''What Iva Recorded'' (, ''What Iva Recorded On 21 October 2003'') is a 2005 Croatian

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Tomislav Radić Tomislav Radić (8 December 1940 – 7 March 2015) was a Croatian film director and screenwriter. Born in Zagreb, Radić graduated from both University of Zagreb's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Academy of Dramatic Art. Lived in ...

. The plot is told from the perspective of a

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-sw ...

, the birthday present of Iva, a teenage girl played by Masha Mati Prodan in her film debut, leading to a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

-style footage. The film was very well received by critics, winning five awards, including the

Big Golden Arena for Best Film The Golden Arena awards were established in 1955 as the Yugoslav national film awards presented annually at the Pula Film Festival in Pula, Croatia, with the Big Golden Arena for Best Film its main prize. From 1955 to 1990 the awards were the Yug ...

at the

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 ...

. It was seen as a welcome change, compared to Radić's previous work.

Plot

Iva (Mati Prodan) lives in a middle-class family in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

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 ...

. She receives a digital

as a present for her 14th birthday, which she uses to film the events in the family apartment during the rest of the day. The film is shown from the perspective of her camcorder. Her mother, Željka (Šovagović-Despot), is a perfectionist housewife who deals with her problems by drinking. Božo (Gregurević), Iva's stepfather, is a dimwitted entrepreneur who likes to bark out commands to the family members, but is a

sycophant In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens, where it had a d ...

at work. He organises a family dinner to invite his business partner, a German named Hoffman (Menrad), to negotiate a big business deal, Iva's birthday being a handy excuse to do so. Darko (Svrtan), Iva's happy-go-lucky uncle, arrives and is fascinated by the camcorder. Nobody in the house can communicate with Hoffman as nobody speaks German, so Darko invites a friend, Nina (Prpić), who is purportedly a polyglot. She charms Hoffman, but the family is shocked to discover that she is actually an escort lady. Željka begins to show open animosity towards her, while Božo accepts it much more stoically. When Željka accidentally spills the family dinner on Nina's clothes, the group decides to visit a restaurant. Hoffman has a good time at the restaurant and shows sexual interest in Željka; Božo ignores this. Nevertheless, when he discovers Hoffman gave her the number of his hotel room, Božo angrily takes off after him. He is too late, as Hoffman has already left in a taxi. Exhausted, the family returns home late in the evening and Iva turns off the camcorder.

Cast

Anja Šovagović-Despot Anja Šovagović-Despot (born 25 March 1963) is a Croatian film and stage actress. Early life and career Šovagović-Despot was born to the family of Fabijan Šovagović, one of the most respected Croatian actors, and Maja Blaškov. Same as her y ...

as Željka *

Ivo Gregurević Ivo Gregurević (; 7 October 1952 – 1 January 2019) was a Croatian film, theatre and television actor. Throughout over a quarter of a century, Gregurević played rural bullies and arrogant nouveau riche and became one of Croatia's best known ...

as Božo * as Darko * Masha Mati Prodan as Iva * as Nina * as Hoffman * Adam Končić as the Waiter

Reception

Unlike most Croatian films from the 1990s onwards, ''What Iva Recorded'' was lauded by critics. Jakov Kosanović wrote for ''

Slobodna Dalmacija (, where "Free" is an adjective) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. History was first issued on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city was occupied by the I ...

'' that the film was "direct, full of life and often funny", and "a refreshment, compared to the current work of the older generation of Croatian directors". He also lauded the camcorder technique. Damir Radić of ''

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

'' compared the film to the

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...

movement, known for its use of camcorder. He called ''What Iva Recorded'' the best Croatian film since the independence of Croatia in the 1990s. The only problem of the film, according to him, was not enough emphasis on the character of Iva. Damir Radić considered Tomislav Radić an unlikely director of a masterpiece, due to the critical panning of his previous films, ''

Anđele moj dragi ''My Dear Angel'' (''Anđele moj dragi'') is a Croatian film directed by Tomislav Radić. It was released in 1995. External links * 1995 films Croatian war drama films 1990s Croatian-language films Films about the Croatian War of Indepe ...

'' ( ''My Dear Angel'') and ''

The Miroslav Holding Co. ''The Miroslav Holding Co.'' (original title: ''Holding'') is a Croatian film directed by Tomislav Radić. It was released in 2001. References External links * 2001 films 2000s Croatian-language films Films set in Zagreb Croatian com ...

'' ;52nd

Golden Arena for Best Director The Golden Arena for Best Director ''( Croatian: Zlatna arena za režiju'') is an award given for best director at the Pula Film Festival, which was until 1992 the Yugoslav equivalent of the Academy Awards. Since 1992 and the breakup of Yugosla ...

(Tomislav Radić) :

Golden Arena for Best Actor The Golden Arena awards were established in 1955 as the Yugoslav national film awards, presented annually at the Pula Film Festival. From 1955 to 1990 the awards were given for highest achievements in Yugoslav cinema. In 1991 the festival was can ...

(Ivo Gregurević) :

Golden Arena for Best Actress The following is a list of winners of the Golden Arena for Best Actress at the Pula Film Festival. List of winners Yugoslav Film Awards (1955–90) Croatian Film Awards (1990–present) Footnotes :A. Although the festival was opened ...

(Anja Šovagović-Despot) ;Croatian Film Critics' Association :Oktavijan Award

References

External links

* {{Big Golden Arena 2005 films 2000s Croatian-language films 2005 comedy-drama films Croatian comedy-drama films