Family Meals
view in croatian- 2012
- 50'
- digibeta, HDCAM
- color
- Orig. Title: Nije ti život pjesma Havaja
Five years after they last gathered, a birthday celebration brings together an estranged Croatian middle-class family. Over a series of breakfasts and lunches, long-buried family secrets rise to the surface as they try to talk about the things that really matter to them. Over the course of the film, the family tackles their feelings about being raised as hippies, homosexuality, illness, war, cooking, and the mysterious Grandmother Poison. Budisavljević’s film delivers precise storytelling, rich in twists and turns, to paint a heartfelt portrait of a family facing the challenges of turbulent times, spiced with love, tears and a glass of wine.
- Director
- Dana Budisavljević
- Screenplay
- Dana Budisavljević
- Cinematography
- Ana Opalić, Tamara Cesarec, Eva Kraljević
- Editing
- Marko Ferković, Dana Budisavljević
- Music
- Christian Biegai
- Sound Design
- Dubravka Premar, Gordan Fučkar
- Producers
- Olinka Vištica, Sophie De Hijes
- Production
- Hulahop
- World Sales
- Taskovski Films Ltd.
Dana Budisavljević (1975, Zagreb) graduated in Film and TV Editing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She has worked as an editor, production assistant, and film festival organiser. She made her directorial debut with the documentary Straight A’s (Factum, 2004), after which she went on to win wide acclaim with Family Meals (Hulahop, 2012), a documentary about coming out. She has produced the documentary series Slumbering Concrete, directed by Saša Ban, as well as films like I Like That Super Most the Best by Eva Kraljević and Then I See Tanja by Juraj Lerotić. The Diary of Diana B. is her debut feature film.
Selected Filmography – Dana Budisavljević (1975)
- The Diary of Diana B. (2019) – feature-length docufiction
- Family Meals (2012) – middle-length documentary
- Adriatic’s Deepest Secrets (2006, 2007) – documentary TV series
- Straight A’s (2004) – middle-length documentary
- Almost Equal (2003) – middle-length documentary
