POPULAR PULA
HOW THE WAR STARTED ON MY ISLAND
DIRECTOR: Vinko Brešan
COUNTRY: HR
YEAR/DURATION: 1996. • 100′
war comedy
Info
- SCENARIJ: Ivo Brešan, Vinko Brešan
- SCREENPLAY: Živko Zalar
- EDITOR:Sandra Botica-Brešan
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: Ivica Trpčić
- COSTUME DESIGN: Vanda Ninić
- ORIGINALNA GLAZBA: Mate Matišić
- SCORE: Ljubomir Kerekeš, Ivan Brkić, Predrag Vušović, Vlatko Dulić, Matija Prskalo, Ivica Vidović, Leon Lučev, Božidar Orešković, Goran Navojec, Rene Bitorajac, Senka Bulić
- PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hrvatska radiotelevizija
- DISTRIBUTION: Duplicato Media
Festivals and awards
Pula Film Festival 1996 – Grand Golden Arena for Best Director, Golden Arenas for Best Supporting Actress (M. Prskalo) and Best Costume Design, and the Golden Gate of Pula Audience Award.
Synopsis
In early 1991, while military barracks across Croatia remain under the control of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), which refuses to recognize Croatian sovereignty, Blaž Gajski arrives on a small Adriatic island determined to get his son out of the local JNA barracks. Tensions on the island are running high. The local authorities have surrounded the military compound, while residents gather outside, staging performances of songs and recitations in an effort to persuade the barracks commander, Major Aleksa, to surrender along with his soldiers.
Trailer
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About the director
Vinko Brešan (Zagreb, 1964) graduated in film and TV directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. He first gained recognition with his awarded short documentary films
(Our Stock Exchange, 1988, which received a diploma at the festival in Oberahusen, while Lunch Together, 1994, and The Corridor, 1995, won the Oktavijan Award of the Croatian Association of Film Critics). His debut feature How the War Started on My Island (1996) has been one of the most popular films in Croatian cinemas since 1990, right after Titanic. His feature films Marshal Tito’s Spirit and Witnesses received awards at festivals in Berlin and Karlovy Vary. His comedy The Priest’s Children (2013) was nominated for Best Comedy by the European Film Academy and has been distributed in 30 countries around the world. He also directs theatre productions.
Screenings
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- ARENA – WEDNESDAY 15.7.2026.
21:15
- ARENA – WEDNESDAY 15.7.2026.
