Brenda Brkusic (left) and her production teams won two Los Angeles Emmys for the film “Mia, a dancer’s journey” in the Arts and Culture/History category and “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” in the Best Entertainment Program category. The winners were announced at the 67th Los Angeles Area Emmy(R) Awards presentation on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at The Skirball Cultural Center Guerin Pavilion in Herscher Hall.
Category: Awards
Adrian Beker winning gold at the International Math Olympiad 2015 and Croatia becoming a big surprise
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with 7 countries participating. Nowadays, there are over 100 countries participating from 5 continents. In 2015, the 56th IMO was held in Thailand. Croatia has won a gold medal – Adrian Beker on the photo, three silver medals – Petar Orlić, Kristijan Štefanec and Daniel Paleka, one bronze – Ivan Lazarić, and Lukas Novak participated. This is a big success of Croatian team, and the overall ranking among 104 countries is surprisingly high 15th place. If we take into account countries of the EU only, Croatia is on the third place!
Gladne uši is a finalist at the New York Festival's International Radio Program Awards
Gladne uši (Hungry Ears) is a weekly radio talk show on Croatian Radiotelevision HRT 2, hosted by Ljudevit Grgurić-Grga (left). The show Gladne uši, has been nominated for an award and is a finalist in the category of Best Regularly Scheduled Talk Program at the New York Festival’s International Radio Program Awards to be held on June 22, 2015 in New York City. The show chosen is titled Music and Tears and features an interview with sevdah singer Amira Medunjanin and is the only non-English speaking show nominated in its category.
The story of the film Zvizdan (The High Sun), the first Croatian Cannes Laureate
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.
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.
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.
‘Everything is Forever’ biographic film about Nenad Bach wins international filmfest top awards in Houston
The journey of Croatian-American composer/singer and writer Nenad Bach through war and peace, and rock and roll captured in the documentary/feature film ‘Everything is Forever’ won top awards at the 47th Annual Worldfest Houston International Film Festival (April 4-13). The feature film garnered the prestigious Platinum Remi Award for Theatrical Feature Film & Video Award and the Special Jury Remi Award for Music Video Award – Stage Concert/ Performance. Written by Violi Calvert. On the photo Stehanie Silber, Victor Zimet and Nenad.
Branko Istvancic Croatian filmmaker recipient of the Liliane Stewart Award for Design Arts in Montreal Canada
Branko Ištvančić is recipient of a highly praised award at the The International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) 2014 in Montreal, Canada, for his very beautiful and poetic documentary film “Straw-Girls.” The “straw girls” are anonymous Croatian artists of Bunjevci ethnicity who live in the province of Bačka. They found straw to be the “green” medium of choice for creating paintings, sculptures and applied art objects as an antidote to their difficult life on the vast Pannonian plain. In 2013 Mr Branko IIštvančić already won the Gold Camera Award for best documentary in Los Angeles, USA.
Ivica Kostelić makes history in the Super-combined event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games
Ivica Kostelić wins the Silver for Croatia at Sochi on Valentine’s Day 2014 becoming the first person to win three silver medals in three consecutive Winter Olympic Games. This is his fourth Silver medal in the Olympics. Up until the present competition in Sochi, Ivica had won three Olympic medals, three medals in the World Championships, and 59 podium finishes in the World cup including 26 victories with 4 small crystal globes and one large globe in 2011.
Croatians Krist Novoselic and Ella Yelich O’Connor aka Lorde take home Grammys
Croatians score two wins at the 2014 Grammy awards. Croatian-American Krist Novoselic won as part of a collaboration with Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney and Pat Smear for best rock song. Ella Yelich O’Connor of New Zealand won two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year for “Royals.”
Arsen Anton Ostojic wins in St. Louis and has been nominated for an Oscar for a third time
Both Arsen and his new Oscar nominated feature film “Halima’s Path” were awarded during the 22nd St. Louis International Film Festival, held from November 14th to 24th. Arsen received the Contemporary Cinema Award, which honors mid-career filmmakers doing challenging and innovative work. This is the third time that one of Arsen’s films will represent Croatia for the Oscars; his previous two films – “A Wonderful Night in Split” and “No One’s Son” were both Croatia’s official entries for an Academy Award.
Max Emanuel Cencic world class countertenor singer recipient of the Diapason d'or award in Paris 2013
Max Emanuel Cencić, Croatian countertenor, “great amongst great”, is recipient of the award Diapason d’or (Golden Diapason) for 2013. It is an important recognition to the spectacular singing career of this former singer of the famous Wiener Sanger Knaben (Vienna Boy’s Choir). It is interesting that Mr. Cencić is not the first Croatian recipient of Diapason d’or, it was already won by Katarina Livljanić with her Ensemble Dialogos in 2004.
Alexei Tanovitski Russian singer opening Metropolitan opera season 2013-2014 in New York on September 23
Award-winning Russian bass, Alexei Tanovitski, is one of the brightest stars of his generation. He has impressed audiences the world over and won wide-spread critical acclaim for his performances in the most prominent theaters and concert halls. He was recently appointed as an ambassador to promote the UNESCO World-Heritage-Listed city of Trogir on Croatia’s Adriatic Coast. He lives with his wife Ivana in Croatia’s capital Zagreb. Mr. Tanovitski is opening the Metropolitan Opera season 2003-2014 on September 23.
Josip Hanjs world champion in Shorthand Speech Capturing competition organized in Ghent in Belgium 2013
In 2013 Mr. Josip Hanjš, representing Croatia, became the world champion in a Shorthand Speech Capturing international organized in Ghent, Belgium. Seven countries participated: except Croatia, also Hungary, Italy, Germany, Argentina, France and Turkey. Mr. Hanjš is the president of Croatian Shorthand Association, one of the oldest in Europe, founded in 1882 (five years before London). This is his secon world title in his career: the first title of the world champion has been won in Prague in 2007. It is interesting that here both female and male participants compete all together.
Domagoj Cevid and Borna Vukorepa won 2 golds at the 2013 International Mathematical Olympiad in Colombia
Croatian national team of best young Croatian mathematicians participated at the 53rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 2013 with 6 competitors, among 97 countries. Two of them, Domagoj Ćevid (on the photo) and Borna Vukorepa, won the highest prizes – gold medals. Furthermore, for Domagoj it was the second gold medal, since in 2012, he won the first gold medal for Croatia in history. It should be noted that some of our best former competitors are now distinguished scientists working in Croatia, like Marko Tadić, Andrej Dujella and Pavle Pandžić, or abroad, like Mladen Bestvina and Ivan Mirković, to name just a few.
Branko Istvancic Croatian film-maker made a fantastic documentary film about the art of straw-girls in Backa
Croatian female artists called straw-girls (or straw-women) from the region of Bačka are named so for straw, which they weave in order to make beautiful and poetic description of their hard and lonely life. Very common motives are small Catholic churches and Christian symbols. At the 1976 international exhibition of naive art in Moscow Ana Milodanović won the gold medal, while Kata Rogić had exceptional honour to present her work to Pope Paul the 6th in the Vatican in 1964. Croatian film-maker Branko Ištvančić made a fantastic film about the art of straw-girls.
Luka Misetic and Tomislav Kuzmanovic presented with the 2012 Vinodol Code Award
The Croatian American Bar Association presented the 2012 Vinodol Code Award to each of Luka S. Misetic (on the photo) and Tomislav Z. Kuzmanovic, as the joint recipients, in recognition of their distinguished legal careers and outstanding contributions to the Croatian-American community. Mr. Misetic and Mr. Kuzmanovic represented General Ante Gotovina and General Mladen Markae before ICTY’s Appeals Chamber.
Nenad Bach dobitnik prestizne Fender-Mega Muzika nagrade uoci koncerta u dvorani Lisinski u Zagrebu
U Zagrebu je 27. studenog 2012. u klubu Sax dodjeljena prestižna Fender-Mega Muzika nagrada našem poznatom hrvatskom kantautoru, producentu i mirovnom aktivistu s adresom u New Yorku, Nenadu Bachu. Bila je to deveta po redu dodjela nagrada MMFender koja se dodjeluje za izniman doprinos u glazbi posebice Rock glazbi u Hrvatskoj i to glazbenicima ali i istaknutim pojedincima, koji su iako nisu glazbenici svojim iznimnim radom doprinjeli značaju Rock glazbe u Hrvatskoj. Svečana dodjela obavljena je uoči koncerta Nenad Bach Banda i gostiju u koncertnoj dvorani V. Lisinskog u petak 30. studenog 2012. u 20 sati.
Anamarija Jurisic Croatian Miss of Bosnia and Herzegovina helping victims of tsunami in Japan
Anamarija Jurišić Victims
Sasa Casic young Croatian winemaking prodigy of Pakrac and his teacher Ivan Enjingi
Saša Ćasić is 28 year old professional wine maker from the town of Pakrac on Croatian north. He has been awarded as the most successful young entrepreneur in 2012 by the Ministry of Enterpreneurship and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia. This is a result of ten years of hard work and advices of his older colleague, another distinguished Croatian wine-maker Mr. Ivan Enjingi.