After a short period of stagnation caused by the Homeland War and economic problems, Croatian film is witnessing much better days. Numerous domestic and international awards, the renewed interest of the public and more intensive media coverage of domestic film achievements testify to this. The screenings of Croatian films is no longer a rarity on the repertoires of national cinema theatres, and the present number of viewers of Croatian film in the country can compete with attendance rates of foreign blockbusters. The value of Croatian films has been recognized at numerous international festivals at which they have gained not only wide acclamation but received a number of awards, asserting the fact that Croatian film is slowly but surely finding its place on the world film scene.
 
The inclusion of the Republic of Croatia and its active participation in the structures of the European Union’s acquis communautaire which is underway also provides for the implementation of a more long-term cultural policy strategy in the audiovisual field. This allows for the increased production, promotion and distribution of national film, support of domestic audiences, international cooperation and networking and thereby creating a longer term impetus-providing creative and artistic impulse.

The quality of recent Croatian films is being regionally and internationally recognised. About ten fiction feature-length films were made in 2006 as well as several documentaries. The production’s main characteristics are stylistic, thematic and genre variety of a high aesthetic quality. The contemporary panorama of Croatian film includes, on an equal basis, the works of already established directors and of the new sensibility of the younger generation of directors. Croatian cinema confirms itself also through numerous co-productions, mostly with neighbouring countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Serbia. Foreign productions are also returning to Croatia due to our interesting locations, very satisfying logistics, as well as professional services we render. Last autumn the Hollywood production of Spring Break in Bosnia (Proljetni praznici u Bosni) was being filmed in Croatia staring the famous Richard Gere. For the first time, the Eurimages financed one Croatian film – Border Post (Karaula) by Rajko Grliæ. Croatia also participated in co-production of Grbavica by Jasmila Žbaniæ, the winner of Golden Bear in 2006.

That kind of reaffirmation of film in Croatia is supported by many domestic film festivals and by the most important co-financiers, the Croatian National Television and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia which increased their support for the year 2007 by 30 %. Last, but not least, the Croatian cinema theatres had 3 million visitors in 2006 which is 25% more compared to the year before. The most encouraging is a fact that among the best box-office results were several domestic hit films. Domestic films participate with approximately 10% in annual cinema box-office. What is a Man without a Moustache (Što je muškarac bez brkova), a romantic comedy by Hrvoje Hribar, with 150 thousand visitors is placed second on the annual box-office report, following Borat, the global phenomenon by Sacha Baron Cohen. Among top ten there is one more domestic film – The Ghost in the Swamp (Duh u moèvari), by Branko Ištvanèiæ – the first children’s film made after many years which gives us even more hope that the national cinematographic expression is expending in the right direction.