Beyond Boundaries: The Emergence of Croatian Cinema October 26 – November 14, 2007
Since the end of Croatia’s struggle for independence, its cinema has become one of the liveliest in Europe, as a new generation of filmmakers builds on what was already a proud tradition of innovative, engaged filmmaking. The end of World War II brought about Communist-run Yugoslavia, and even before the fighting was over, steps were taken to nationalize the country’s film theaters and modest filmmaking facilities. A state film company was created, with six separate film directorates for each of Yugoslavia’s political divisions.
Despite the tendency of Tito’s government, especially in the early years, to concentrate power in Belgrade, filmmaking was largely locally controlled. The first films typically focused on the war and partisan struggles, but by 1954 a work as dark and unsettling as Branko Belan’s Koncert could be produced. The ever-increasing cultural “thaw” that followed the death of Stalin in 1953 came faster and more intensely in Yugoslavia, and this opening up of cultural expression ––combined with the influence of new filmmaking styles––led to the emergence of a number of remarkable, provocative filmmakers: Nikola Tanhofer, Branko Bauer, Ante Babaja, Vatroslav Mimica, and Krsto Papic, among others. These were also the golden years of the Zagreb school of animation, with Croatian animators consistently winning international prizes and even Oscars® (Dusan Vukotic’s The Substitute). Up through the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Croatia remained an important center for film production, second only to Serbia in the number of films produced.
The contemporary Croatian cinema can be said to begin with Vinko Bresan’s How the War Started on My Island, written by his father, Ivo, screenwriter for Krsto Papic’s A Village Performance of Hamlet. The film was a perfect combination of the old and the new, mixing a wry, even comic disdain for authority with a reflection on the war years. World War II would continue to figure in many of the best Croatian films of the past decade, yet these are not films trying to score political or ideological points. Rather, the films, such as All for Free, Armin, or Two Players from the Bench are more interested in the lingering effects of the war on Croatian society.
Beyond Boundaries: The Emergence of Croatian Cinema was organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, with the help of the Croatian Ministry of Culture. Support for the series was provided by Croatian Film Archive and the Consulate General of Croatia in New York. Very special thanks to Damir Teresak, Jadranka Hrga, Petar Ljubicic and especially to Branko Lustig.
Film descriptions, screening schedule and advance tickets for Beyond Boundaries will be available beginning on October 11.
