May 21, 2022 - The renowned Croatian director Rajko Grlić writes in detail the secrets behind the camera of the remembered love scenes in his films ''You Love Only Once'' (1981) and ''The Border Post'' (2006).

Rajko Grlić writes for Telegram.hr

In the small inside pocket of a velvet jacket, I found a note that tries to answer the question I am most often asked: "How are love scenes filmed?"

"Love scenes", which is a euphemism for those sweet-simple things that are not talked about out loud in good families, are not recorded easily or quickly. Moreover, these recordings are not overly pleasant for the actors or the team, not to mention the director. Above them, especially at the beginning, there is always some tension, discomfort. And while they are there, it is difficult to record a scene that smells a bit of life.

''You Love Only Once'' (''Samo jednom se ljubi'') was a film that tried to say that the touch of the skin is stronger than all ideologies, so "love scenes", as evidence of this thesis, are represented in it in impressive numbers.

A recording call that changed everything

For a long time, a few months before the filming, I started talking to Vladislava Milosavljević and Predrag Manojlović about what we were going to do and how. She was insecure, reserved, and he was brave. I remember how amused he was by her timidity, how he annoyed her with stories that close-ups would be filmed afterward with professional porn actors.

To keep the discomfort to a minimum, we organized a recording of these scenes over the course of a week. Another mitigating circumstance was that we did them in the studio so that Pico Pinter could make a general light and still work with very small corrections. In short, we were both fast and isolated. In addition, we fulfilled Vladica's wish that only those who really had to be there, should be around the camera.

''You Love Only Once'' (Image: www.rajkogrlic.com)

The first day of filming did not bring us good material. The second day was a little, not much, better. On the third day, just when we started, the assistant producer came requesting for Vladica to answer the phone because her mother needed her urgently. Vladica jumped out of bed and ran to the door that leads from the studio to the hallway where there are wardrobes, make-up artists, and production. She returned after a few minutes saying there was nothing urgent.

Love scenes have to move the story forward

She didn't even notice that she left and came back completely naked. We watched her and started laughing. She understood why we were laughing, spread her arms, and shrugged with laughter. Shyness, fear, discomfort, and everything that hovered above us suddenly disappeared. The third day was more than successful.

In that filming, I learned that the first day of filming such scenes, sometimes even days, can be calmly, and in advance, considered lost. That the actresses in the rehearsals are full of fear and apprehension, while the actors in that phase are strikingly brave. On the set itself, things sometimes turn around. They are much braver here and once they relax they work great. Actors, unlike actresses, very often lose their courage at that very moment, become timider, have too many questions.

I learned something else, perhaps most important: that these scenes have their place in the composition of the film, that, as critics would say, they are justified only when they are ambiguous, when in them, besides touching the skin, we can read something more, something that enriches those faces, something that moves the story forward.

Detailed rehearsals of Verica and Tony at the hotel

We filmed ''The Border Post'' (''Karaula'') many years later in similar conditions. We filmed all the love scenes in the studio, an abandoned depot in Ohrid where we built her apartment. It was then that I realized that what I learned by doing ''You Love Only Once'' is not always the rule. That the material on the first day of filming love scenes can be thrown away peacefully was repeated here. But the fact that he is braver in the rehearsals and she is more frightened that it would be the other way around on the set, did not happen here.

Toni Gojanović and Verica Nedeska in ''The Border Post''. (Image: www.karaulafilm.com)

Verica Nedeska was braver in the preparations and on the set than Toni Gojanović, for whom, unlike her, it was his first film and he had no experience, not only with such scenes, but with filming in general.

During the rehearsals, Verica felt a little uneasy with Tony, and one day she came up with a suggestion that we should take a room in the hotel where we are staying, that she and Tony should take off their clothes, go to bed and I would explain to them, scene by scene, what they will do, where the camera will be, what will be seen and what will not.

How his whole life leaked out of the scene

A make-up artist was standing next to me in the hotel room, knowing what awaited her, and I was slowly explaining to Verica and Toni what, where and how I intended to film it. We went through movement after movement, scene after scene, seeing what was possible, what wasn’t, and most importantly: how they feel about it. After that rehearsal, we were sure we knew exactly what we were going to do and how we were going to do it.

But despite that, the first day of filming did not bring us anything good. When we got back to the hotel, I spent hours looking at that material and thinking about where the mistake was. And it lay in the fact that we all knew everything, that the scene became mechanical and that life flowed out of it and with it the most important thing: eros.

For the next day, I prepared small and slightly bigger surprises, talked to her alone and separately, gave them small tasks that the other person didn't know about, and the shooting went surprisingly smoothly.

'Bata' Živojinović in tiger shorts

It’s a whole other story when those scenes are done in a comedy. It is then a difficult, perhaps the most difficult "love-stage" discipline. So, in ''In the Jaws of Life'', I had with me the experienced 'Bata' Živojinović, a hero of partisan films who walks around in tiger shorts and for whom this was perhaps the first love scene in more than three hundred films he made, while opposite him was Vitomira Lončar, on her first film, covered only with a transparent veil of a wedding dress.

But that is a long story from another pocket that I wouldn't take out now. What my father, who apropos of "love scenes" used to complain about me calling him to premieres, not rehearsals, used to say: "Play, play, and hit the belt."

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May 19, 2022 - The latest film by writer and filmmaker Stanka Gjurić, "Son of a Prophetess", is now part of the official selection of the prestigious Cinemaking International Film Festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The latest film by writer and filmmaker Stanka Gjurić, "Son of a Prophetess", with award-winning classical guitarist Srđan Bulat and poetess Ivanka Blažević Kiš in the lead roles, has entered the official selection of the prestigious Cinemaking International Film Festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which will take place in November 2022.

The short thriller-drama film was shot in Croatia and follows a young man who arrives from a trip, expecting his mother who is a prophet by occupation, to bring him the dog that she was taking care of during that time.

Stanka Gjurić is a poet, essayist, actress, columnist, and filmmaker from Croatia. She was born in Čakovec, but today she lives in Zagreb. She has published 20 books and received numerous literary awards for her poetry. Stanka is a member of Croatian Independent Artists and the Croatian Academy of Science and Art in Diaspora (Basel, Switzerland). With her first short film 'Ubojite misli' (Battle Thoughts) she gained international recognition.

‘CIFF’ is one of the most important international film festivals in South Asia based in Bangladesh. It is organized with the support of DHAKA Festival and the largest film distribution and co-production company in South Asia, Cinemaking24.com. ‘Cinemaking’ is an international distribution and co-production company that seeks to promote film globally.

The last edition of the Cinemaking International Film Festival 2021 was a competition of 600 films from 121 countries, selected in a competition of thousands of films submitted to the competition. The festival was held in several places, such as the International Mother Language Institute, then in the main national cultural center, the famous ‘Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy’, and in the equally famous ‘Shahojpath’ school in Dhaka.

Croatian filmmaker Stanka Gjurić has presented her films all around the world: France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Slovenia, Egypt, Canada, Serbia, USA, South Africa, Argentina, India, Russia, Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, etc. With her short films, to date, Gjurić has won 15 international awards.

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

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March 23, 2022 - With the 94th Academy Awards just around the corner, Total Croatia News takes a look at some of the major Croatian film festivals celebrating the best of Croatian and international cinema, paving the way for major film festivals in the world.

This Sunday, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the 94th edition of the Academy Awards will be held, celebrating the best of the film industry in 2021. In recent years, the role of international cinema in the film industry has been growing progressively. This was evident at the 92nd Academy Awards, where the Oscar for Best International Feature Film was awarded for the first time, replacing the previously named Best Foreign Language Film. More importantly, it was the fact that it was the first time that a non-English language film had won the prestigious Oscar for Best Picture. This was the case of 'Parasite', from South Korea, directed by Bong Joon-ho, who also won the statuettes for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

It seems that, in this last decade, the Academy has decided to reorient its vision of cinema towards a more globalized one, in which we can notice the presence of international films in different categories, thus nominating films, directors, actors, actresses, and scripts from all over the world.

Unfortunately, it could not be the year for Croatian cinema again as it failed to find a place among the best international films. No Croatian film has ever been nominated for Best International Film yet. This year, in particular, saw quite a bit of controversy in the selection process, after ''Murina'', directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, was not chosen by Croatia as its representative in the race for the Oscars, despite its enormous international recognition at festivals such as Cannes, where it won the Caméra d'Or for Best First Film. Instead, the Croatian candidate was ‘‘Tereza37’’, directed by Danilo Šerbedžija.

The Pula Film Festival, one of the most important Croatian film festivals. (Photo: www.pulafilmfestival.hr)

The road for Croatian filmmakers to the world's major film festivals is long and very competitive, but in recent years the international public has set its sights on this region of the continent, due to its richness in stories stemming from its turbulent past and present. The Bosnian film ''Quo Vadis, Aida?'', nominated in 2021, and the Macedonian film ''Honeyland'', nominated in 2019, are proof of this.

But despite the fact that the dream of every director is to show their stories to all corners of the world, it always starts here, at home. Many start out at student film festivals, or at film festivals organized by their towns or counties. If one investigates enough, they would realize that there are film festivals almost everywhere in Croatia. The Croatian Audiovisual Center, for instance, currently co-finances 60 Croatian film festivals and other audiovisual events. These Croatian film festivals serve various functions: they are particularly important for promoting Croatian audiovisual creation and serve as a platform for screening artistic content and non-commercial film forms, which makes them relevant on a local, regional, national, and, in some cases, international level.

In this article, we review ten Croatian film festivals with great recognition and importance not only for aspiring filmmakers but also for a large audience willing to enjoy good Croatian cinema. Many of these festivals also include workshops and special events for aspiring filmmakers. Pay close attention to the dates of these Croatian film festivals, you may still be in time to buy your ticket, or even submit your own movie or short film!

Zagreb Film Festival

Zagreb (23 – 30 October, 2022 | 20th Edition)

Zagreb Film Festival is one of the central and most visited cultural events and the largest among the Croatian film festivals. It is held during November in Zagreb and presents to its audience the best of newer independent international and local film production. From its beginnings, ZFF’s mission is to discover and promote contemporary independent film and debut films of directors from all over the world. For almost two decades, it has offered a festival, and later also a distribution platform, and it has screened works that are often left out of the programs of multiplex cinemas.

Photo: www.zff.hr

The festival has also played a key role in educating generations of audiences who enjoy film art. The festival program offers diverse film and educational content for all ages and interests, and serves as a platform for the networking of professionals: each edition of the festival gathers around 200 film experts from Croatia and around the world who come to Zagreb to present their films or participate in the festival’s educational programs.

Split Film Festival – International Festival of New Film

Split (1 – 9 September, 2022 | 27th Edition)

Photo: Split Film Festival/Facebook

The Split Film Festival – International Festival of New Film focuses on new, creative, experimental, radical, and subversive films, videos, and new media works. It screens all forms and genres, with a special focus on works diverging from the mainstream film and video production model, regardless of whether it concerns traditional filmmaking techniques or the use of the most recent digital technology.

The competition programme is divided into two parts: feature films and shorts. The festival’s side programme presents web projects, interactive works, performances, special programmes, and retrospectives of local and international filmmakers.

Pula Film Festival

Pula (16 – 23 July, 2022 | 69th Edition)

Photo: www.pulafilmfestival.hr

Pula Film Festival is one of the oldest ongoing film festivals in Europe and the world. Launched in 1954 as the main festival of Yugoslav films, Pula Film Festival became Croatia’s national film festival in 1992. Its main competition programme includes feature fiction films. Alongside other city locations, the festival’s programme takes place in Pula’s amphitheater, popularly called the Arena. It is organized by the Pula Film Festival public institution.

STIFF – Student International Film Festival

Rijeka (November 25 – 28, 2022 | 9th Edition)

Photo: www.studentfilmfestival.eu

STIFF is Croatia’s first International Film Festival dedicated entirely to student films. Established by the SKC Rijeka (Student Cultural Center) and Filmaktiv – the purpose of the festival is to strengthen the student film industry by allowing an insight into the work of other fellow student filmmakers, encouraging the development of new ideas, and establishing international collaborations in the field of media production. STIFF’s main goal is to present the best of student film production from all around the world and help them get their audiences. It strives to educate audiences about the quality of work of emerging filmmakers.

Mediterranean Film Festival Split

Split (16 – 25 June, 2022 | 15th Edition)

Photo: www.fmfs.hr

Mediterranean Film Festival Split takes place annually in June in the city of Split, the second-largest city in Croatia. The Festival's focus are feature and short fiction and documentary films from Mediterranean countries. Besides feature films, great attention is dedicated to the program of short films and the promotion of young authors and their work. The Festival also organizes lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and other side events. In 12 years of its existence, the Festival has become the most visited cultural event in the city of Split. Kino Mediteran project is also part of the FMFS. It is a network of cinemas in 30 small Croatian coastal towns, mostly on islands. 

Croatian Film Days

Zagreb (10 – 14 May, 2022 | 31st Edition)

Photo: www.dhf.hr

The Croatian Film Days are a national festival founded in 1991 devoted to showcasing Croatia’s annual production of short- and medium-length feature, documentary, experimental, animated, and commercial films. The festival is of a competitive nature, with awards handed out by the festival jury, members of the Croatian Film Critic’s Association, and the audience. The organizer is the Croatian Film Association.

Motovun Film Festival

Motovun (26 – 30 July, 2022 | 25th Edition)

Photo: www.motovunfilmfestival.com

The Motovun Film Festival is dedicated to films made within small film industries and by independent productions. The programme consists of feature and short fiction and documentary films. The festival is jointly organized by the Motovun Film Festival, the Istria County, and the Municipality of Motovun.

Vukovar Film Festival – Danube region film festival

Vukovar (Summer, 2022 | 16th Edition)

Photo: www.vukovarfilmfestival.com

Vukovar Film Festival screens films from the Danube and neighboring countries – Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Moldavia, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine. It is the only festival that takes place literally on the Danube. The competition programme accepts feature, short fiction, and documentary films, and the jury hands out awards for all three categories. The festival is organized by Discovery Film, the City of Vukovar, and the Croatian House of Vukovar.

ZagrebDox

Zagreb (3 – 10 April, 2022 | 18th Edition)

Photo: ZagrebDox © Julien Duval

ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival launched in 2005. The Festival is intended to provide audiences and experts insight into the recent documentary films, stimulate national documentary production, and boost international and regional cooperation in co-productions. The festival's competition program has international and regional categories. Besides the competition program, ZagrebDox has a number of non-competition programs – retrospectives and films focused on specific subjects, genres, techniques, and esthetics.

Brač Film Festival

Brač (Summer, 2022 | 8th Edition)

Brač Film Festival is an international feature film festival for emerging filmmakers from Europe and the Mediterranean. Key goals of the Festival are promotion of the first time feature film directors, presentation of short student films, development of film literacy amongst children and youth, and connecting young film professionals with experienced ones. The short film program is the only competition program, where the audience gives prizes for the best short film.

Learn about other Croatian film festivals at the Croatian Audiovisual Centre official website HERE.

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January 6, 2022 – Oscar-nominated film director and writer, the legendary Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich, has died aged 82. Conceived in Zagreb, he grew up in New York where he had an illustrious five-decade career that included hit movies like The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon and She's Funny That Way.

Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2008, by Eliaws

Although he was conceived in Zagreb, it was perhaps natural that Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich should Americanise his name. His parents left the Croatian capital before their son was even born. Peter would grow up in New York, where he absorbed the culture and climate of the world-famous metropolis. In particular, he fell in love with its cinema.

As a young man, Bogdanovich was obsessed with movies. Early on, he scored a job as a film critic which allowed him to immerse himself in the world of movies. Within this era, he struck up a lifelong friendship with Orson Welles. Bogdanovich famously regarded Welles' Citizen Kane as the peak of cinema. Also at this time, Bogdanovich was given his first break as a film director by famous producer Roger Corman.

Orson Welles (left) and Peter Bogdanovich (right)

The 1960s saw a revolution in the world of American cinema. Tired old formats such as historical epics and musicals were being swept aside. In their place arrived films by a fresh crop of restless, modern directors. For the most part, they were influenced by the much more radical and real European new wave cinema. Their films appealed to young audiences with gritty realism, unflinching violence and extreme flights of fancy.

Among these new American filmmakers you can find the now-classic names of Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, John Boorman, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, John Carpenter, Brian De Palma and Stanley Kubrick. Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich was definitely among them.

He started his career as a director by making a documentary about John Ford, the pre-eminent director of western movies. It is to Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich's enduring credit that this documentary remains one of the greatest examinations of Ford and his work.

Classics of legendary filmmaker, Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich

The Last Picture Show, with Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd

From there, Bogdanovich jumped to making his first proper film, 'The Last Picture Show'. Featuring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and Cloris Leachmant, it was released in 1971. Universally acclaimed, the coming-of-age drama is as classic as Americana comes. It features a fine Hank Williams soundtrack and was the first lead-starring role of future great Bridges. This one film alone ensured Bogdanovich's name would forever be associated with cinema's exciting, new American movement.

Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal starred in Bogdanovich's second film, the romantic comedy 'What's Up, Doc?' He reunited with Ryan O'Neal in 1973 for the film 'Paper Moon'. O'Neal’s daughter, Tatum, won an Oscar for best supporting actress with this film. After several immediate hits, Bogdanovich felt he could afford to be choosey about his next projects. He turned down The Godfather, The Exorcist and Chinatown.

Set shot from classic 1985 emotional drama Mask, with Cher (centre) and Bogdanovich (right)

His later films included the classic emotional drama 'Mask', starring Cher, and 'The Cat’s Meow', starring Kirsten Dunst. A legend among the next generation of filmmakers, Bogdanovich appeared as an actor in cameo roles for cult director Quentin Tarantino and in The Sopranos series.

Croatian American Peter Bogdanovich plays Dr. Elliot Kupferberg in Episode 4, Season 3 of The Sopranos

In 2010, he joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and in 2014 made his last feature film, the comedy 'She’s Funny That Way' starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. In 2018, he released his final film, a documentary about Buster Keaton - 'The Great Buster: A Celebration'.

Peter Bogdanovich is survived by his two children Antonia and Alexandra (Sashy), his sister Anna Bogdanovich and three grandchildren.

To read more about Croatian filmmaking and movies, look here

December 1, 2021 - With Seck Zeen Hong in the leading role, "Crisis" is the first Korean-Croatian film and first Croatian film starring an Asian actor in the main role. Shot in Zagreb during the pandemic, the coming of age drama about a young Korean man seeking to adapt to a new society has already been selected at two film festivals.

In a year where Croatian cinema has not gone unnoticed at international festivals, a short fiction film arrives to join the celebrations and mark a couple of historical milestones along the way. Crisis (Kriza in Croatian, 위기 in Korean), was created and produced by Benjamin Noah Maričak, directed by Boris Vuković, and written by Karla Leko; as part of their graduate work at the University of Zagreb - Academy of Dramatic Art, and it is the first Croatian-Korean film and the first Croatian film starring an Asian actor in the main role. The film was shot in the city of Zagreb during the current pandemic, and it was completed on June 23 of this year.

Official English Poster for Crisis

With a runtime of 14 minutes and 58 seconds, and featuring both Croatian and Korean languages, Crisis follows the day in the life of 20 something-year-old Ji-Hu (Zeen Hong) who is working for his father's Korean restaurant in the heart of Zagreb, as the delivery boy, during the beginning stages of the worldwide lockdown caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Throughout his delivery runs across Zagreb, he will not only have to deal with the constant pressure from his father and an odd variety of customers but also trying to adjust in a world where he still hasn’t found his place yet.

Seck Zeen Hong stars as Ji-Hu, a young Korean in his twenties, trying to adjust in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and dealing with pressure from his father, played by You Kwang Kim. Seck Zeen Hong becomes the first Asian actor to play a leading role in a Croatian film.

Everything seems to indicate that the coming of age family drama filmed in the Croatian capital has been well received, since to date the short film has been selected in the official program of two film festivals, confirms the producer and creator of Crisis, Benjamin Noah Maričak. The Asian premiere of the first Korean-Croatian film will be at the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF), the largest film festival in Bangladesh. The short film, which features photography by Marko Milohnić and editing by Marta Bregeš, will be part of the festival's official program in the Short & Independent Film Section. The DIFF will be held from January 15th to 22nd, 2022.

In addition, for the local public, Crisis was also accepted in the official program of the CIiklop Film Festival, which will take place in Benkovac, near the city of Zadar. The dates of the Ciklop Film Festival will be from December 18th to 22nd of this year. The official program with the full list of selected films will be published very soon.

Crisis is the first Korean-Croatian film, and it was shot entirely in Zagreb. In this still from the film, you can see the famous brutalist residential buildings known as Rakete, built in 1968.

Here are the names of the cast and team behind the making of the first Korean-Croatian film, Crisis:

Cast

• Ji-Hu: Seck Zeen Hong (홍 석진)
• Father: You Kwang Kim (김 유광)
• Party Girl: Lara Nekić
• Slaven: Igor Jurinić
• Girls at Party: Lucia Luque Akrap, Laura Anić-Kaliger, Laura Bošnjak, and Dora Dimić Rakar
• Man in Tracksuit: Fabijan Pavao Medvešek
• Woman in Apartment: Alemka Sappe
• Teenager 1: Tara Dorotić
• Teenager 2: Klara Fiolić
• Man in Tram: Željimir Sappe
• Postman: Anđelko Katanec
• Bike Thief: Noa Nikolić

Crew

• Director: Boris Vuković
• Screenwriter: Karla Leko
• Producer and Creator: Benjamin Noah Maričak
• Cinematographer: Marko Milohnić
• Editor: Marta Bregeš
• Production Designer: Cinita Macuka
• Costume Designers: Jana Friščić and Ela Leko
• 1st AD: Filip Dizdar
• Hair and Make-up: Tea Pavec and Mia Popovska
• 1st AC: Urh Pirc
• 2nd AC / Best Boy: Tin Ostrošić, and Rene Recek
• Gaffer: Domen Martinčič
• Sound Recordist: Jan Kapetanović
• Boom Operators: Juraj Franolić, and Stjepan Hren
• Script Supervisors: Rudolf Ravbar, and Noa Nikolić
• Sound Mixer: Marko Klajić
• Color Grading: Marko Milohnić
• VFX: Marino Vuletić
• Assistant Editor: Stjepan Hren
• Title Designer: Tamara Milošević
• Production Assistants: Noa Nikolić, and Vedran Bošnjak

Thus begins the festival circuit for a project carried out by young filmmakers and artists, which explores existentialist and very human themes in a very complicated period of our history. We wish them the best and much success!

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 11, 2021 - The Octavian Award is the only Croatian film award that continuously follows the entire domestic cinematography, which makes it the most relevant and representative Croatian film award. Films competing for the 30th Octavian Awards are all premiered in Croatia during 2021 in Croatia, from January 1 to December 31.

As reported by tportal.hr, the Croatian Society of Film Critics is organizing the 30th Octavian Awards. Since 2019, HDFK has decided to award prizes independently in order to ensure greater media visibility for the awarded films and also for the activities of the film society as such. The Octavian Award is the only Croatian film award that continuously follows the entire domestic cinematography, which makes it the most relevant and representative Croatian film award. The list of previously awarded films and authors can be found on the official website of HDFK.

Photo: Ravno do DNA

All filmmakers and production companies are invited to submit their films for the 30th Octavian Awards via this APPLICATION FORM.

All submitted films will be watched and evaluated by a ten-member selection group of HDFK, and then the ten best films in each category will be evaluated by the remaining, pre-registered, members of the Society. Films in all categories are rated with a score of 1 (one) to 5 (five) via a ballot with a list of all competing films, and then the average score is calculated. The film with the highest average rating is the winner of Octavian, but this rating must not be lower than 3.50. In order for Octavian to be awarded in each individual category, at least ten (10) critics must vote. Ratings are published on the official websites of the Company www.hdfk.hr and zonafilma.com.

The ratings will be made public during the awards ceremony for the authors of the best films in early 2022.

Films competing for the annual Octavian Award are all Croatian premiered and publicly shown during 2021 in Croatia, from 1 January to 31 December.

The annual Octavian Award is given in these categories:

• Octavian for a feature film
• Octavian for a feature-length documentary
• Octavian for (short and medium-length) feature film
• Octavian for (short and medium-length) documentary
• Octavian for (short, medium, and feature) animated film
• Octavian for (short, medium, and feature) experimental film
• Octavian for (short, medium, and feature) feature film
• Octavian for best minority co-production

The Octavian Prize film application process will run until November 30, 2021.

The Octavian Prize Regulations can be found HERE.

 For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 24, 2021 - The Vukovar Film Festival will start tomorrow in its fifteenth edition and highlights a program full of must-see films and documentaries.

As reported by Večernji list, this year's 15th Vukovar Film Festival from August 25th to 29th brings a total of 41 film screenings with five documentaries, which will be shown at several locations in the city.

The artistic director of the festival, Dean Sinovčić, said at the press conference that the Vukovar festival is best known for its program, according to which no festival in Croatia "can compete" with it.

Vukovar Film Festival Official Facebook Page

He stated that a dozen films from the festival program are classic comedies to get people back in a good mood and that five films from the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival and several films from the Berlin and Venice festivals will be screened.

''Thus, we keep the quality that the Vukovar festival has offered in all previous years'', Sinovčić pointed out.

Festival director and executive director of Discovery film Igor Rakonić said that the festival opens with the film "Blue Flower", directed by Zrinko Ogresta, as the winner of this year's Pula Film Festival. He added that due to the announced cooling in the coming days, the screenings of films scheduled for screening on the terrace of the Agency for Waterways and the park of Eltz Castle will be moved to Hrvatski dom and Cinestar.

''The idea of ​​this year's festival is to stay strong in film, we hope that next year the pandemic will pass and that we will start living normally'', he added.

Regarding the implementation of epidemiological measures, Rakonić said that epidemiological measures would be respected at the festival, with a reduced number of spectators, but that vaccinated persons would certainly not be separated from unvaccinated ones.

Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava expressed satisfaction that the festival has maintained continuity, as well as because this year's, unlike last year's, which was held in a closing atmosphere, is now returning to a more normal atmosphere.

Considering that this year's festival is being held in the conditions of a pandemic, the organizers point out that this year there will be no usual awards ceremony, as well as accompanying entertainment and music activities.

They note that this does not apply to the traditional festival workshops that will be held, namely the Danube screenwriting workshop, the one-minute film workshop in one frame and the film workshop "From idea to realization".

The organizers of the Vukovar Film Festival are the company Discovery film, the City of Vukovar, and the Hrvatski Dom Vukovar.

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

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August 22, 2021 - The 19th Liburnia Film Festival starts tomorrow in Opatija, with 44 Croatian documentaries on the program, 22 of which are in competition for awards.

Documentaries in competition for festival awards: the best film is chosen by the jury and the audience, the best direction, photography, editing, sound design, and the best regional film, will be shown on the small Summer Stage in Opatija, writes HRT Magazin.

The five-member international jury consists of art historian and curator Branka Benčić, editor and director Vladimir Gojun, director and artistic director of Beldocs Marko Grba Singh, organizer of film programs and representative of the Kinedok network Szabolcs Szyrony and film critic Višnja Vukašinović.

The festival awards the best film and the audience award with a cash prize and Restart with a technical service for making DCP.

For the first time, AVC Zagreb is awarding authors for the best photography and best sound design with a voucher for the purchase of film equipment in the amount of 700 euros, and ACER Croatia will award the prize for the best editing.

As in previous years, the IDF Documentary Film Institute and the Balkan Documentary Center award the best director and the best regional film. All winners will receive an original statue of the Kastav artist Saša Jantolek.

On Friday, August 27, before the announcement of the best, the audience will watch two documentaries produced by the co-organizers of the Liburnia Film Festival of the Zagreb association Restart "Letters to Nicholas" Dunja Ivezić and "More than 35" by Timy Šarec.

The festival will close with the world premiere of Relje Dušek's film "Enrico Marotti: This is my voyage" about the world champion in windsurfing from Volosko.

The accompanying program includes a case study of Đuro Gavran's film "One of Us", as an introduction to the panel discussion "When Violence Lives at Home".

The festival continues the afternoon conversations of the audience with the authors of the films shown the previous day.

The accompanying film program includes the program of the Regional with documentaries from the Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria counties and a retrospective of films by Đuro Gavran.

The 19th Liburnia Film Festival is organized by the LFF Association, co-organized by Restart, and partnered by the Opatija Festival. It is supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Center, the City of Opatija, the County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar, the Society of Croatian Film Directors, AVC Zagreb, ACER Croatia, and other supporters.

Learn more about the 19th edition of the Liburnia Film Festival HERE.

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

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July 3, 2021 - In sixty seconds, participants had to visually express why the county or the place where they live has grown close to their hearts. After reviewing all 21 videos, the jury decided on the Vukovar-Srijem team, led by director Saul Tikvić, as the winners.

Vinkovci's Saul Tikvić is the winner of the final of the Moja.hr project, a competition for the best one-minute film about the county or place where the author lives, reports Turističke priče. It is a project of Večernji list in which the Croatian Radio and Television was a partner, and it was supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Croatian Tourist Board. The young team, which included Davorin Kresic, Dunja Šaran, and Dario Hegeduš, along with Tikvić as the host, made a winning film about Vukovar-Srijem County. The award was presented to them at a ceremony held on Thursday night by the Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac.

''We did not expect the award, because the competition was really high quality. After announcing third and second place we thought we had no chance of being first, but then came a surprise for all of us on the team. We couldn't believe how we shot the best video in the country'', Tikvić shared his impressions from the awards ceremony.

According to the director of the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board, Rujana Bušić Srpak, the beautiful images of Vukovar-Srijem County, together with the music and narrative of Dunja Šuran, who appears in the video, send a correct and positive image, and the experience of young people living here give extra importance to the whole project.

''We made our first contact with Saul Tikvić last year when we organized a photo workshop, in which he also participated. For the Moja.hr project, we formed a team that worked completely on a voluntary basis, and we as the tourist board were the coordinators, that is, we helped and gave support to these young people. Ultimately, the film is entirely their own work, because we didn’t want to interfere with the script. This success is an excellent promotion for our county, which will host the awards ceremony next year, which will further promote Vukovar-Srijem County'', said Srpak.

The Moja.hr project aims to encourage young people to show the beauty, creativity, and emotion of the county in which they live. In sixty seconds, the authors had to say why the county or the place where they live has grown close to their hearts, why they love living there, and express their personality and creativity in these answers. After reviewing all 21 videos, the jury decided on the Vukovar-Srijem team as the winners.

''The shooting of the film lasted about a month at locations throughout the Vukovar-Srijem County. We changed the script several times, but in the end, we were satisfied with what we did. The award means a lot to me because I decided to dedicate myself completely to photography, filming, and editing. Namely, a few hours before receiving the award, I resigned from my job, because photos and videos are my love, to which I want to dedicate more time, and I intend to do videos and commercials. The award will certainly help me achieve that goal'', director Saul Tikvić points out.

For winning first place, Tikvić was awarded a cash prize in the amount of HRK 15,000, a tablet, and an annual e-subscription to Večernji list. The money will be shared with the whole team, and one part, as required by the rules in Slavonia, will be spent on a celebration, or a party with friends.

''In Vinkovci, where we came from Slovakia, I have been alone since I was five years old and it is a city that I love and that I would never leave. I worked for a few months in Sweden, it can be well earned, but it’s not the life for me. I returned to Vinkovci where I feel much better and I would never leave them again'', said Tikvic, who announced that in a few days the Tourist Board of Vinkovci will publish a video of the Roman Days in Vinkovci, where he worked with Davorin Krešić.

In the end, the second prize of the Moja.hr project went to the team from Medulin consisting of Darko Privrat, Mateo Ostojić, and Hugo Vojak, and the third to Timon Terzić, Bojan Horvat, and Dario Mikulek from Varaždin.

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

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June 8, 2021 - The Croatian film ''Murina'',  directed by Dubrovnik-born Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović on her feature-length debut, has been selected for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival!

As reported by Gloria.hr, and confirmed by the Croatian director Antoneta Alamat-Kusijanović, it is a great day for Croatian cinema as a Croatian film will return to Cannes. Her feature-length debut film ''Murina'' was selected in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. It is the second collaboration between Antoneta and the star of the film, Gracia Filipović, who was also the protagonist in her short film ''Into the Blue'', which won a special jury award at the Berlinale in 2017. The Croatian film ''Murina'' was shot in the Croatian islands.

Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović and her 18-year old star, Gracia Filipović

The Croatian film "Murina" is a family drama about sixteen-year-old Julia. Her tense relationship with the oppressive father Ante reaches a breaking point when an old family friend arrives at their home on an isolated Croatian island. While his father tries to make a deal with him, the charismatic guest offers Julia freedom from her militaristic existence and arouses her revolt towards her family. During a weekend filled with high expectations, Julia drags her family into a dangerous whirlpool of passion and violence.

''Into the Blue'', the first collaboration between director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović and actress Gracia Filipović

Along with experienced actors, Leon Lučev from Šibenik, Danica Curcic from Denmark, and Cliff Curtis from New Zealand, the 18-year-old Gracia Filipović from Dubrovnik has the main role in "Murina". An excellent steppe dancer and an excellent swimmer, Gracia has already collaborated with Antoneta, together they made the short film "Into the Blue", which won a special jury award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2017, but also the Heart of Sarajevo for best film at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović on the set of ''Murina''. (Photo: Mario Topić)

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović is a Dubrovnik director with a degree from the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Arts. She completed her postgraduate studies in film directing at Columbia University in New York and was also the first Croatian scholarship holder of the Cinefondation, a program to support the Cannes Film Festival to talented directors from all over the world.

"Murina" was produced by the Zagreb production company Antitalent and producer Daniel Peka, as well as the powerful Brazilian producer RT Features and the American Sikelia, backed by Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese. The film will be premiered in Cannes, as announced by director Antoneta Alamat-Kusijanović on an Instagram post.

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Due to the pandemic, this year’s Cannes Film Festival was not held in its traditional May term, but films in the city on the Cote d’Azur will be screened from 6 to 17 July. And in its 74th edition, Cannes will show that it is the center of the film world. It will be opened by the long-awaited musical by Leos Carax "Annette" starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and the main guest of the opening will be the American actress Jane Fonda, who will be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović on the set of ''Murina''. (Photo: Mario Topić)

Quinzaine des Réalisateurs is a program organized by the French Association of Film Directors during the Cannes Film Festival. Launched back in 1969, it has crystallized over the years as perhaps the best representative of the new voices of world cinema. Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese also began his breakthrough in world cinema after showing the now cult film "Streets of Evil" starring Robert DeNiro in Cannes in 1974. Croatian cinema also has a long history with the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs program. Krsto Papić's "Foxes" was shown here in 1970, and Vatroslav Mimica's "Peasant Revolt", in 1976.

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