Zvonimir Jurić

Zvonimir Jurić was born in 1971 in Osijek. He graduated Film and TV Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb in 1999. He has directed several award-winning documentaries and two feature length fiction films for which he also wrote the scripts (one of which together with Goran Dević). He has directed several TV series and one segment of an omnibus for which he was also the scriptwriter. He currently lives and works in Zagreb.

Filmography

2009 “Yellow Moon“, 10 min
- screened in the competition program at Berlinale 2010
- The Heart of Sarajevo for best short film 2010

2009 “The Blacks” , 78 min
- the project was developed at scriptwriting workshops of Cinelink of the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2006 and the European audiovisual entrepreneurs (EAVE) 2007
awards:
3 Golden Arenas at the Pula Film Festival in 2009, Croatia
FIPRESCI Award at the Film Festival Cottbus in 2009, Germany
Special Award for Directing at the Film Festival Cottbus in 2009, Germany
Grand Prix at the Ljubljana International Film Festival in 2009, Slovenia
Grand Prix at the Festival of Auteur Film in2009, Serbia
Grand Prix at the Crossing Europe Linz IFF in 2010, Austria

2003 “The One Who Will Stay Unnoticed”, 89 min
Award: "Breza" – the award for best newcomer at the Pula Film Festival

2004 ”Sex, Drink and Bloodshed” -  directed the third part of the omnibus, 20 min

Dokumentarni filmovi

2000. "Crnci su izdražali, a ja?" , 35 min
Award: best editing at the Days of Croatian Film

1999. "Jurić: Tvrđa 1999" , 28 min
Award: best documentary film at the Motovun Film Festival

1996 "Nebo ispod Osijeka"(The Sky Beneath Osijek), 24 min
Awards: "Oktavijan" – the Croatian Association of Film Critics award and Best Film at the Days of Croatian Film

Marinko Leš

Marinko Leš was born in 1977 in Karlovac. He is a final year student of sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb and in 2008 he graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art with a degree in Acting, also in Zagreb.

Marinko Leš has had a long-lasting bond with acting ever since he was a young boy, when at the age of 12, he joined the drama group of the City theater Zorin dom and between 1989 and 2002 participated in over twenty plays. Since enrolling in the Academy of Dramatic Art his talent has been recognized by many other theater institutions and film professionals, therefore, in the last ten years he has worked on projects such as those of: City Theater Komedija in Zagreb, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, Children’s Theater Trešnja, Kufer Theater Troupe, Zagreb Youth Theater, Istria Theater, Scena Gorica Theater, and on coproductions of Jadran film studio, on short fiction films, TV series, etc.

Since 1999, he also works at the Croatian National Radiotelevision, both as an announcer and program host.

He is currently working on a new film by Branko Ivanda called “Lea and Darija” and is preparing several roles for the theater show “Heidi” at Moruzgva Theater.

Nikolaus von Uthman

Born 1973 in Hamburg, Nikolaus von Uthmann started his film career as a critic, writing for What's On York in England 1994. After moving back to Germany he started writing for national entertainment magazines, like Cinema and Prinz.

In 1997 he moved back to the UK to study media production at the renowned Cumbria College of Art & Design, graduating with distinction as a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in the year 2000. During his stay in England Nikolaus von Uthmann shot his first short films, BALL TROUBLE (1999), TO DATE A PACHYDERM (also screenplay, 1999), and LET'S STAY FRIENDS (also screenplay, 2000). For the latter he received the prestigious Royal Television Society Award (patron: Prince Charles).

Back in Germany again, Nikolaus von Uthmann started working in commercials as assistant director, production manager, editor, and director for clients like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Toshiba, Max-Planck-Institut, etc., as well as penning concepts for adverts and social awareness films.

In his little spare time he filmed another short film THE FLAT HUNTER (also screenplay, editor, production) in 2003, which was shown on many international festivals, winning the Platinum Award for Best Original Comedy at the WorldFest Houston 2005.

Since then Nikolaus von Uthmann has continued earning his living by shooting commercials, and has drafted more concepts and screenplays for shorts and feature-length films. 2008 he successfully directed his first music video for Jay Clifford, in collaboration with actor/director Zach Braff (GARDEN STATE). In 2009 he wrote and shot his fifth short fiction film, RUN GRANNY RUN! - his first under 5 minutes, and completely without dialogue. This mean black comedy is currently touring the festivals all over the globe and so far it has screened on 42 festivals in 19 countries on 5 continents.

Currently, Nikolaus von Uthmann is penning two feature screenplay concepts for two different production companies, as well as working on getting his finished script PICCOLO produced internationally.