Discoveries from Croatia World Cinema

On Shaky Ground is a short film that deals with the issue of a breaking family, after the father falls into a serious depression because of the financial moves he had previously kept secret.

Two young nuns meet during a Catholic gathering in Croatia and fall in love. They live in two separate convents, but the spaces they once considered havens of solace and spiritual fulfillment turn out to be more earthly than expected. Disillusioned by the Church and the sexual and psychological abuse within, yet driven by blossoming love, they make the most difficult decision of their life - to leave the convent.

A small village on an island called Bura, is looking for the 100th citizen so that the village may become a town. The head of the village will do anything to get what he wants...

A married couple organizes a travel to Australia for the whole family. They decide to travel by two planes out of the fear of potential plane crash. However, dividing the family in two groups will not be as easy as it seems.

An abused wife leaves her husband, takes her child away and goes to live in a car.

Documentary about "New Square", a group of young cartoonists from Zagreb who mainly gathered around the weekly paper Sloga in the second half of the 1970s. The authors Radovan Devlić (1950-2000), Krešimir Skozret (1951-) Joško Marušić (1952-), Mirko Ilić (1956-), Krešimir Zimonić (1956-) and Igor Kordej (1957-) introduced graphic innovations that raised the general interest in the Croatian comic art.

A video on the edge between sci-fi, video clip and narration which is suggests tension of story and events, while at the same time real dramaturgy is neglected, and the plot line is followed by rhythmic music in real and electronically generated areas, accompanied by actors, maquettes, puppets and models.

It is a romantic story about giant Regoch and fairy Kosjenka on their surreal adventures through unknown world. This short experimental / animated film is based on a story written in 1916 by Ivana Brlic Mazuranic - the Slavic Tolkien. This film is one of the 8 fairytales from the collection of internationally recognized interactive book project "Croatian Tales of Long Ago" - www.bulaja.com/fairytales/ - FlashForward FF 2002 winner in Story category

Zagreb Cappuccino is the story of two best friends, Petra and Kika. Both women are in their early forties. Petra, in Zagreb, is getting divorced, and Kika arrives from Cologne to console her. Kika, a cosmopolitan party girl, teaches Petra how to carry on with her life without a husband and a family. Over several cups of coffee and nights out we get to know their fears and problems, their solitude, insecurities and inner strength.

"Third Christmas" describes the exile school "Topusko" in Veli Lošinj, where teachers and students welcome their third Christmas in exile with touching stories told by children and their parents.

Shocking, intimate and moving documentary "Sve je bio dobar san" ("It Was All Just a Good Dream: the Frenchman from Vukovar") examines the events from the time of the war in Croatia and the arrival of the young French volunteer Jean-Michel Nicolier in Croatia.

Thirty-five old Nikola comes back home after he had left a year ago, in a quarrel. His father Vlado and mother Anica came to Germany when they were young, looking for happiness.

Every person we know, love and live with carries a stranger in their head. And they know we do too.

Lana (17) is a girl from an average Zagreb family. She‘s getting ready to spend the night with her boyfriend Igor (25). On their way to the concert they decide to make love in a taxi owned by Igor‘s friend. This should‘ve been Lana‘s first time. Things went wrong when their intimate encounter got interrupted by the noises from another taxi. There was a robbery and attempted murder going on. Lana wanted to stop their love game, but Igor has forced her to continue. Lana ran away from him and met Irena (17) in a nightclub, a troubled girl who‘s been spending the night in search for drugs. A series of circumstances join Lana and Irena together while they wander the city.

Katarina is called to her daughter’s friend’s home to confront the consequences of a seemingly innocent game that has spiraled out of control.

Warm, poetic, educational, and emotional story will paint for us the phenomenon of Dražen Petrović, one of the greatest basketball players in the world who, despite his premature death, left an incredible mark on people's lives.

The main character is trying to give an answer to a simple question. He is wandering through a labyrinth of intuitive visions. In some particular way this question seems to determine his life. His answer is always the same - Do we have any answers to the big important questions.

A collage animated adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s cult novel about vampire Carmilla, which not only inspired Bram Stocker to write Dracula, but also became a template for an entire subgenre of exploitation cinema of the 1970s, among which Jesus Franco’s Vampyros Lesbos stands out.

On May 13 1990, Kizo, Filip, Buba and Tomo try to gather together a grouping in other to go and see the highly anticipated match between the soccer teams Dinamo from Zagreb and Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) from Belgrade. However, seemingly all of their fellow fans are in some way or another unable to come to the stadium. And unbenkownst to all of them, this game will trigger one of the darkest moments in Croatian history.

Two young women are joined by their shared experience of being abused. Their unexpected meeting forms a strong bond which gives them both the strength to take on their abusers in court and to help other young women to seek justice.

To pay off his gambling debts, Lembach, an ex-officer of Austro-Hungarian army, extorts money from his wife Laura and her lover Krizovec. Krizovec himself has a love affair with Russian countess Georgievna, who herself is also into romantic relationship with another Russian countess. This tetragonal love affair comes to its boiling point.

A tumultuous family drama unfolds as Gara (59) and Nada (13) defend their land set to become a military polygon, revealing layers of complexity that bond mother and daughter. The story of violence against women echoes in the violence against nature.

When Slavko's old friend Djulaga dies, Slavko feels obliged to go to the funeral. But in his hometown of Mostar, in Bosnia & Herzegovina, this simple social obligation has the potential to get him into all kinds of trouble: with his neighbors or even with local political bigwigs. Yet if he does not go, his wife will think he's a coward, the grieving family will never forgive him - and he might have trouble forgiving himself. This is a compelling tale of everyday life in a fractured society, and a world where paranoia, comedy and drama co-exist. It is also an astute psychological portrait of a man who is forced to cross the invisible line that divides two communities. Above all, it is the story of a man who lost everything that defined him, when his country disintegrated.

Through the lense of Eastern philosophy and martial arts, writer and director Ivan Ožegović explores not just Hong Kong, but also his own internal landscape.

The rise and fall of Yugoslavian filmmaker Dušan Vukotić - the only Yugoslav Oscar-winner and one of the founding members of the Zagreb School of Animation - uncannily mirrors the tragic fate of his multiethnic country.

The Blockade is a unique view from within on the most massive, longest, and politically most significant student protest in the country, since 1971, that started in April of 2009 at the Faculty of humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. The struggle against the commercialization of education and the blockade of teaching classes lasted for 34 days. The rebellion spread onto more than 20 faculties across the country and the students became an active and relevant political subject. The director followed everything: from the exhilarating preparation meetings and blocking of classes to the first signs of exhaustion, through personal situations and discussions late at night, from the initial support of most faculty members to the moment they turned their back to the movement and the attempt to reach the missing minister of education. This film shows that the blockade was not just physical and that it has a much broader meaning.

Petar Gorjan is a 40-year-old successful propagandist and cynical strategist of consumerist society that is faced with family and identity crisis. He embarks on a journey from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, transporting humanitarian aid in his off-road vehicle, and on his way he will be accompanied by slightly mentally troubled Lukas and a vagabond girl.

Next to a small Dalmatian town of Murvice oil was found, and politicians make a hasty decision to build a tanker port, although there is no oil in the quantities required for exploitation. Urged by his ambitious wife, the engineer Slobodan Despot becomes director of the port construction, which his wife's lover skillfully exploits to use Despot as scapegoat. The construction of unprofitable airport gradually destroys the patriarchal structure of Murvice, as well as Despot's personal life and ideals, which he tried to restore by having affair with the young and unspoiled girl.

Spikiney is a hardworking and selfless hedgehog who runs a soup kitchen for his community. One winter night the food vanishes, endangering their existence.

Skimming is the process of coating the entire surface of walls and ceilings with a special skimming compound, whose purpose is to create a very fine final layer as a base for painting (whitewashing) the wall. Skimming must be done in two passes, that is, in two layers.

This documentary is a parallel journey through the streets of modern Zagreb and a generation's memories of its citizens whose faith and lives was determined by World War II. Five people, who grew up in Zagreb before the World War II, were for different reasons led to become members of illegal anti-fascist movement. Walking through the streets of Zagreb they talk about their youthful experiences in Zagreb before the war, emotionally and with no ideological platitude

The video installation entitled Partenza (Italian for departure, and used in many of Croatia’s island and coastal dialects) express the global insecurity of contemporary society and the fragility of human existence. Metaphorically, they address a story about departure, waiting and separation, dictated by migrations. In the early 20th century, it was usual yet traumatic for men to leave Croatian islands (mostly bound for the countries of South America) due to poverty and hunger. One of these tragic stories is weaved into the author’s family history. The installation is inspired by the life story of Renata’s great-grandmother who lived on the island of Brač, whose husband went to Chile looking for work in order to secure his family’s future. Like many of the island’s women, she waited for her husband who, like many of the men, never returned.

Erna and Dževad are the owners of a pub in the vicinity of a steel mill, a complex that used to be one of the largest of its kind in Eastern Europe. Taking place one week before the pub’s official closedown, the film follows a series of conversations between visitors and frequent guests, who discuss the ways of reaching Germany – a new utopia of former socialist workers.

Crossword about seven interconnected stories of love, friendship, affection, guns, Balkan, stupidity and people caught in the moment.

You may have heard of or even met Srđan Gino Jevđević, but do you know his full story? After fleeing Sarajevo, Jevđevic found refuge in good ol' Seattle and started the world-famous Balkan punk band Kultur Shock. Now it’s his 60th birthday, and he and his friends are pulling out all the stops.

This is a religious/kung-fu/love drama. The master of martial arts, Bore Lee from Sinj, arrives in Zagreb to learn yoga in order to relax more easily before his fights. He falls in love with the beautiful yoga instructor Anayoga, but at the same time gets on the wrong side of a vicious gang that terrorizes the owner of the club Mocvara, as well as other honest citizens of Zagreb. Bore has a choice – to join the evil gang and betray his ideals or put his and Ana’s life in danger while fighting crime.

They’re cute, they’re lovable, and judging by the 26 billion views on over 2 million YouTube videos of them, one thing is certain: cats are very entertaining. But their strange feline behaviors, both amusing and baffling, leave many of us asking: Why do cats do that? Tony Buffington explains the science behind some of your cat’s strangest behaviors.

An architect Pavle is furious with his wife for conducting an affair with his best friend and business partner. Weeks later, a deformed corpse is found washed up on the river banks and is identified to be that of Pavle. Three years later, Pavle, now the deceased, unexpectedly returns.

A bittersweet coming of age of Tomica Skrinjar, starting at the tail end of World War II in 1945.

It is a movie about survive in war time (WW1 East front). In dark colors, with interesting characters, mixture of ash and sand, puzzle of stories, cynic, precise, harsh, bitter, Rubick cube of times and events.

School cleaner Mirna partakes in an historic strike advocating for an improvement in staff salaries and rights, but finds that the system—and the people—easily find ways to exploit her good intentions.

The microcosmic world of a street market on the outskirts of Zagreb: traders, thieves, prostitutes, self-appointed security guards and other lost souls, each with their own unique ideas, passion or mania. We follow the tragicomic, mutually intertwined mini dramas of each character, as they fight to save the marketplace itself, when city planners threaten to raze it to the ground and replace it with a skyscraper.

Željko (16) and his younger brother have been living on their own since their mother ended up in hospital. Željko has set his mind on two things: he has to finally take the initiative to meet Tanja and earn some money to buy his Mum a wig. A real one, made from human hair. If he achieves these two goals, the things might turn for the better.

A couple goes on an imaginary journey that will take them through an entire life span. Reality and illusion, highs and lows of human existence, moments of great tenderness and moments of sheer cruelty become interchangeable.

A migrant tale of sisterhood and music celebrating unconventional friendships and the power of diversity.

A Catholic priest and a member of the Yugoslav Secret Service join forces to investigate a series of deaths in a housing block.

Just as the sun is setting on his life filled with disappointment and regret, an old man finds hope in an unlikely friendship.

Mirta is trying to get away from her family and her everyday routine full of statistics. She runs away with her boyfriend to find a better place for living, but he has some “other” ideas of a “better place” and is willing to gamble in his own life to find it.

The story about the Bleiburg massacre, seen from a Croatian Home Defenders point of view.

This film is shot in a continuous 78-minute take. The story takes place in a city ravaged by crisis, poverty and crime. The people who remained belong mostly to the low class, and they're struggling to survive through various criminal activities. One of the last prosperous citizens was murdered, and we're following a large cast of characters in their quest to find his corpse. One of the characters has different plans, but he gets involved in the quest against his will.

Jagoda is young woman who lives in poor section of Zagreb together with her disfunctional family. Mother is dying, father cares only about fishing, brother is an alcoholic and uncle is a war refugee. Her relationship with young soldier isn't any better because they can't find place to make love.

The bleakness of young individuals' life during transitional 1990s Croatia.

Layka, a female dog, gets kidnapped and then launched to Space. Choban, the owner, starts the search.

Željka is a 40-year-old woman, living a quiet life in an isolated village. An unexpected visit will take her back to the past, shaking up her daily routine.

A girl spends summer break with grandmother and deals with her crush.

A documentary about Goran Ivandic 'Ipe', the drummer of most popular Yugoslav rock band of all time, Sarajevo-based "Bijelo dugme" (White Button). Ivandic's fatal jump from the balcony of hotel Metropol in Belgrade in 1994 sparked much controversy around his fate.

Joža was wounded in combat during the events of the Croatian War of Independance and now works as a taxi driver in Zagreb, encountering various clients, all of which help him to cope with his past, and reveal to him what it truly means to be human.

In the “White Horse” café, waitress and guests apathetically go through their routines. Meanwhile, the reality surrounding them seems to destabilise more and more: between white noise and the sound of tuning forks, between daydreams of galloping knights and ever-growing mountains of drizzling packet sugar. Ivana Bošniak Volda and Thomas Johnson Volda pile up layers of these images and sounds, until they crack – and clear the way to breathe.

A big family reunion at the weekend cottage around traditional food preparation "kotlovina" (pig on a spit and lots of drinking) with quaintly amusing and earnest situations revealing what is stronger: ties of blood and background or culture and the way of living.

Every summer, St. Nicholas Church (12th century) draws large crowds of tourists. Situated in an untouched Arcadian landscape, on a picturesque hill and next to a lone tree, it is as if the site becomes a stage where various unusual events take place. Thus, the tourists, unaware of the proximity of the camera, become performers in a daily show.