"The house..." for the house where Croatian culture and art took off

There were different spaces in the country, but one of them has remained in the mind of the public. Over five decades later, giants of the main fields of art have revealed the stories and memories of that time. "The house in Kraljevac" as a world premiere in the 22nd edition of "DokuFest" has revealed the stories about a special building: where Croatian culture and art took off. Beyond that, it also breaks down interesting stories of the clash of eras in the former Yugoslavia

With the long documentary film "The house in Kraljevac" the flowering period of Croatian culture has been revealed. There were different spaces in the country, but one of them has remained in the mind of the public. Over five decades later, giants of the main fields of art have revealed the stories and memories of that time. A segment related to this part of history is also the builder of that space - the philosopher and director Slobodan Praljak, a former military commander in the ranks of the Croatian forces convicted of war crimes. Praljak's last "station" was the International Tribunal for War Crimes in Yugoslavia. The international festival of documentary and short films "DokuFest" was the first station. It had its world premiere on Sunday.

In each of its editions, the Festival carefully selects the film program. He always brings films that are local and international premieres. The audience gathered at "DokuKino", one of the cinemas where "DokuFest" is unfolding the program from Friday, was the first to have the opportunity to explore the history of the development of Croatian culture through the narratives of the archives. A part of it had started within the walls of the house in the capital of Croatia.

The documentary film "The House in Kraljevec" is set from a more distant point of explaining the setting of the house. It starts from the "British Square" in the Croatian capital and the public walks through the parks, the alley and about 100 steps in front of the house. He takes the audience out for a walk up there and into the space inside. It shows how that part was and how many changes it has undergone over the years.

A group of Bolivians had settled there and started making music first for small groups, but then they started participating in bigger events and holding public concerts. It was the group "Ayllu". In particular, film scripts and theater plays were developed inside that house. One of those who had stayed there was Pjer Zhardin, a prominent actor in Croatia. He had lived twice in the house that was rented out by the owner.

"It was a very intense period. Or two. The time difference between the first and second time I was there was only a few years. It wasn't a huge difference, but everything was quite different. The atmosphere was different and it was a completely different group of people", says the actor Zhardin in the documentary.

The archive of photographs, videos and media reports enriches the documentary and makes it more meaningful. Croatian actor, director, activist and politician Vilim Matula presents it as "one of the big houses in the forest, without a facade and not well arranged inside".

During the 15 years the house was frequented by a large number of young people, such as poet, screenwriter and academic Abdulah Sidran, writer Goran Babić, Bosnian artist Mirko Ilić, cartoonist Igor Kordey, animator and director Milan Trenc, singer Goran Pavelid Pipo, writer and musician Davor Slamnig and many others.

The writer Goran Babić says in the documentary that "it was a special period of that time". Even his daughter, Natasha Babic, had stayed there for a while when she was a child. Bosnian academician Sidran praised the house as "very inspiring". The director Pero Kvesić traveled to Sarajevo to get his version for the house. The images take the audience there as well, while the director Kvesic himself briefly presents his experience after 25 years of returning to Sarajevo.

"I always had a good time in Sarajevo. Unfortunately I haven't been here for a quarter of a century. Most of the people I used to hang out with are gone. Some are dead, some are gone. The only one I love and for whom I returned to Sarajevo is Abdulah Sidran", Kvesić confesses in his documentary, where he mainly appears in the role of an interviewer. In the narration, he describes Sidran as one of the most respected writers and academics in Bosnia and says that he wrote the first screenplay in the house in the "Kraljevec" neighborhood.

Kvesić was born in Zagreb in 1950 and graduated in Sociology and Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He founded the youth magazine "Polet" in 1977, which he also talks about in the documentary. There he served as its first editor-in-chief. He held the same position in the magazine "Pitanja" and in 1984 founded the magazine "Quorum". He has published numerous works of prose and a number of poetry collections, as well as several picture books and novels for children.

In the early 70s, Pero Kvesić wrote scripts for TV dramas, documentaries and series, as well as short animated films. Pero Kvesić's 2016 Dum spiro spero won the main award at the Croatian Film Days, the Vedran Shamanović Award at the Pula Film Festival, the Best Medium Documentary Award at the Dei Popoli Festival and the Horn Award. Golden" at the Krakow Film Festival.

Even Kvesic himself had lived in that house. Then he bought it completely. In the documentary, it is narrated that when there was a celebration there, half of the city gathered. Films were shown and musical evenings were held.

Each of those who had lived there had made a career. It is said that music was played there all the time and that the people who lived there were like a critical mass union that created all the time. Songs were recorded there and one of the radio stations of that time was created, "Radio 101". The preparations and concerts they held are documented with pictures, accompanied by their music. The archive from the media also presents images from the cartoon exhibition of the artist Igor Kordey.

In general, the documentary film is a description of the personalities and achievements of those who lived there. Together with the landscape of the house then and now. Until the end of the film, when the story of the first owner of the house, Slobodan Praljak - philosopher, sociologist, film director and lieutenant general of the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defense Council - is explained. The film shows footage from his trial at the Hague War Crimes Tribunal.

It includes the moment when Praljak was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, the documentary did not include the entire course of the trial in November 2017. Immediately after the verdict, he had challenged it and called out that he is not a "war criminal", and then he was going to drink poison - from a bottle. He died that day, aged 72. The United Nations had declared that even the courtroom had turned into a crime scene.

"We didn't want to show the moment when he takes the poison, because if you know anything about Praljak, you know why. I would see the involvement of politics as a kind of pornography. I don't think you have to tell what happened, except because they are funny judges who don't know what to do. It is known that he died after drinking the poison. We wanted to tell this story and go back 40 years to what happened to the people who built the house. This was how we tried to build history", said the producer of the documentary, Croatian Nenad Puhovski.

In front of the audience, he thanked "DokuFest" for choosing "The House in Kraljevec" for the world premiere. He said that it took time to make the film because of the health condition of director Pero Kvesic. Due to his more serious condition, he was not even able to participate in the premiere of the film.

"This is the first screening of the film for the audience. We worked on this film for seven or eight years because Pero is sick and it took us a lot of time. Whatever is good about the film, credit goes to Pero. It's a narrative that in some elements could be bigger, but it depends on how you look at it. I think it is very important to tell us what you think or believe, because this is the answer we really need", said Puhovski, who also directs a documentary festival in Croatia - "Zagreb Dox Festival".

The artistic director of "DokuFest", Veton Nurkollari, has evaluated the film as a special narrative, because it includes an important period for the culture of Croatia. "This is an interesting story not only about the house in general, but more. I would also say about a part of the history of Croatia, about the progress of the film, about what happened. We hoped the director would be here with us, but unfortunately he is not in good health. We wish a speedy recovery for Pero Kvesic, the author, writer, filmmaker and playwright", said Nurkollari.

The documentary film "The house in Kaljevec" is in official competition in the main category of the festival - "Balkan Dox".