Cultural politics - documents

An Appeal for Croatian Film

A programmatic article: a proposition of a possible solution to the crisis in cinema-cultural politics in Croatia.

The success of some recent Croatian films must not deceive the public: the obvious crisis in Croatian film is not, luckily, caused by a lack of talented filmmakers, but rather by the lack of the sensible cultural politics along with the lack of a stable system for financing film production. Though the Ministry of Culture has financed selected film projects and some presentations of Croatian film abroad, its actions have given the impression of improvisation instead of guided politics. The constitution of the independent Croatian state does not justify the constitution of the »state cinema« under the direct control of Ministry of Culture and one person in it — the Film Commissar.

Instead, it is better to establish the CROATIAN CINEMA FOUNDATION which will act as a non-governmental institution taking over the task of regulating cinematic life in Croatia through selective stimulation according to an approved program (a proposal previously articulated by the author, onetime Vice-Minister of Culture, and addressed to the present-day Minister — cf. Škrabalo Comments on the Preliminary Draft of the New Cinema Law in this issue). The Foundation would solve today’s unproductive confrontations surrounding the privatisation of the biggest film company in Croatia (Jadran film); the Foundation would — as a non-governmental institution — be the best channel through which to contact European Union Foundations, and it will be an architect and vehicle of expert, long-term and systematic cultural politics in the field of cinema culture.

Ivo Škrabalo