Croatian Cinema has Landed
Dobrodošli and Welcome to Australia’s first Croatian Film Festival!

The inaugural 2009 Croatian Film Festival (CFF) is Melbourne’s first opportunity to taste the flavours of Croatian cinema, showcasing both eclectic art house and commercial films from a corner of the globe often sought out for its striking scenic beauty and rich culture.

The Festival comes to the multicultural heart of Australia, born out of a desire to enrich the City of Melbourne with cinematographic reflections of a largely unfamiliar culture that is fast gaining cult status in many art house circles.

This four-day feast of film is sure to appease the most discerning of foreign film lovers, while uniting Australian Croatians of all generations.

So what’s with the parachute? A strong cultural event needs a strong visual identity, hence the use of the Croatian invention of the parachute.

In 1595, Croatian philosopher, bishop and innovator Faust Vrančić published a famous sketch known as Homo Volans (Flying Man) in a book called Machinae Novae. He tested out his design twenty years later with a spectacular jump from a tower in Venice.

Now Faust’s vision will help launch another daring first. Over the seas of the Adriatic and across the Pacific Ocean, Croatian film is landing in Melbourne this November – just in time for Spring Racing Carnival and all the beauty and riches that this time of year offers our bustling city.

And the dare devil beauty? She is as much a symbol of Croatia as the parachute, as gorgeous as she is wild.