Croatian film managed to achieve great success in Cannes. “Zvizdan” (The High Sun) directed by Dalibor Matanic (left) won the Jury Prize for Best Film in the “Un Certain Regard”. It was screened on May 17 and immediately impressed the audience, and then, obviously, the jury. Croatia has also won its first Cannes laureate. This award gives a strong wind into the sails to all Croatian filmmakers wanting a breakthrough onto the international market.
Author: Marko Puljić
Srđan Bulat continues to play contemporary Croatian composers
One of the best Croatian musicians of the his generation, guitarist Srdjan Bulat does not give up in his commendable effort to perform contemporary Croatian composers in numerous international performances. This unknown music amazes the audience, as evidenced by the critics from the Italian town of Lodi where Bulat appeared a week ago.
12th Annual BH Film Fesival in New York to feature Irena Škorić and her film "Dear Lastan!"
The 12th Annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival will be held from May 21 to May 23, 2015 in New York City. Among the many films to be screened will be “Dear Lastan!” from Croatian director Irena Škorić. A total of 14 films will screen at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City. They include four feature films, four short films, and six documentaries.
Nenad Bach to be featured on Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight May 15, 2015
Croatian-American musician and composer Nenad Bach (left) will be featured on Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight with Kathy Millar on 100.7 WHUD. The program aims to introduce listeners to the artists who live and perform in the Hudson Valley and Westchester, New York. The interview will air on 10:30 p.m. this Friday May, 15, and it will also feature Nenad’s song “Everything is Forever”.
The 2nd International Flute Summer Academy in Karlovac, Croatia July 5th-12th 2015
The Croatia Flute Academy is an international flute summer course, which presents a week full of intensive workshops, flute-clinics, seminars, shows, masterclasses, concerts, 1-1 Lessons, round-tables & ensemble-rehearsals. Flutists of all ages and levels are welcome to apply for a place. It will also feature guest professors from all over the world including Damjan Krajačić(left) of Croatia.
Zoran Orlic captures musician Richard Thompson for his new album "Still"
Richard Thompson is the latest musician to be captured through the lens of photographer Zoran Orlic (left). This time it is for Thompson’s new album “Still” due to be released in June and which is being produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Orlic’s photos have appeared in numerous magazines including Rolling Stone, newspapers, websites and music packaging.
Vote for Robert Herjavec 855 234 5609 on Dancing With The Stars
Vote for Robert Herjavec 855 234 5609 on Dancing With The Stars
Help Portal Dobrote feed schoolchildren in Croatia
The indiegogo campaign ‘No Child Left Hungry & No Person Left Powerless’ for hungry Croatian school children created by Tajci, has successfully closed. The campaign was created by Tajci after the women behind Portal Dobrote reached out to her for help to raise money for hungry children and to help bring greater awareness to the issue. The results of the campaigns are amazing but unfortunately, there are still some children on the waiting list, and Portal Dobrote are a few thousand Kuna short of helping two other schools who requested help for remainder of this school year – 2014/2015. If you are in Croatia, or can easily donate to a Croatian bank account, please consider donating directly to Portal dobrote’s Croatian bank account.
Croatian artisans in Kreševo preserve unique tradition of ornamenting eggs
Located just west of Sarajevo, the predominantly Croatian town of Kreševo is home to a centuries old tradition of “shoeing” eggs. This tradition is only practiced by only a handful of skilled artisans, and Kreševo is said to be the only town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where this tradition survives. The egg has always been a symbol of new life, and the horseshoe a symbol of happiness. In almost every yard in Kreševo has tree on which are hung shod eggs of different colors.
How to travel the world with almost no money
Tomislav Perko, 29 (left), is a travel writer from Croatia. After a career of a stockbroker, broke because of the financial crisis, he hits the road and turns it into his home. He uses alternative ways of traveling – hitchhiking, couchsurfing, working/volunteering, and manages to wander around the world with just a little bit of money in his pocket, meeting the most amazing people on the way. Five years later, he publishes a book “1000 Days of Spring” and goes around giving lectures about what it means to live on the road.
Croatian American Radio Club of Chicago Celebrates 80th Anniversary
Like many great things Croatian, it all starts from a social gathering. Think legendary soccer team Hajduk Split. The soccer team was started after a group of students in Prague went to a pub after a soccer game. It was during this ‘social gathering’ the great club was created in 1911. 24 years later in 1935, another ‘social gathering’ took place, this time in Chicago in the home of Ivan Majdak. It was agreed a radio station was needed for the Croatian-Americans in Chicago, as a means to hear news of the homeland, news of the community, and preserve the language and traditions, a way to keep the cultural identity alive.
Filip Zadro attends Clinton Global Initiative University 2015
More than 1,000 students from all over the world gathered last week at the University of Miami to address the world’s most pressing challenges” – says the Clinton Global Initiative University website. Among those students from all over the world was a Croatian, Filip Zadro, senior student of the Audio Arts and Acoustics Department at Columbia College Chicago. He was recently accepted to the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) to present his project that repurposes used shipping containers as mobile infrastructure units, which can then be used in developing countries to provide clean water and energy to communities without steady access to those basic resources.
World Premiere of Nenad Bach's new video "Daughter's Eyes"
Announcing the world premiere of Nenad Bach’s new video “Daughter’s Eyes” which is the 4th Music Video out of Bach – Orlic audio video laboratory. The video was filmed at the Bella Donna Chapel in Adriatica, McKinney, Texas on April 14, 2014. It premieres today on the first day of Spring, March 20, 2015.
Robert Herjavec of "Shark Tank" on Season 20 of "Dancing With the Stars"
If you are not familiar with Robert Herjavec (left) he is recognized as the “nice” Shark on ABC’s Emmy Award- winning hit show Shark Tank. Born in Croatia, Robert and his family fled communism in the former Yugoslavia with just one suitcase and $20 to their name. As Founder & CEO of Herjavec Group, Robert has grown his cybersecurity business over 12 years from $400K in sales and 3 employees to $140 million in sales and 250 employees worldwide. Robert is a proud Dad, a bestselling author, a marathon runner, a Ferrari racecar driver and is thrilled to be able to soon say “a dancer!”
Goran Višnjić Joins World Stars in Fight to Protect Elephants
Famous Croatian actor Goran Višnjić has joined a host of stars as ambassadors for one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world – The International Fund for Animal Welfare – in its aim to protect the world’s elephants. Višnjić, who rose to fame in his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the American television series ER, has warned the world about the threat to elephants in a video which also features a number of stars.
President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović visits New York City
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (left) was at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday March 6, 2015 for an event marking International Women’s Day and the 20th anniversary since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and she also meet with representatives of the Croatian community in New York. She also attended the “No Ceilings: Full Participation Project”, a Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton event, and met with former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The 2015 “UPBEAT” International Summer Music School to be held in Milna on the Island of Brac
The 12th annual composition course this summer as part of the “UPBEAT” International Summer Music School in the town of Milna on the beautiful Adriatic island of Brac in Croatia. The composition course consists of: a series of daily group meetings with Professor Joel Hoffman (left), cultural and outdoor group activities in Milna and nearby on the island of Brac, and final concert of works by course participants. The course will focus on works written for the Milna Ensemble, which consists of the composer-performers who are members of the course. The dates of the course are 25 July through 5 August, 2015. the deadline for receipt of all materials is Friday, 13 March, 2015.
Tena Stivicic Wins Blackburn Drama Prize
Tena Stivicic (left) was awarded the 37th annual Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her play “3 Winters,” a dark, era-hopping drama about a Croatian family in post-World War II Zagreb. At a ceremony at Playwrights Horizons,The Blackburn, the oldest and largest prize awarded to female playwrights, is given annually to an English-language theater work of outstanding quality.
Dražen Katić an independent candidate for the 11th Croatian electoral district
Dražen Katić (left) is an independent candidate running for the 11th Croatian electoral district which represents Croatians living outside of Croatia. His professional experience covers multiple fields and currently he is working with sustainable development. He serves as a volunteer in multiple organizations. He is a published author and writes for several Croatian websites. He is also a veteran of the Homeland War. Read his campaign platform and determine if your goals are reflected in it.
Croatian director Tiha K. Gudac receives CEI Award 2015 at Trieste Film Festival
Tiha K. Gudac (left), born in Zagreb in 1982, was awarded for the documentary film Goli (Naked Island) which, as underlined by the jury, “denounces how a nation’s past can haunt its present”. The CEI Award (3.000 EUR) was presented by Alternate Secretary General, Amb. Margit Waestfelt, on the occasion of the awarding ceremony in Trieste on 22 January. Goli is an investigation built upon the ruins of the past, a mosaic made of clues, family photos and intimate testimonies of a tight-knit group of people who were brought together by the same place, a political prison in former Yugoslavia, also known as an “Island of broken souls” – and consequences this place has left on three generations.