Antun Vrdoljak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antun Vrdoljak
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| Born | 5 June 1931 Imotski, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia)
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| Education | Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1956–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Branka Vrdoljak
(m. 1966) |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Goran Višnjić (son-in-law) |
| President of the Croatian Olympic Committee | |
| In office 1991–2000 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Zdravko Hebel |
Antun Vrdoljak (born 5 June 1931) is a famous Croatian person. He has been an actor, a film director, and a writer for movies. He also worked as a sports official and led Croatian Radiotelevision during a time of big changes in Croatia.
From the 1960s to the early 1990s, he was mostly known for his work in films. In the early 1990s, he became very involved in politics. He was an important member of a political party called the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). This led to him holding several important jobs. He was the general manager of Croatian Radiotelevision from 1991 to 1995. He also served as the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee from 1991 to 2000.
Contents
Life and Career Beginnings
Antun Vrdoljak was born in Imotski, a town in Croatia. He studied acting at the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art. His first acting role was in a 1957 film called It Was Not in Vain. In 1958, he appeared in the well-known film H-8. He received a lot of praise for his acting in this movie.
In the late 1960s, Vrdoljak started directing films more and more. He became interested in Croatian politics and culture. Even so, he was allowed to continue making movies. He directed big movie versions of famous Croatian books. These included Cyclops (1982) and The Glembays (1988).
When the first democratic elections were held in Croatia in 1990, Vrdoljak supported a political group. Later, he changed his support to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party. He became good friends with Franjo Tuđman, who later became the President of Croatia. On May 30, 1990, Vrdoljak became one of the country's six vice-presidents. He helped oversee the 1990 European Athletics Championships in Split.
Leading Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT)
In December 1990, Croatia got a new Constitution. This ended the job of vice-president. A few months later, Vrdoljak was chosen to be the general manager of Croatian Radiotelevision (HRTV). This is the national TV and radio company.
While he was in charge, he made sure the TV programs supported President Tuđman and the HDZ party. He worked to prevent any criticism of the government on TV. He famously said that television "must become a cathedral of the Croatian spirit." This meant he believed TV should strongly promote Croatian culture and values.
In September 1991, some employees at HRT were told they could no longer enter the building. This was explained as being for "security reasons." Many of these employees were of Serbian background or had family ties to Serbs. Others might not have publicly supported the HDZ party.
Later, the person who took over Vrdoljak's job, Ivan Parać, accused him of corruption. For many people who opposed the government, Vrdoljak was seen as a symbol of the HDZ party's control over the media. Even though he kept his seat in Parliament, he slowly stepped back from politics. He also became less involved with President Tuđman's closest group of advisors.
His Creative Works
Antun Vrdoljak started his career as an actor. He was highly praised for his role in the 1958 film H-8. He also received good reviews for his first two films as a director and writer. These were Kad čuješ zvona (1969) and U gori raste zelen bor (1971). Both of these movies were based on the true stories of Croatian Partisans. Partisans were groups who fought against invaders during World War II. When You Hear the Bells even won a Silver Prize at an international film festival in Moscow.
Vrdoljak also worked on television. His 1972 mini-series Prosjaci i sinovi became very popular later on. This series was not shown until 1984. This was because the writer of the story was seen as a "Croatian nationalist" at the time. Vrdoljak also got good attention for his TV versions of famous books. These included Kiklop (1982) and The Glembays (1988). Both of these were also shown as longer TV series.
After getting money from the new government, he directed Duga mračna noć. This was a mini-series about World War II in a region of Croatia called Slavonia.
After the HDZ party lost power in 2000, Vrdoljak decided to go back to making films. In 2006, he was in the news because of a disagreement with another filmmaker, Lordan Zafranović.
In 2019, he directed a movie called General. This film was paid for by the government. It tells the story of Ante Gotovina, a famous Croatian general. The movie had a budget of 3 million euros. However, General received mostly negative reviews from critics. It was shown at the 2019 Pula Film Festival but did not win any major awards. Another movie, The Diary of Diana B., won instead. In 2020, there were reports that some actors and crew members were not paid for their work on the film. This led to some of them filing a lawsuit.
Awards and Recognition
In 1960, Antun Vrdoljak won a Golden Arena award at the Pula Film Festival. This festival was like the Oscars for films in Yugoslavia. He won for his acting role in the film Atomic War Bride.
Family Life
Antun Vrdoljak has been married twice. He has one child from his first marriage. He later remarried and has three more children with his second wife. His daughter, Ivana, is an artist known as Eva Višnjić. She is married to the actor Goran Višnjić. This makes Goran Višnjić Antun Vrdoljak's son-in-law.
Filmography
- The Road a Year Long (1958)
- Atomic War Bride (1960)
- Love and Some Swear Words (1969)
- When You Hear the Bells (1969)
- The Pine Tree in the Mountain (1971)
- Deps (1974)
- Snowstorm (1977)
- The Return (1979)
- Cyclops (1982)
- Od petka do petka (1985)
- The Glembays (1988)
- Karneval, anđeo i prah (1990)
- Long Dark Night (2004)
- General (2019)
