Branko Istvancic  
Film and TV director
 
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 The Lost Treasure


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Original title: IZGUBLJENO BLAGO
English title: THE LOST TREASURE
French title: LE TROUPEAU PERDU
German title: DER VERLORENE SCHATZ
Hungary title: AZ ELVESZETT KINCS

HRT, 2005, documentary, color
26 minutes, DIGITAL BETA, 16:9

director/realisateur/regie: BRANKO ISTVANCIC
screenwriters/author/buch: VIDO BAGUR
camera/image/camera: IVAN KOVAC
editing/montage/schnitt: ROBERT PETRINEC
Music composed and orchestrated by:
DALIBOR GRUBACEVIC

Synopsis:
The main protagonist, Dara, lives with her husband, Rade Mitrović, in the vicinity of Obrovac, an area of typical Croatian rocky ground. They are the last authentic people of the area. He carves in the old-fashioned way, while she takes her flock of sheep and goats to graze in a pasture at the time when there is possibility of her flock being attacked by hungry wolves. She is very skilled in leading the flock, her dogs, in a special way. By the dog's behavior she knows that wolves are approaching and it enables her to save the flock, which is far from an easy task. This film follows the main protagonist's efforts to track down a lost sheep. She does this with careful investigation of all the relevant tracks of the lost sheep and despite sacrificing the time to do her household chores. This poetical documentary about eternal fight between good and wrong makes human existence uniquely miraculous.

Résumé (Franacais)
Dara vit avec son mari tout pres d'Obrovac, une région rocailleuse de la Croatie, ils en sont les plus anciens habitants. Il est tailleur, elle est bergere et tous deux travaillent dans l'art de la tradition. Dara est tres douée pour emmener son troupeau paître, meme lorsque pese la menace des loups. Mais voila, Dara a perdu un de ses moutons... Ce film nous emmene sur la piste de ce mouton en danger aux côtés de Dara et de son chien qui mettront tout en oeuvre pour le retrouver.

Sinossi (Italiano)
Questo lavoro parla di Dara, la protagonista del documentario, e la sua battaglia contro i lupi per salvare uno dei suoi tesori, una pecora. E' la storia della collaborazione tra una donna e il suo cane pastore e di quanto questa collaborazione sia importante.

Synopsis (Magyarul):
Dara és férje Rade, Obrovac környékén élnek, egy tipikus horvát sziklás területen. A férfi hagyományos faragásokat készít, a no juhait és birkáit legelteti egy olyan mezon, ahol nyáját éhes farkasok támadhatják meg. A filmben hosnonk elveszett birkája után kutat, alapos nyomkeresésbe kezd házimunkáit is elhanyagolva. Költoi dokumentumfilm a jó és a rossz közötti végtelen harcról, mely az emberi létet páratlanul csodálatossá teszi.

Festivals:
PRIX CIRCOM REGIONAL 2005

Dubrovnik International Film Festival 2005
Parnu Intl. Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival 2005
Rome International Film Festival 2005
PRIX EUROPA 2005
The Olomouc international film festival AFO 2005
EKOFILM 2005
International tourfilm festival and Tourist Workshop - SW ITF'2005
Festival dokument ART Germany 2005
XXII Festival de Cine de Bogota 2005
Fano International Film Festival 2005
Cine Eco 2005
Guangzhou International Documentary Festival 2005
International Festival of Professional Films EKOTOPFILM 2005
MEDIAWAVE 2006
Festival "Europe's Point of Divergance/Convergence" 2006
Huesca International Film Festival 2006
romadocfest - Rome International documentary festival 2006
AsterFest 2006
Mediterranean Environmental Award 2006
ETNOFILM ČADCA 2006
International Wlodzimierz Puchalski Nature Film Festival 2007
25. Autrans International Mountain Film Festival

CONTACT:

HRT - CROATIAN RADIO AND TELEVISION
International Relations Department
Prisavlje 3
10000 ZAGREB
Croatia
Phone: + 385 1 6343691
Fax: + 385 1 6343692
E-mail: branka.prazic@hrt.hr

 
 

 

Izgubljeno blago / The Lost Treasure from Branko Istvancic on Vimeo.  

 


The Lost Treasure TRAILER 2,51 MB

 

 

Special Prize of the Jury / Prix Special du Jury
Festival du Film Pastoralismes et Grands Espaces, France, 2008

Award for the best documentary
Primariei Horezu
Festivalul International ECO ETNO FOLK Film Romania 2007

 

DVD cover design by: Tomislav Horvatinovic

Music was recorded and mixed in
LORD SONGS Studio
in 2005

Festivals:

This is about an old protagonist, Dara, and her fight against the wolves to save one of her treasures, a sheep. It is the story of the co-operation between woman and sheepdog and how important this co-operation is to both - and the sheep. A very well produced movie with great camera work and very well edited. It has such beautiful landscapes with mountains and the use of music is very good...
JURY REPORT
PRIX CIRCOM REGIONAL 2005



PRIX EUROPA 2005

Dubrovnik International Film Festival 2005

Director's statement regarding the film:
Wanting to connect the heritage of the classic Croatian documentary with the newest developments in cinematography, I will try, using the concept of the film The Lost Treasure, to be a witness of the times we live in. I believe that is the way to bring back dignity, credibility and interest to the documentary film. Important components of such a conception imply a clear author's standpoint and clear difference from the so-called usually television programme. These guidelines describe an interesting and provocative subject, achievable by not utilising the off-speaker, by clear organisation of the film story and by avoiding the expendable daily actuality.
Branko Istvancic, director

Parnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival 2005

An elegiac poem to the simple life in rural Croatia, Dara lives with her husband Rade in a world that appears to be over a century old, yet still in existence today. This work is a beautiful film poem.
Rome International Film Festival USA 2005