For those wondering what there is to do in the “post-season” on the Croatian coast, the film industry has been heating up an already mild autumn and on November 1st a film premiere of the new movie “Dražen” was hosted in Zadar’s historic Providur Palace, by Kino Zona, with a packed theatre of filmgoers who came out to watch the dramatic portrayal of Croatia’s late basketball player Dražen Petrović, who played for the New Jersey Nets decades ago.
Local Croatian New Yorker in Zadar and occasional film extra, Albert Anthony, recently shared photos of the event on his official Facebook page, and shared his commentary for Croatians Online:
“As someone who grew up in the Croatian diaspora in New Jersey, I remember the era in elementary school when we would watch Dražen play on the Nets and it was symbolic since many Croats in that area were from the same Dalmatia region as he was.
The film had several scenes in it showing the Jersey City waterfront actually, and the NYC skyline, as well as a local basketball court, all scenes very familiar and places many of us in the Croatian-American diaspora have been to, so it is very relatable.
The film also had many emotionally touching moments, and attempted to incorporate retro elements of the basketball player’s younger days in the 1970s and 80s before playing for the US, his brief relationship with singer Sanja Doležal of the group Novi Fosili, and his time with Zagreb team Cibona.
A fun fact is that the character of his American scout-manager Warren LeGarrie was played by someone from the diaspora, Croatian-Australian actor from Zadar, Valentin Perković.
The fact that the theater was a packed crowd shows that there is interest in having activities like this in the post-summer season on the Croatian coast.
In closing, my impression is that it is a story that does a good job of showing how even professional athletes can face not just good times but also times of adversity, loss and tragedy too, since athletes are human too,” Albert Anthony remarked.
Albert Anthony Bozulic is an occasional media contributor to Croatians Online, and besides having been in the IT sector in the US he is also an extra for Croatian casting agencies and has worked on 4 productions since 2023, as well as the Polish WWII film Red Poppies (Crzwone Maki) released in 2024 in Poland.
Photos source: Albert Anthony for Croatians Online
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