Vinko Brešan

(Šibenik, 1964) studied comparative literature and philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb and film and television directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. The short films he made as a student won several awards at film festivals both at home and abroad.

His debut feature film, a low-budget comedy How the War Started on My Island (1996), was the biggest domestic blockbuster of the 1990s, second only to Titanic. With over 350,000 ticket sales at the Croatian box office, it is still the most commercially successful Croatian film ever, in terms of box office sales. This was followed by another comedy, Marshal Tito’s Spirit (2000) and Witnesses (2003), a wartime drama that won awards at the Berlin and Karlovy Vary film festivals. (www.havc.hr)