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Brenda Brkusic's award-winning and critically acclaimed film
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR
will be playing on
Saturday, November 12, 2005 at 3PM (15:00)
at the Cinema Europa in Zagreb, Croatia
as a part of the
Film Festival about Croatian Emigrants
It is non-competitive and free-entry festival which will take place in cinema Europa (520 seats) in Zagreb from November 11- 14.
Organizer: Udruga Hrvatska dijaspora in cooperation with Gral Film and Kinematografi.
Please see director's bio and a recent Australian review of the film below.
For more information about the film visit www.freedomfromdespair.com
"FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR" - TESTAMENT TO THE CROAT PLIGHT UNDER COMMUNISM
By: Bruno ZOVKO
I had the great pleasure of watching Brenda Brkusic's film ''Freedom From Despair'' at the Australian premier last Friday night at the Australian-Croatian Club in Melbourne. In short, it's the Croatian version of Michael Moore's film, 9/11.
 Brenda's 90 minute odyssey traverses thru a suppressive 50 year time span in contemporary Croatian History - from the creation of the second ill fated Yugoslav experiment at the end of WWII, till the recent Homeland War in the early 90s. The film is literally a visual time capsule of the Croat expression for freedom in the past 50 years.
The film draws breath on two fronts; the suppression of the Croat identity under the tyranny of Tito's communist Yugoslavia , and the political struggle for Croat independence in the early 90's. Both themes are poignantly explored and merged through the eyes of Brenda's father, Kruno Brkusic.
Brenda Brkusic receives a $5,000 donation from the committee of the Australian Croatian Hall Kardinal Stepinac -
Geelong
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DOMS DONATE $8,500 TO THE FREEDOM CAUSE
The Croatian Doms in Footscray, Geelong and Sydney, which hosted screenings of the film last weekend were responsible for carrying out an extremely nice gesture; donating $1,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively to Brenda Brkusic’s fundraising campaign. This was done in recognition of Brenda’s dedication and hard work in trying to have the film distributed internationally on DVD and thus, seen by a wider audience.
Over 650 people attended the film's premiere in Sydney last weekend.
Due to popular demand, there will be another screening of the film in Sydney (Punchbowl) on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 7 pm.
BRENDA BRKUSIC
Filmmaker, dancer, spokesperson and activist, Brenda Brkusic was born in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles on an academic scholarship from Chapman University, graduating with highest honors with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television Writing and Directing. At age 21 she wrote, produced, directed and edited her multi-award winning and critically acclaimed feature documentary Freedom from Despair, shooting in the US and Croatia and utilizing such famous talents as Michael York, John Savage, Beata Pozniak, Nenad Bach and Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
Recognizing her efforts, Chapman Film School awarded her its Marion Knott Scholarship, which afforded her the opportunity to work one on one with Academy Award winning filmmaker David S. Ward (Sleepless in Seattle). By creatively blending interviews, narrative recreations, and stock footage to illuminate the human experience, political agendas, and global responsibility, Brenda Brkusic has gained a reputation as an important new voice in the film industry. Her film has won numerous awards at film festivals from Hollywood to New York to Croatia including: The CINE Golden Eagle Award (previously won by Steven Spielberg); The Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the New York International Independent Film Festival; The Viewers Voice Award at the Cinequest Film Festival; The Golden Reel Award at the Tiburon International Film Festival; The Best Documentary at the International Student Film Festival Hollywood; The Best Documentary at the Chapman Studios Cecil Awards; A Bronze Remi Award for World Peace and Understanding at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival; The Best Student Film at the Westwood International Film Festival; A Special Recognition at the Dubrovnik International Film Festival. The highest honor of all, Freedom from Despair is nominated for two International Documentary Association Awards in the 2005 IDA Awards Gala in Hollywood. (Last year’s nominees included Michael Moore).
Brenda’s film has received critical acclaim in the international press and in June of 2005, her hard work on Freedom from Despair was recognized by US Congress and she was honored on the Congressional Record at the US House of Representatives. The Croatian National Foundation has agreed to be her fiscal sponsor and Amnesty International, the largest human rights organization in the world, officially endorses her film for its strong human rights advocacy. Brenda produces her own tours with the film across the US, Canada and Australia and in this grass roots effort to screen the film she has garnered a fan base of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. All ready considered an expert in her field, Brenda has been invited by Universities and top PR Firms to speak to students about leadership and the documentary filmmaking process. Besides the full time job of running her own production company, Brenda was recently hired by Amnesty International and MTV to direct material for the film Innocent Voices. She continues to make her home in Los Angeles.
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