From Grain to Painting
view in croatian- HR, RS
- 2012
- 75'
- DCP
- color, black & white
- croatian, serbian, italian
- Orig. Title: Od zrna do slike
From Grain to Painting explores the cultural and artistic expression of Croatians in Serbia. The film focuses on the 'strawgirls' Ana Milodanovic and Jozefa Skenderovic, artists who found their medium of choice in straw, using it to create paintings, sculptures and applied-art objects. The film depicts the connection between the girls’ everyday lives, their nationality and their artistic expression. Through a series of interviews and authentic footage of artists, historians and critics, the film celebrates a renaissance of an age-old craft which is slowly vanishing. The film also features Ivo Skrabalo (1934–2011), Croatian film critic, historian and director, who in 1971 produced his own film on this subject, Slamarke divojke (Strawgirls), which became one of the best-known Croatian documentaries of all time.
- Director
- Branko Ištvančić
- Screenplay
- Branko Ištvančić
- Cinematography
- Branko Cahun
- Editing
- Branko Ištvančić
- Music
- Pere Ištvančić
- Producer
- Marijo Vukadin
- Production
- Olimp produkcija
- Co-production
- Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), Atalanta (RS), One Sand Production (AT)
Branko Ištvančić (1967) graduated in film and TV directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb in 1999. Deeply rooted in the Croatian documentary tradition, Ištvančić pays special attention to the humane, but also uses humour in the treatment of his subjects. His documentaries include the award-winning short film Wellman (2003) and the critically acclaimed The Cormorant Scarecrow (1998). His first feature film The Ghost in the Swamp (2006) was Croatia’s second-highest grossing film at the box office in 2006 and marked the resurgence of interest in home-produced feature films for children. His short fiction film Recycling (2009) was part of the omnibus Zagreb Stories.
