Movie News

American aircraft manufacturer Cirrus selected Croatia for their marketing material production

The American aircraft manufacturer Cirrus has selected Bol as the perfect backdrop for creating new high-quality marketing materials to promote its products. Paul Schmutzler, the lead producer of the in-house media team, introduces the company and shares insights from the set

„Cirrus is the recognized global leader in personal aviation and the manufacturer of the best- selling SR Series piston aircraft and the Vision Jet®, the world’s first single-engine Personal Jet™.

The Cirrus in-house media team is tasked with enabling the sales team with the highest quality media assets of our products and customers’ lifestyles. We accomplish this by creating marketing content that combines beautiful places, people, and planes. This year, we were asked to update our European marketing content from a shoot we executed in Switzerland back in 2021.

We knew we wanted a different look than the Alpine views we had in Gstaad, so we started looking high and low. After perusing options in Scotland, Spain, France, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Italy, we settled on the little island of Brač in Croatia.

The planning took several months of coordination between our media team in Knoxville, Tennessee, and local production assistance in Croatia. We partnered with Film Rentals for large equipment to use on sets like lights, stands, generators, and DIT equipment. Croatian Creative Casting provided us with talent and on-set talent management services. Ivana Loncar and Andrea Bošković provided hair and makeup while Marcela Vrcek and Ira Rumora took care of wardrobe styling for all twelve talents.

The travel and arrival to Croatia were lengthy from the US, but it was all straightforward and manageable. We transited through Amsterdam and arrived at Split Airport to pick up our three rental vehicles for personnel and gear. Film Rentals sent a driver to Split to deliver our gear directly to us upon landing in Split. From there, we drove to the ferry port and boarded the ship to Supetar.

Arriving on Brač was surreal as this was our first time laying eyes on places we had only been seeing in photos and videos up to that point. The drive over the mountains to our home base in Bol was magnificent with stunning views of the Adriatic and the mountains on mainland Croatia. Once we arrived in Bol and started seeing the surrounding terrain and village, we knew we had made the right choice to capture a unique European destination to highlight for our customers.

During our stay in Bol, we spent two days scouting and prepping and four days shooting. The local businesses that allowed us to utilize their properties were wonderful and accommodating, and we made some good friends by spending time with them. The town administrator Kristian Bačić helped us secure permission to shoot in many places throughout the town, and we had no problems getting wherever we wanted to shoot in public spots.
 
After our days shooting in Bol, we repositioned to the Brač Airport and shot our talent with the aircraft for two days. The manager, Petra Bonačić-Sargo, helped us secure permission to utilize the terminal building and ramp space required for our cast and crew of around 30 people. The entire staff of the airport was incredibly helpful and allowed us to work uninhibited while maintaining a safe and secure environment. Bol-based restaurant Mali Raj provided us with on-set craft services during our airport days as well.

Overall, we successfully ended our shooting in Croatia and returned with about 5 terabytes of photo and video content. Over the coming weeks, we’ll organize the content and begin our post-production processes to utilize these assets later this year.

“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” – The First Croatian Film Awarded the Palme d’Or

The Croatian film “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” won the award for Best Short Film, outshining ten nominated films (and more than 4,200 submissions) competing at this year’s 77th Cannes Film Festival!

Thus, the film directed and written by Nebojša Slijepčević became the first Croatian film to be awarded the Palme d’Or since the country’s independence.

“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” is a thirteen-minute drama based on a true event – the Štrpci massacre (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1993, where members of the Army of Republika Srpska kidnapped, tortured, and then executed 19 civilians from a passenger train traveling from Belgrade to Bar. The only one among the five hundred passengers who decided to stand up to them was a retired JNA officer, Tomo Buzov (Goran Bogdan) – the titular man who could not stay silent, who was also killed for his brave act.

Along with Slijepčević, the historical success was also credited to editor Tomislav Stojanović, director of photography Gregor Božić, sound designer Ivan Andreev, producers Katarina Prpić and Danijel Pek (production company Antitalent), and co-producers Boštjan Virc (Studio Virc, Slovenia), Katya Trichkova (Contrast Films, Bulgaria), and Noëlle Lévénez (Les Films Norfolk, France).

In addition to Bogdan, the cast also includes Dragan Mićanović, Silvio Mumelaš, Alexis Manenti, Lara Nekić, Priska Ugrina, Dušan Gojić, Nebojša Pop Tasić, Mijo Pavelko, Martin Kuhar, Jakov Zovko, and Robert Ugrina.

The movie was shot with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Center. The Croatian premiere will happen on June 18th at the Open Air Cinema Bačvice within The Mediterranean Film Festival Split.

Congratulations!

Source: HAVC
May, 2024.

Behind the scenes of an American Reality Show

Filming of the popular reality show “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” in Split-Dalmatia County is over!

This Sunday, we escorted the crew to the airport after 20 days of intense filming of the reality series “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days”. During this time, the production crew explored numerous locations throughout our county, revealing the richness and diversity of our region.

We can’t wait for the new season, which will bring beautiful shots of our county to small screens around the world. The viewership of this American reality reaches an incredible 80 million viewers per episode!

“90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” follows couples who met through an online dating tool and now, after a virtual romance, meet in person for the first time. The series is a product of the production company Sharp Entertainment in cooperation with the production service Croatian Creative Films.

We extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in this exciting project!

Photo credit: Croatian Creative Films (Split/ April 16, 2024.)

Commercial “Studenac”

Trogir is a famous, picturesque destination. This small town near the city of Split begins to attract more attention in the filming industry. Recently, one of the biggest retail chains in the country, Studenac, selected Trogir waterfront as the setting for its latest advertisement.

The actors valued the filming process, alongside famous lead presenter Marijana Batinić. Curios passerby had a great scene to enjoy.

A mesmerizing combination of a beautiful day, dancing actors, and stunning scenery is best captured in photos taken during the filming.

Photo source: SDFU

Filming in Central Dalmatia

The popularity of Croatia as the most in-demand film location is growing, especially thanks to incentives in the form of a 25% refund of the total amount of eligible costs during production in the Republic of Croatia, and an additional 5% for production in areas of below-average development.

Therefore, it is not surprising that 2021 was one of the busiest years, with 20 international projects. The arrival of Game of Thrones is certainly the biggest event in the history of filming in Croatia. The hit series produced by HBO is one of the planet’s biggest and most popular series and it opened Croatia and its hidden beauties to tourists and film companies worldwide. Dubrovnik suddenly became known globally as the King’s Landing, while the streets of Split, the famous Diocletian’s Palace, and the beautiful Klis fortress became parts of the city of Meereen, which Daenerys Targaryen conquered together with her army and dragons.

The film industry got a boost in 2017 when the island of Vis “acted” parts of Greece in the movie “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” (2018). It is important to mention that just a few years earlier, the film “The Odyssey” (2016) about the most famous underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, was filmed on Hvar and Pakleni Otoci, as well as on the islands of Vis and Biševo serving as a set for the southern part of France.

The uniqueness of Biševo and the famous Blue Cave are visible in the sequel of the movie “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (2021). The beauty of the internationally less known (but no less wonderful) island of Šolta is evident in the sci-fi film “Bliss” (2021) produced by Amazon Studios. Most of this film was shot in Split.

Split waterfront, the viewpoint, and Meštrović Gallery are just some of the beautiful locations used for filming. One of the more prominent titles from the early 2000s filmed in Split is “Mathilde” (2004), directed by Nina Mimica and starring Jeremy Irons. The stone streets of Split, Trogir, and Dubrovnik represent parts of Jerusalem in the American series “Dig” (2015). The well-known BBC crime series “McMafia” (2018) was partly shot in Split, while German television production sets the set of its crime series “Split Homicide” (2016) – originally ” Der Kroatien Krimi” – entirely in Split. The potential of Split was also recognized by the romantic comedy “Ibiza” (2018) and the new film “The Weekend Away” (2022) produced by Netflix.

Croatia is a wonderful place with numerous filming options, phenomenal local filming crews, and many talented technicians. With the increasing popularity of Croatia as a filming location, the projects will certainly continue to grow.