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.

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ZAGREB, 5 Nov 2021 - Zagreb's Tuškanac Cinema will feature nine contemporary Azerbaijani films as part of the programme "Panorama: Contemporary Azerbaijani Film", to be held between November 8 and 10.

The programme will be opened by the film Nabat (2014), directed by Elchin Musaoglu, Azerbaijani's candidate for the 2015 Oscar award in the best feature category. Also screened will be four feature and four short films made between 2014 and 2020.

The event is organised in cooperation with the Azerbaijani Embassy in Croatia, the Croatian-Azerbaijani Friendship Association and the Croatian-Azerbaijani economic and cultural centre Caspi.

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Dubrovnik is no stranger to winning awards and you're probably used to reading about it, but this area in the extreme south of Dalmatia continues to fascinate the world for an abundance of reasons. From its stunning natural beauty and crystal clear sea, to its rich history and equally impressive culture, the Pearl of the Adriatic and its immediate surrounding area just keep on making the world's jaws drop.

This time however, it isn't just the famous Dalmatian UNESCO protected old city and its mighty walls which are taking home yet another award for a promotional film made about its unique beauty, but the wider area of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. This truly picturesque part of southern Croatia boasts an almost equal amount of natural beauty and history, and from Ston to Konavle next to the Montenegrin border, you'll likely have your breath taken away multiple times.

As Morski writes on the 11th of April, 2019, the brand new promotional film from the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board, ''Dubrovnik Riviera'' continues to win awards and receive recognition from all sides. To be more precise, at the 2019 New York Festivals® International Film and TV awards festival, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the promo film showcasing Dubrovnik-Neretva County's sheer beauty came third place and won the bronze plaquette.

To briefly recall, at the recent ''The Golden City Gate'' ceremony in Berlin, Germany, at the biggest international ITB World Tourism Fair, the promotional film came second place in the category of regional films, the film has been made by Balduci Film from Zagreb, was directed by Herve Tirmarche and produced by Spomenka Saraga. The film depicts the beauty of Dubrovnik-Neretva County from the Neretva valley, to the islands of Korčula and Mljet, and then Croatia's southernmost municipality of Konavle, which borders Montenegro.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and travel pages for much more. If it's just Dubrovnik and southern Dalmatia you're interested in, have a look at Dubrovnik in a Page for everything you need to know about the Rearl of the Adriatic.

Cinestar's cinemas include 23 multiplexes with 145 digitised halls in eleven cities across the Republic of Croatia.

As Sergej Novosel Vuckovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 9th of April, 2019, the Cinestar cinema chain is the best cinema exhibitor in the whole of Europe, and Blitz-Cinestar is a true example of a company whose achievements, projects, growth and leadership in the industry continue to new standards and push the boundaries of this field.

The well known cinema chain won its new prestigious title after being rated by the International Cinema Association (UNIC), which brings together cinemas from 37 European countries and surrounding regions.

The award will be accepted by co-founder and board member of Blitz-Cinestar Hrvoje Krstulović in June at the CineEurope Cinemas Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

As previously stated, Cinestar's cinemas include 23 multiplexes with 145 digitised halls across eleven cities in the Republic of Croatia from Zagreb down to Dubrovnik, as well as in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with more than 23,000 seats in total, and a majority of 4.8 million cinema tickets sold in Croatia (according to CBS) for Cinestar's cinema halls.

This chain of multiplexes, which has been being managed by Blitz-Cinestar since the beginning of 2003, is the largest cinema in Croatia's close region. After Split Cinestar's 4DX in the Mall of Split won an award for the best European cinema in Europe last year, winning the title of the best cinema chain on the continent is the shining gem of this company's impressive business crown.

"It's an extraordinary honour to be able to receive this valuable CineEurope award and a pleasure and [a source of] pride that our profession has recognised our constant efforts and investments, as well as our knowledge. Our vision of a five star cinema was clearly a hit. CineStar has become a synonym for the best cinema experience in Europe, we've created a new generation of cinema chain in which we've brought some revolutionary formats like Imax, 4DX, created the Gold Class and Kaptol Boutique Cinema concepts, and destination cinemas with bars and various amenities where visitors like to spend time and everyone finds something to suit them,'' Krstulović stated.

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Click here for the original article by Sergej Novosel Vuckovic for Poslovni Dnevnik

The stunning Croatian island of Vis takes to the screens as a film which showcases its sheer beauty rightfully wins big in Florence.

As Morski writes on the 1st of April, 2019, the film by Italian director Nicola Bongiorna "The Lions of Vis" won over both the public and panel in Florence, Italy, with a warm story about the Croatian island of Vis, its inhabitants, history, maritime heritage, fishermen, divers, and, above all, its story of love and respect for the sea.

"The Lions of Vis" (I Leoni di Lissa) won the main prize at the Florence Archeofilm Festival. Nicola Bongiorna's film describes the step by step process of a huge search under the sea for the wreck of a sunken Italian vessel - the Re d 'Italia ship from 1866, which sank with its 400 crew members.

The words of an Italian journalist, "The film isn't a historical story of the battle, but a story told through the astonishing beauty of the archipelago that speaks to the soul of the viewer, a film about the transparency of the sea that connects, and doesn't separate the people".

Some sequences of films from as far back as the 1930s and a film from the 1960s from the island of Vis were introduced, which the director used to reconstruct life on the island. Bongiorna also co-operated with prof. Josip Bozanić, who specialises in linguistics, and the film goes on to reveal many similar and even identical linguistic expressions used by people on both sides of the Adriatic coast.

Recalling the success of the film, the Italian media write that "the beauty of Dalmatia is borderless, and the islands are magical".

Nicola dedicated the film to no less than his own father, Mike, a renowned Italian TV quiz host, who taught him what it meant to fall in love with the sea.

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Click here for the original articles by Pokret otoka (Island movement) and Slobodna Dalmacija