3-Day Croatian Film Event In LA

A three-day Croatian film event is set to be held in Los Angeles later this month. Kino Croatia: New Films – will be held at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres in Los Angeles from 21-23 June and will inlcude first-time director Vlatka Vorkapić’s charming romantic sparring match SONJA AND THE BULL, Branko Schmidt’s chilling VEGETARIAN CANNIBAL, Tomislav Radić’s acclaimed domestic drama KOTLOVINA, Dražen Žarković’s hit family adventure THE MYSTERIOUS BOY and Igor Mirković’s seniors-on-the-road comedy NIGHT BOATS.

Presented in collaboration with Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Los Angeles, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, HAVC – Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Ministry of Culture; with support from E.L.M.A. (European Languages and Movies in America) and Croatian National Association. Produced by Matko Brljević Malinger.

The first live pictures in Croatia were shown on October 8, 1896, just ten months after the art of cinema was born in Paris. The venue was a small theatre hall in the building that is now home to the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. For generations within these walls, young Croatians learned the skills needed to become actors, directors or cinematographers on the short list of modern Central European masters.

Since the 1960s, Croatian cinema has combined a haunting, often savagely-bleak outcry against political and personal repression with humor, lyricism and a tenderness born of constant conflict and adversity. But it was little known before late 2000, when the American Cinematheque and CAMEO presented “Wednesdays In Croatia,” the first comprehensive overview of Croatian cinema ever mounted on the West Coast.