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The Ghost in the Swamp
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Screenwriters: Anto
Gardas, Edi Muzina and Silvio Mirosnicenko Oneliner: This Croatian feature by Branko Istvancic shows the efforts by a community to help animals survive the winter but they are confused when a child raves that he was attacked by a ghost in the swamp and begin searching for this mysterious attacker. Short synopsis: A brother and sister, Miron and Melita, go to visit their friend Zoltan in the north-eastern Croatian town of Kopačevo for the winter holidays. One night, they are awoken by the shouting of the villagers when a half-frozen boy is found near the village swamp, delirious after being attacked by a ghost. The doctors cannot help him, so the children decide to take matters into their own hands and the adventure begins in which they find the secret of the ghost, save their friend and become the heroes of the village. An adventure-packed children’s movie with beautiful imagery, it is the first Croatian children’s film produced after 20 years, winning the hearts of the country’s youngest viewers. Download: Synopsis: A brother and sister, Miron and Melita, go to visit their friend Zoltan (Liptus) in Kopacevo for winter vacation. The local residents and hunting lodge members there are involved in a big campaign to help the wild animals from the reserve to survive the winter. The same night Miron and Melita arrive, a boy named Halasz is found half-frozen at the edge of the swamp where, he raves, that he was attacked by a white ghost on one of the islands of the swamp. From then on, he can no longer talk. The old woman Etelka reveals the secret that the ghost had been first seen long ago and that you cannot go to the island because the ghost wreaks vengeance on anyone stepping onto the island. Fear takes hold in the place. The hunters, with Vucevic, Kovacevic and Levay taking the lead, begin an investigation however neither they nor the doctors can help Halasz. Therefore Miron, Liptus and Melita decide to find the ghost and offer to carry it off the island to the shore in exchange making their friend well again. However, the ghost shoots and wounds the hunter Levay proving that the ghost is much more dangerous than was previously thought. The film's story unfolds with the unique landscape of Kopacki rit as the backdrop. Over and above the snow-covered Baranja houses with stork nests adorning their chimneys, the unique spirit of the local people, the sounds of tamburitzas and dulcimers and the olds hunters - those precious guardians of nature's treasures, the children experience an unforgettable adventure. They get to know the wonder of local varieties of flora and fauna as well as the importance of protecting the environment and the animals that live in it. Director's statement: The screenplay was written according to the book by the same title by the popular children's writer Ante Gardas, whose heroes Miron, Melita and others many have grown up with. "The Ghost in the Swamp" is part of the required reading for fourth graders in Croatia. In addition to being an exciting children's story, "The Ghost in the Swamp" educates and serves as a good example for children. Hence, it has been chosen to mark the comeback of feature-length films for children, which have not been made by the Croatian film industry for the last twenty years. The film was funded with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia
Official selection on Festivals:
Kinder Film Fest Munchen 2007
DER GEIST AUS DEM SUMPF Kurze Zusammenfassung des Films: Die Geschwister Miron und Melita wollen einige ruhige Tage in den Winterferien bei ihrem Freund Liptus auf dem Land verbringen. Aber aus der Ruhe wird wohl nichts werden - ein weißer Geist hält das Dorf in Unruhe. Oder hat der Geist etwas mit dem Wilderer zu tun, der die Rehe fängt? Die Wildtiere sollen eigentlich beschützt und von den Forstleuten gefüttert werden, damit sie durch den Winter kommen. Die drei Freunde helfen, wo sie nur können und versuchen, den merkwürdigen Geschehnissen, die sich im Dorf abspielen, auf den Grund zu gehen. Der Film spielt in der wilden Natur des kroatischen Naturparks und vermittelt viel von den Ursprüngen der unberührten Landschaft und deren Tierwelt. Die Kinder wissen, dass man sie bewahren muss, auch wenn es dafür einige Abenteuer zu bestehen gilt. Der "Geist aus dem Sumpf" ist seit zwanzig Jahren der erste Kinderfilm, der in Kroatien gedreht wurde.
The Ghost in the Swamp participating at the film festival in Mexico The Croatian children's film The Ghost in the Swamp directed by Branko Istvancic has been listed in the official programme of children's feature movies at the International film Festival to be held in Mexico City from 7th to 12th August 2007. Before that, the film will be presented on 27th and 28th June in the official programme of the 25th Filmfest Muenchen, the second most important festival in German after Berlinale.
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Duh u mocvari / The Ghost in the Swamp on Facebook
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 (Sto je muskarac 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 mocvari), by Branko Istvancic, with 60 thousand visitors - 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. (Veljko Krulcic) In this decade the most successful theater season in Croatia were 2004 with 2.98 and 2006 with 2,67 million tickets. Year 2006 is interesting because it was the year in which the audience influenced hits from non Hollywood area, as well as three national films: mostly What is a Man without a Moustache (Sto je muskarac bez brkova) by Hrvoje Hribar with 150 thousand visitors, The Ghost in The Swamp (Duh u mocvari) by Branko Istvancic with 60 thousand visitors and Border Post (Karaula) by Rajko Grlicwith 40 thousand visitors
TRAILER for download (low quality) wmv 4,0 MB Shooting crew (download hi-res):
Official web site of The Ghost in the Swamp:
THE BEST IN TWO CATEGORIES Croatian presentation on the Cannes Film Festival Croatian Cinema in Cannes (pdf dokument, 13 MB) For the second time Croatia has a pavilion and stand at the Cannes Film Festival. Visitors can be introduced to Croatian cinematography through press materials, publications, DVD media with Croatian films and other materials from the audio-visual field. During the Film Festival in Cannes several films will be shown there; four long feature films: The Ghost in the Swamp by Branko Istvancic; True Miracle by Lucas Nola; Armin directed by Ognjen Svilicic and Tressette by Drazen Zarkovic and Pavo Marinkovic. The stand is organized by the Ministry of Culture of Republic Croatia and will continue with its presentations at future Cannes festivals. The Cannes Film Festival will take place between 16th and 26th May.
ECFA - European Children's Film Association - Association Européenne du Cinéma pour l'Enfance et la JeunesseECFA is the organisation for all, who are interested in high quality films for children and young people: film makers, producers, promotors, distributors, exhibitors, TV-programmers, festival organizers and film educators. |
