Nine applications were received for the public call published on 25 January 2021 and closed on 15 February. Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek appointed Marinković after obtaining the opinion of the Festival Council.

Pavo Marinković was born in Zagreb, where he graduated in dramaturgy at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first theatrical plays were published and premiered in the early 1990s. After ten years as a playwright and editor at Croatian Radiotelevision (1996-2005), he began his career as a freelance writer-director.

He directed the feature films Ministry of Love / Ministarstvo ljubavi (2016, produced by Alka film) and Love Life of a Gentle Coward / Ljubavni život domobrana (2009, produced by Alka Fim). He also co-directed with Dražen Žarković Tressette – a Story of an Island / Trešeta (2006, produced by Croatian Radiotelevision), and made one feature documentary Occupation, the 27th Picture / Okupacija, 27. slika (2013, produced by 8Heads Productions from the Czech Republic and Mitropa from Croatia).