnesses, based on a novel by Jurica Pavičić) was the first feature film from countries of former Yugoslavia which discussed the war crimes committed by "our guys", not the enemy. Film was screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 274,000 tickets sold and 487,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly- in 2003. A Wonderful Night in Split (Ta divna splitska noć, 2004) by Arsen A. Ostojić received a nomination for the European Discovery EFA award The European Film Awards are presented annually by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in over ten categories of which the most important is the Film of the year. They are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors, and actors, and Tu (Here, 2003) by Zrinko Ogresta was awarded at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events. Among other distinguished contemporary directors, internationally most recognized is Ognjen Sviličić, whose two films premiered at the Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 274,000 tickets sold and 487,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly- - Oprosti za kung fu (Sorry for Kung Fu, 2004) and Armin (2006). Armin was also Croatia's submission for the 2008 Academy Award The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. Gil, and although it didn't earn a nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category, it did nevertheless receive the prestigious Best Foreign Film of 2007 Award given by the International Federation of Film Critics The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in Brussels (Belgium). At present it has.
Croatian cinema regularly produces between 6 and 9 feature films per year. Ministry of culture also cofinances approximately 60 minutes of animation per year, plus documentaries and experimental films which have a bigger cultural prestige in Croatia then in other countries of former Yugoslavia. National cinema attendances average at 2.7 million tickets bought by a population of around 4.5 million.
Croats in World Cinema
Many Croats participated in world cinema. Italian divas Alida Valli Alida Valli , sometimes simply credited as Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in over 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Ayn Rand's We the Living, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, and Dario Argento's Suspiria and Sylvia Koscina were born on today's Croatian territory (Pula, and Split Split is the largest Dalmatian city, the second-largest urban centre in Croatia, and the seat of Split-Dalmatia County. The city is situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, more specifically the eastern Adriatic Sea, spreading over a central peninsula and its surroundings, with its metropolitan area including the many surrounding littoral). Famous actor Rade Šerbedžija (Sherbedgia) was born in Croatia. Actor starring in the ER TV series ER is an American medical drama series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 1994 to April 2009. It is set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television, Goran Višnjić, is Croatian, as well as the two time Academy Award The Academy Award is an accolade by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the world. It is also the oldest award winner producer Branko Lustig, and actress Mira Furlan Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is probably best known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on the science fiction television series Babylon 5, and Danielle Rousseau on Lost, known for her roles in Babylon 5 Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262. With its prominent use of planned story arcs, the series was often described as a "novel and Lost Lost is an American live-action television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode typically features a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from TV series. Furthermore, John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, and director. Over the last 25 years, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. Arguably, his particularly distinctive voice marks him out even more than his face: "a reedy, faintly orgasmic drawl" according to The Guardian, which adds that "Perhaps not since Cary and Australian-born Eric Bana Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force Sergeant Norman ' are of Croatian ancestry.
Others are Denise Richards, Vanna White, Patrick Muldoon, Rick Rossovich, Jenna Elfman Jenna Elfman is an American television and film actress, Ivana Miličević, Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English / American actor, known for his performances in Lady Jane, The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Hot Shots!, Glory, Liar Liar, Saw and Twister, Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise.
See also
- Pula Film Festival
- Motovun Film Festival
- Zagreb Film Festival
- ZagrebDox ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival established by Nenad Puhovski in 2005 and held annually in Zagreb, Croatia
- World cinema World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film. However, both world cinema and foreign film could be taken to refer to the films of all countries other than one's own,
References
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Gaea Times (blog)
September 10th, 2009 LONDON - England crushed Croatia 5-1 and stormed into next year's World Cup finals, leading to wild celebrations among fans and ...
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Mon, 31 May 2010 16:42:12 GM
The winner of last year's Un Certain Regard in Cannes, top prize at the Montreal Festival of New . Cinema. , Bronze Horse at Stockholm and Special Jury Prize in Sarajevo, Dogtooth by Giorgos Lanthimos, won the main award, the Golden Hook, ...
