Croatian film festival in South Africa
May 3, 2006
By Tanya Farber
For many years, the word Croatia was synonymous with the tragedies of war. Today, while the sad melody of war still lingers in the global mind, the country has become synonymous with a booming tourist industry, and artistic expressions of the past, present and future.
Joburg and Pretoria dwellers will be able to indulge in these expressions on celluloid at the upcoming Croatian Film Festival. The six films on show encompass a broad range of genres including comedy, drama, romantic comedy, war drama and docu-drama.
On the comedy front, When the Dead Start Singing tells the story of two Croatian immigrants who decide to return to their homeland after having fled to Berlin. Anticipating logistical problems along the way, they decide that one of them will pretend to be a corpse How the War Started, also a comedy, takes viewers on an amusing story of army antics and music during the war.
Long, Dark Night – which stars ER star Goran Visnjic in the main role – is a war drama about two friends fighting on opposite sides, while Red Dust (not to be confused with the South African film of the same name starring Hilary Swank), tells the story of an ex-boxer searching for his identity after his country’s difficult transition.
Also included in the line-up are romantic comedy The Three Men of Melita Zganjer – about a woman in search of love, and the documentary drama What Iva Recorded on October 21 2003, which is a Croation version of cinA(C)ma veritA(C).
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