Eminent Croatian politicians packed the hall of the Europa Cinema in the city centre of Zagreb on 7 February: Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, the president-elect Ivo Josipovic, and many other politicians and personalities from Croatian public life, along with Andreas Rudas, Executive Vice President Regional Operations & Business Development Central and Eastern Europe at RTL Group, and Johannes Züll, CEO of RTL Televizija, attended the private screening of Novo, novo vrijeme (A New, New Age). Directed by Igor Mirkovic and Rajko Grlic, this documentary portrays the first democratic election of a Croatian president in the year 2000. It was the first Croatian documentary distributed in cinemas across the country, to an audience of over 30,000 people.
Director Mirkovic and President Mesic discussing the movie after the screening
After the screening of the movie, Director Mirkovic spoke to President Mesic about his thoughts on the first elections and on ten years of being the country’s president: “It is not very likely that we will again have a president in a white uniform in ten, twenty, or thirty years”, commented Stjepan Mesic who refered to Tito's legendary white uniform, which was also worn for ceremonies by the Croatian President Franjo Tudman. “Ivo Josipovic already represents a major change. He is the only one who has been elected and who has never done time in jail. That is a very good thing,” said the president, adding in a more serious vein that he hopes Croatia became a state of law in the full meaning of the word during his first and second mandate.
President-elect of Croatia, Mr. Josipovic and his wife, the daughters of the current President, President Mesic, Andreas Rudas, Mrs Züll and Johannes Züll (from left to right)
The audience not only watched the movie and the discussion, but also became part of a sequel entitled 10 godina poslije (10 years later), which was partially shot in the cinema. The sequel follows President Mesic from the night his successor was elected in 2009 to the inauguration of the newly elected president Ivo Josipovic. It will be broadcast on RTL Televizija on 21 February, right after Croatia’s third president Ivo Josipovic takes up residence at the Presidential Palace Pantovcak.
The date and venue of the screening have symbolic value as well: on 7 February 2000, President Mesic won his first presidential mandate and the documentary was first shown to the public at the Europa Cinema.