ZAGREB: The hybrid documentary Funk YU, directed by the main protagonist Franko Dujmić, has so far reached over 50 percent of the planned funding goal on a crowdfunding campaign launched to cover its postproduction stage. The film is produced by Croatia’s Wolfgang & Dolly and coproduced by Slovenia’s Astral Film, Serbia’s Nana 143 and Montenegro’s Videa Production.

ZAGREB: Croatian films attracted 278,053 admissions in national cinemas in 2023, making it the third-best year for domestic film since the inception of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) in 2008. Marking a full recovery from the pandemic, last year’s box office was just behind 2013, when Croatian film had 436,074 admissions, and 2012 when it attracted 328,158 viewers. Compared to 2022 with 220,776 admissions, 2023 brought a 26% increase in viewership.

ZAGREB: Chris Marcich, the head of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), was elected by the members of the board of the European Agency for Directors of Film Funds and Centers (EFAD) as the new president of the association for a three-year term.

ZAGREB: The BBC purchased broadcasting rights for Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the long documentary Pavilion 6 directed by Goran Dević and produced by Croatia’s Fifteenth Art. This is the first Croatian film purchased by the UK’s national broadcaster, according to the producer Hrvoje Osvaldić.

ZAGREB: Croatia’s Pine Studio sold over two million copies of its hit game Escape Simulator to PC users, according to November statistics of the Steam platform.

ZAGREB: The Croatian Network of Independent Cinemas has welcomed a new member, CMIK/CMC Novigrad-Cittanova, which has become the 71st independent cinema under its wing.

ZAGREB: NEM Zagreb has announced the finalists in the new competition for Best Drama TV series from the CEE region. Out of the 29 applicant projects, 12 made it to the finals.

ZAGREB: The biggest international project filming in Croatia in the autumn of 2023 was the Netflix series The Day of the Jackal starring Eddie Redmayne and directed by Brian Kirk, Anthony Philipson and Paul Wilmshurst. The production, serviced in Croatia by Embassy Films, has applied for the tax incentives offered by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre through the Filming in Croatia project.

ZAGREB: The filming of The Wolf, the Fox & the Leopard written and directed by David Verbeek, and produced by Lemming film (the Netherlands) in coproduction with Deal Productions (Luxemburg), Feline Films (Ireland), Nukleus film (Croatia) and Flash Forward Entertainment (Taiwan), is set to start in Croatia in mid-November 2023.

ZAGREB: Croatian horror adventure game Go Home Annie produced by Misfit Village has secured a publishing deal with the Lithuanian Nordcurrent Labs.