April 8, 2022 - The Croatian short documentary 'Noon Shot', about Stjepan Možar, the gunner of the famous Grič cannon in Zagreb, is directed by Stanka Gjurić and has been selected at the Lift-Off festival in London.

Zagreb is a city that is characterized, among many things, by the symbols and sights that one can find in different corners of the Croatian capital. One, in particular, generates a huge sense of belonging among its inhabitants and has recently returned to its operations after a long time of silence: the Grič cannon. The first time the cannon was fired to announce noon in the city of Zagreb was in 1877, as part of an initiative promoted by the writer, publicist, and city councilor, Đuro Deželić. The cannon has been the pride and joy of the citizens of Zagreb for over a century, and according to legend, it even saved the city from an invasion by the Ottoman Empire. If you want to know more about the legend, click here.

It was originally located in the building of the Hydrometeorological Institute, and today it is located in the Lotrščak tower on Grič. It is a mountain cannon type Howitzer M116, caliber 76mm, and its range is 7929 meters, and the volume of the shot is 140 decibels.

The cannon stopped during the First World War and resumed its activity, not until 1928. Since then it has not stopped announcing noon in Zagreb, until almost two years ago during the earthquake that hit the Croatian capital in March 2020.

It took two months for the cannon to restart, and it has been firing at noon between May 11, 2020, and December 29 of that same year. It last fired just 20 minutes before the earthquake that affected the Sisak-Moslavina region, with the epicenter in Petrinja, and which was also strongly felt in Zagreb. The cannon, which finally returned to work this year on February 14th, had been inactive since then.

Filmmaker Stanka Gjurić, director of the Croatian short documentary 'Noon Shot'

The history of the canyon is very rich in details and the interest it generates is irrefutable, and that is how the idea was born for the Croatian filmmaker Stanka Gjurić to make a short documentary. However, it is not about the cannon that the Croatian short documentary revolves. The film is about Zagreb gunner Stjepan Možar (today, unfortunately, deceased) who came to the Lotrščak tower on Grič every day to shoot from the cannon and thus mark noon (Možar fired from the Grič cannon every day for 35 years).

Stanka Gjurić's short documentary, 'Noon shot' has entered the official selection of the global network of the Lift-Off film festival in London (Great Britain). Lift-Off Global Network is based at one of the most famous film studios on the planet. Their headquarters at Pinewood Studios in the UK is at the heart of the film industry.  The Lift-Off Film Festival Global Network is the only worldwide exchange of true independent cinema. 

Congratulations to our artist on her hard work, perseverance and, of course, success in presenting her own films 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.

Learn more from Croatian filmmaker Stanka Gjurić HERE.

If you are looking for the most complete information to enjoy Zagreb, be sure to check out Total Croatia, Zagreb in a Page guide HERE. Available in nine languages!

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

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!

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