1. History

2. Professional work

3. Controversies

4. Filmography
     Feature films    Docudramas    Documentaries    Music videos  

5. Currently in production

6. References

7. Sources

8. External links

Jakov Sedlar (born 6 November 1952) is a Croatian film director and producer.

History

In 1972, he moved to Zagreb, where he studied Yugoslav languages, literature and philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy. After his graduation in 1977, he enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied theatre and film directing. He graduated in 1981.

He started to play water polo in Split in 1966 and soon became a member of Jadran's first team and a candidate for the national team. He played 34 games for the Yugoslav youth national team.

In 1972 he transferred from „Jadran“ to Zagreb-based „Mladost“, the world's best water polo club at the time (team members: Stipanić, Bonačić, Lopatny, Poljak...). As the club in Split refused to give him a discharge letter (he would have had no problem obtaining the letter had he accepted the offer to play for any Belgrade-based club), he was not allowed to play in the Yugoslav water polo league for three years. During that time, Sedlar was allowed to play only international games; in 1975, he won the LEN Cup Winners' Cup with Mladost and the Super Cup (winning against Belgrade-based „Partizan“ in Ljubljana 11:10), which was in effect the water polo world champion title. Sedlar ended his sports career in 1989.

In 1992, the newly elected director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb Georgij Paro appointed Sedlar drama director. During his four-year-term the repertoire included plays by Shakespeare, Molière, Krleža, Brešan, Marinković, Goldoni ..., directed by renowned Croatian directors like Kosta Spajić, Georgij Paro, Božidar Violić and Ivica Kunčević... He took the drama ensemble on three world tours (Europe, USA and Canada, South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand).

In 1996, the first Croatian President Dr. Franjo Tuđman persuaded him to accept the post of the first cultural attaché in the US (New York), where he remained until 2000. During that time, he launched various projects and organized numerous events to promote Croatian culture.

After his return from the US, the newly elected left-coalition government saw to it that he was demoted to the post of cashier. Today, he is employed as media consultant at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

Professional work

In the course of his career Sedlar directed 28 plays in professional theatres and ensembles in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Novi Sad, Sombor, Tuzla, Maribor and Mostar. He was awarded for directing the best play of the „Gavella Evenings“ Festival in 1982 (The Gin Game, starring Mirko Vojković and Vjera Žagar-Nardelli), and in 1983 at the Small Scenes Festival in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) for the play „Bent“ (Vicko Ruić, Željko Vukmirica, Boris Miholjević...). His „Macbeth“ was proclaimed the best visiting performance in Australia in 1996. He staged plays in Europe, the US, Canada, South America, Australia and New Zealand...

Controversies

Sedlar was criticized for nationalism and politicization in his films. On 4 April 2016 his documentary Jasenovac - The Truth premiered. The documentary is about the alleged crimes committed by the communist authorities of the SFR Yugoslavia in the Jasenovac concentration camp between 1945 and 1951 (post WWII period), which, as claimed in the documentary, were covered up. However, at the end of the documentary, Sedlar leaves the alleged communist crimes, moves to the modern era and mentions various leftists who allegedly "cover up communist crimes" (naming Presidents Stjepan Mesić and Ivo Josipović, and Serb MP Milorad Pupovac) as well as various journalists who allegedly help them (Miljenko Jergović, Jurica Pavičić, Ante Tomić, Davor Butković and others), which was considered tendentious and irrelevant to the theme of the documentary, as well as a way of labeling people he considered inadequate.^[1] Slavko Goldstein said that the documentary was "full of half-truths, lies and forgeries", and that the end in which some public figures are named was a "direct arrest warrant and indictment against individuals."^[2]

Vladimir Matijanić wrote for the Slobodna Dalmacija that the documentary "does not prove that after the liberation, the partisans carried out mass executions of the prisoners, or that the Jasenovac concentration camp was solely 'working and internment camp'" (as claimed in the documentary).^[3] Another controversy connected to the documentary is the alleged title in the Vjesnik newspaper from 1945 stating that corpses tossed into the Sava were reaching Zagreb from the direction of Jasenovac. Shortly after the premiere, journalist Lovro Krnić went through the Zagreb state archives and examined all the May 1945 issues of Vjesnik and found that no such headline existed. Upon closer inspection, Krnić discovered that the headline seen in the documentary had been crudely doctored, likely using Photoshop.^[4] Attorney Veljko Miljević stated that Sedlar could end up in prison due to charges of falsification, denial of crime and hate speech against politicians and journalists.^[5]

Filmography

Feature films

• U sredini mojih dana (1988, starring Milena Zupančič, Ranko Zidarić, Barbara Rocco...)
• Gospa (1995, starring Martin Sheen, Michael York, Paul Gulfoyle, Morgan Fairchild...)
• Don't Forget Me (1996, starring Boris Miholjević, Boris Pavlenić, Ena Begović...)
• Agonija (1998, starring Ena Begović, Sven Medvešek, Božidar Alić...)
• Remembrance of Georgia (1998, starring Boris Miholjević, Almira Osmanović, Mia Oremović...)
• File of Four (1999, starring Ivan Marević, Danko Ljuština, Goran Navojec, Ivo Gregurević...)
• The Mercy of the Sea (2001, starring Martin Sheen, Renee Estevez, Mike Bernardo...)
• Duhovi (2018, starring Dragan Despot, Filip Šovagović, Ivo Gregurević, Anja Šovagović-Despot)

Docudramas

• Syndrome Jerusalem (2004, starring Martin Sheen, Charlote Rampling, Macaulay Culkin, Mili Avital...)
• Café Auschwitz (2009, starring Zrinka Cvitešić, Gila Almagor, Armand Assante...)

Documentaries

• Mijo (1980, about the painter Mijo Kovačić, 20 min)
• Hvalen budi – Blessed Be (1981, about the painter Ivan Večenaj, 20 min)
• Hrvatski Božić – Croatian Christmas (1981, 45 min)
• Hrvatska naivna umjetnost – Croatian Naïve Art (1984, 45 min, narrated by Martin Sheen)
• Međugorje, Gospi u pohode – Medjugorje, Visiting the Madonna (1984, 30 min)
• Sakralna umjetnost u Hrvata – Sacral Art in Croatia (1985, 90 min, narrated by Martin Sheen)
• Jordan (1985, about the painter Vasilije Jordan, 15 min)
• Lijepa naša – Our Beautiful Homeland (1986, the first film about Croatia, 85 min)
• Vedro podnebesje – Clear Skies (1986, film about the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province, 80 min)
• Jeste li bili u Zagrebu, gospodine Lumiere – Have you been to Zagreb, Mr Lumiere (1987, film about Zagrebu between 1900 and 1941, 90 min)
• Hrvatska i Hrvati – Croatia and the Croats (1988, 69 min)
• Stepinac-znak vremena – Stepinac: Sign of the Times (1988, 59 min)
• Jugoslavenska armija i srpski teroristi – The Yugoslav Army and Serbian Terrorists (1991, 20 min, narrated by Martin Sheen)
• Krvavi Uskrs – Bloody Easter (1991, 15 min)
• Nepoznati dio Holokausta, Srbija 1941-1945 – The Unknown Holocaust, Serbia 1941-1945 (1992, 20 min, narrated by Sally Kelermann)
• Hrvatska - Croatia (1996, 45 min, narrated by Martin Sheen)
• Mozart of Basketball (1996, about Dražen Petrović, 55 min, narrated by Michael York)
• Tuđman – hrvatski George Washington – Tudjman: Croatian George Washington (1997, 59 min, narrated by Martin Sheen)
• Židovi i Hrvatska – The Jews and Croatia (1998, 80 min)
• Anđeli rata – Angels of War (1998, 30 min, about Željka Jurić, a child who survived the atrocities of Vukovar)
• To je put – This Is the Way (1999, about Samuel Schlesinger, 38 min)
• Mostovi sjećanja – Bridges of Memories (1999, about the painter Tamar Hirschl, 30 min)
• Almira (2001, about the ballerina Almira Osmanović, 50 min)
• Brač, Dalmacija, Hrvatska – Brač, Dalmatia, Croatia (2002, 15 min)
• Sudbina mi nije dala da odem – Fate Did not Let Me Go (2002, 20 min, narrated by Liv Ullmann i Martin Sheen)
• Hrvatske katedrale – Croatian Cathedrals (2003, 55 min)
• Slavenska (2003, about the ballerina Mija Ćorak Slavenska, 45 min)
• Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu – The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (2003, 14 min)
• Yudith (2005, about Yudith Arnon, the „mother„ of Israel’s modern dance, 40 min)
• Kad mrtvi glasuju – When the Dead Vote (2006, about B. Mikšić and election fraud in Croatia, 55 min, narrated by Nastassia Kinski)
• Petnaest do osam – Fifteen to Eight (2006, about Motti Hod, Commander of the Israeli Air Force, 58 min)
• Maestro (2007, about the composer Boris Papandopulo, 50 min)
• Lav koji plače – The Weeping Lion (2007, about Ariel Sharon, 55 min)
• Mayim, Mayim (2007, about a dance show that deals with the sufferings of children during WWII)
• Nema više heroja – No More Heroes (2007, about Meir Amit, commander of the Israeli Secret Service „Mossad“, 37 min)
• Sinjska Alka (2007, 45 min)
• Židovi i Ukrajina – The Jews and Ukraine (2008, 55 min, narrated by Armand Assante)
• Vizija u pustinji – Vision in the Desert (2008, about the dancer Veselko Suljić, 45 min)
• Letica (2008, about the distinguished diaspora Croat Ilija Letica, 59 min)
• Đapić (2008, about Ante Đapić, 50 min)
• Hrvatska, ljubavi moja – Croatia, My Love (2008, about Ante Gotovina, 60 min)
• Tražeći Orsona – Searching for Orson (2008, about the unknown films and life of Orson Welles, 80 min, with Peter Bogdanovich, Steven Spielberg, Paul Mazursky, Oja Kodar...)
• Šparemblek (2009, about the dancer and choreographer Milko Šparemblek, 50 min)
• Lika ili Gospićko-senjska biskupija – Lika or Diocese of Gospić-Senj (2009, 59 min)
• Gotovac (2009, about the composer Jakov Gotovac, 53 min)
• Tuđman (2009, 55 min, the documentary also includes the complete interview with President Franjo Tuđman)
• Pravednik Stepinac – Righteous Stepinac (2009, 55 min)
• Pavelić bez maske – Pavelić Unmasked (2010, 59 min)
• Tito bez maske – Tito Unmasked (2010, 59 min)
• Yulia (2010, about Ukraine’s former president Yulia Tymoshenko, 57 min, narrated by Armand Assante, with Vaclav Havel, Paulo Coelho...)
• Hrvatska, tugo moja - Croatia, My Sorrow (2010, about contemporary Europe and the rule of injustice, 74 min)
• Ruža (2010, about the opera singer Ruža Pospiš Baldani, 50 min)
• Istra ili Porečko-pulska biskupija – Istra or Diocese of Poreć-Pula (2010, 60 min)
• Bošković (2011, about the scientist Ruđer Bošković, 50 min)
• Bitka za Dajlu – Fight for Dajla (2011, about the Italian attempt to steal Croatian property in Istria, 57 min)
• Nije moja duša prazna – My Soul Is Not Empty (2011, about the singer and songwriter Ivan Puljić, 43 min)
• Židovi i Hrvatska – Jews and Croatia (2011, 60 min)
• Hrvati i njihovi franjevci u USA i Canadi – The Croats and their Franciscans in Canada and the USA (2011, 80 min)
• Hrvati i Srbi, povijest jedne averzije – The Croats and the Serbs: The History of an Aversion (2011, 85 min)
• Hrvatska katolička župa sv. Ćirila i Metoda u New Yorku – The Croatian Parish of Sts. Cyril & Methodius in New York (2012, 60 min)
• Ljubav koja ne poznaje granica – The Love that Knows no Boundaries (2012, 30 min)
• Glasonoša promjena – Herald of Change (2012, about the Croatian Embassy in Canberra in 1977, 60 min)
• Tko želi ubiti Juliju Timošenko – Who Wants to Kill Yulia Tymoshenko (2012, 55 min)
• Požega (2013, 50 min))
• Trčeći za svjetlom – Chasing the Light (about the painter Toni Franović, with Monika Leskovar, 2013, 30 min))
• Julija, ona koja se nikada ne predaje – Yulia, Who Never Gives Up (about the prison days of Yulia Tymoshenko, 2014, 32 min))
• Hrvatski klubovi Geelong i Footscray – Croatian Clubs Geelong and Footscray (2014, 60 min)
• Jasenovac – The Truth (2015, 59 min)
• Povijest zagrebačkog športa – The History of Sports in Zagreb (2016, 25 min)
• Anne Frank-nekad i danas – Anne Frank: Then and Now (the first film about The Diary of Anne Frank in Arabic, 2016, 63 min)
• Pravednica Ciganka – The Righteous Gypsy (the story of the only Gypsy woman honoured by Israel as “Righteous among the Nations”, 2016, 32 min)
• Snaga tišine – Power of Silence (film about Braco, Croatian alternative healer, 2016, 56 min)
• Nisam se bojao umrijeti – I Was Not Afraid To Die (docudrama about the patriotic mission of Anton Kikaš, 2016, 112 min; starring Andrej Dojkić, Armand Assante...)
• Svetac, zločinac i dvorske lude – The Saint, the Criminal and the Court Jesters (2017, documentary about Cardinal Stepinac, Tito and Tito's apologists in contemporary Croatia)

Music videos

Moonlight Sonata (starring cellist Ana Rucner and dancer Azamat Nabiullin, 2010)

Linđo (starring cellist Ana Rucner and the Linđo Ensemble from Dubrovnik, 2011)

Romanca (starring cellist Ana Rucner, 2011)

Vivacissimo (starring pianist Marija Pranjić, 2011)

Zagreb voli Chopina - Zagreb Loves Chopin (with pianist Marija Pranjić, 2011)

Armand Assante voli Zagreb – Armand Assante Loves Zagreb (2011)

Zagreb – četiri godišnja doba - Zagreb: Four Seasons (2013)

Currently in production

„Requiem for the World“ (2017, docudrama; Armand Assante, Mensur Safciu, Derek Jacobi...)

„Isus-povratak“ – Jesus: the Return (feature film about the return of Christ to modern-day Earth ...)

„The Match“ (feature film based on a true event in Hungary, 1944...)

„2761” (feature film about the suicides of Croatian veterans ...)

„Dijete iz košare“ – The Child from the Basket (documentary about a Croatian woman honoured by Israel as “Righteous among the Nations”)

„All the Evils of the Protocols...“ (2017, documentary about the most anti-Semitic book ever: the Protocols of the Elders of Zion; participants include Rabbi Jack Bemporad from New York, Rabbi Lau, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and several Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim leaders)

References

Sources

• {{cite encyclopedia | url=http://proleksis.lzmk.hr/55064/ | title=Sedlar, Jakov | encyclopedia=Proleksis Encyclopedia | language=hr | accessdate=16 January 2016}}

External links

• {{IMDb name|id=0781341|name=Jakov Sedlar}}
• {{Facebook|JakovSedlarOfficial}}

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