Svilicic was chosen from a list of five candidates. Svilicic, who holds university degrees in film direction, journalism and information sciences, as well as a Ph. D. in information sciences, has just finished filming his first feature film, I Believe in Angels, which will premiere at the Pula Film Festival in July 2009.

In his first statement, Svilicic said he intended to follow the steps of his predecessor by creating a functioning system of support for audiovisual works in Croatia that will enable enough funding for the Croatian films to make them competitive. He added that he wants the film to become the leading cultural product in Croatia, by creating an effective system of support and through film education.

Albert Kapovic, the first director of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the country's national representative to Eurimages, died December 19, 2008, in Zagreb, following a heart attack at age 51. Martina Petrovic, Head of Media Desk Croatia, had been acting interim Director.

The Centre (www.havc.hr) was founded July, 2007, and opened in January, 2008. Croatia joined the MEDIA programme in March 2008. The Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) joined European Film Promotion (EFP) in January 2009.