Frano Vodopivec (4 July 1924 – 13 March 1998) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n cinematographer.

Background

Vodopivec first began working with film and photography in high school and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he worked at ''Hrvatski slikopis'', the state-sponsored film company which produced propaganda shorts for the short-lived fascist regime of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

. After the war he worked on

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

s, before joining Jadran Film production company, for whom he shot his first short feature in 1947 and his first feature film in 1952 (''U oluji'', directed by

Vatroslav Mimica Vatroslav Mimica (25 June 1923 – 15 February 2020) was a Croatian film director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Omiš, Mimica had enrolled at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine before the outbreak of World War II. In 1942 he j ...

). His second feature was '' The Girl and the Oak'' (1955, directed by

Krešo Golik Krešimir "Krešo" Golik (20 May 1922 – 20 September 1996) was a Croatian film and television Film director, director and screenwriter. In a creative career spanning five decades between the late 1940s and late 1980s, Golik directed a numb ...

), which won him the Golden Arena for Best Cinematography at the 1955

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival () is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in the summer, in July or Aug ...

, the Yugoslav national film awards. Vodopivec went on to work with a number of renowned Croatian directors in the following decades, including

Fadil Hadžić Fadil Hadžić (23 April 1922 – 3 January 2011) was a Croatian and Yugoslav film director, screenwriter, playwright and journalist, mainly known for his comedy films and plays. He was born in Bileća in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but mainly ...

and Antun Vrdoljak, and he won his second Golden Arena in 1969, for Hadžić's '' An Event'' and Vrdoljak's ''

When You Hear the Bells ''When You Hear the Bells'' () is a 1969 Croatian war film directed by Antun Vrdoljak. It was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Silver Prize. In 1999, a poll of Croatian film critics found it to be one of the ...

''. Along with Oktavijan Miletić, he is considered the first cinematographer in Croatian cinema whose work highlighted the importance of cinematography in the overall aesthetic quality of film. His last feature film was '' Fliers of the Open Skies'' (''Letači velikog neba'', 1977) and he retired from filmmaking in the early 1980s. Vodopivec was also awarded the

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award () is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959, and awarded every year by the country's Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to Croatian artists ...

for Life Achievement in 1989, the highest Croatian national award for arts.

Selected filmography

*'' The Girl and the Oak'' (''Djevojka i hrast'', 1955; directed by

) *'' Kaya'' (''Kaja, ubit ću te!'', 1967; directed by

) *'' Three Hours to Love'' (''Tri sata za ljubav'', 1968; directed by

) *''

'' (''Kad čuješ zvona'', 1969; directed by Antun Vrdoljak) *'' An Event'' (''Događaj'', 1969; directed by Vatroslav Mimica) *'' Passing Days'' (''Idu dani'', 1970; directed by Fadil Hadžić) *'' The Fed One'' (''Hranjenik'', 1970; directed by Vatroslav Mimica) *'' There Grows a Green Pine in the Woods'' (''U gori raste zelen bor'', 1971; directed by Antun Vrdoljak) *'' Eagle in a Cage'' (1972, directed by Fielder Cook) *'' Fliers of the Open Skies'' (''Letači velikog neba'', 1977; directed by Marijan Arhanić)

References

External links

*
Frano Vodopivec biography
at Filmski-Programi.hr {{DEFAULTSORT:Vodopivec, Frano 1924 births 1998 deaths Film people from Zagreb Croatian cinematographers Golden Arena winners Vladimir Nazor Award winners Yugoslav filmmakers