Zvonimir Jurić is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n film director and screenwriter.

Born in Osijek

Osijek

Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...

, Jurić finished his primary and secondary education in his hometown. As a teenager the 1980s he appeared in minor roles in a number of TV series produced by TV Zagreb

Croatian Radiotelevision

Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...

 such as the 10-part biographical series Nikola Tesla (1977), the Partisan series Nepokoreni grad (1982) and the popular children's series Smogovci (1982).

After graduating from high school Jurić spent the 1991–92 semester studying film directing at the Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. In 1992 he returned to Croatia and enrolled at the film directing department of the Academy of Dramatic Art

Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb

The Academy of Dramatic Art is a Croatian drama and film school. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Fine Arts and Academy of Music...

 in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

. While a student at the academy Jurić directed several short films and documentaries.

His feature film directorial debut (which he co-directed and co-written with Goran Dević

Goran Dević

Goran Dević is a Croatian film director and screenwriter.Born in Sisak Dević was formally educated at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Academy of Dramatic Art .Since the early 2000s Dević directed a number of short subjects and...

) was a critically acclaimed 2009 psychological war drama titled The Blacks

The Blacks (film)

The Blacks is a 2009 Croatian drama film directed by Goran Dević and Zvonimir Jurić. The film was selected as the Croatian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist.-Cast:...

. The film deals with a fictional Croatian Army unit who refuse to lay down their arms following the end of the Croatian War of Independence

Croatian War of Independence

The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...

. The film won Jurić and Dević the Golden Arena for Best Director

Golden Arena for Best Director

The Golden Arena for Best Director 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 Yugoslavia the competition narrowed to Croatian films only...

 at the 2009 Pula Film Festival

Pula Film Festival

The Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival which is held annually in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula arena since 1954. The festival is usually held in the summer, in July or August....

, the Croatian national film awards. It went on to be selected as Croatia's submission to the 83rd Academy Awards

83rd Academy Awards

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...

 for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

, but it failed to make the final shortlist.

Filmography

• Zagreb Stories (Zagrebačke priče; 2002; segment)
• Sex, Drink and Bloodshed
  Sex, Drink and Bloodshed
  Sex, Drink and Bloodshed is a Croatian action film. It was released in 2004.-Cast:* Franjo Dijak - * Bogdan Diklić - * Matko Fabeković - * Admir Glamočak -...
  
  (Seks, piće i krvoproliće; 2004; segment)
• The Blacks
  The Blacks (film)
  The Blacks is a 2009 Croatian drama film directed by Goran Dević and Zvonimir Jurić. The film was selected as the Croatian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist.-Cast:...
  
  (Crnci, 2009; co-director)

External links

• Zvonimir Jurić at Film.hr