The 3 Oscars Croatians have won

Since gaining independence, Croatian feature films have not managed to break into the shortlist for an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

However, in recent years, as 24sata writes, animated films have twice achieved shortlist recognition for nominations. Last year, the Croatian animated film Eeva, directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov, made the shortlist for animated films.

The production was handled by Draško Ivezić from the Jadranska Animacija studio and Kelav Tamm from the Estonian studio Eesti Joonisfilm.

In 2021, Dalibor Barić’s film Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus was among the 27 titles considered for an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature Film category.

Now, similar recognition has been achieved by the live-action short film The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (original title Čovjek koji nije mogao šutjeti) by Nebojša Slijepčević, which has made the shortlist of 15 contenders for an Oscar nomination.

Three Oscars for Croatia

Croatia boasts three Oscar wins. The first was won in 1962 by Dušan Vukotić for his short animated film Surogat.

Dušan Vukotić (Public domain)

Two years later, Vukotić’s film Igra was nominated in the same category.

As one of the founders of Zagreb Film, Vukotić established the globally acclaimed Zagreb School of Animated Film with his distinctive style and innovative approach to animation.

The remaining two Oscars were awarded to Croatian producer Branko Lustig.

His first came in 1994 for Schindler’s List, which he co-produced with Steven Spielberg. The subject matter of Schindler’s List was particularly poignant for Lustig, as he himself was a Holocaust survivor, having been imprisoned in Auschwitz as a child.

Branko Lustig (Photo: Jörg Reitmaier/Public domain)

Seven years later, Lustig earned his second Oscar as a producer of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.

Croatian actors also played a crucial role in securing a ‘regional’ Oscar. This happened in 2002, when Danis Tanović’s film No Man’s Land won in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Alongside Branko Đurić, the lead roles were played by Croatian actors Rene Bitorajac and Filip Šovagović, 24sata writes.