The new issue of the Croatian Film Chronicle (122–123/2025) features “A Portrait of the Croatian Film Industry” by Dr. Jaka Primorac, a collaborator on the CULTMED project and head of the IRMO team within the CresCine project. The text is a translation and adaptation of the Croatia report produced in 2024 as part of the comparative interactive report Small European Film Markets: Portraits and Comparisons (eds. Nielsen, J. I.; Bengesser, C. H.; Øfsti, M. O.; Kostovska, I.). The comparative report includes portraits of film industries in seven small European countries involved in the international research project CresCine (in addition to Croatia: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, and Portugal). The project aims to increase the international competitiveness and cultural diversity of film industries in small European markets and is funded by the European Union.
According to the findings of the research finalised in 2024, Croatia has a strong production services incentive scheme that attracts foreign productions and contributes to export volume. Public support for film production and development in Croatia is relatively low, comparable to Estonia and Lithuania. The data also show low cinema attendance during the research period from 2014 to 2022, which is partly explained by infrastructural constraints and ticket prices. During the same period, domestic films achieved moderate success at international festivals, while their presence on VoD platforms has been gradually increasing. The report also highlights that domestic audiences are too small to sustain local film industries on their own in all the countries studied, and that small European countries address this challenge through different strategies.
The text in the Croatian Film Chronicle is available on the journal’s website, while the interactive portrait of the Croatian film industry (in English) is available here. The translation from English was prepared by Lucija Gegić. More information about the CresCine project and other available reports can be found on the project’s website.
Photo: Croatian Film Association
