TWO
PLAYERS FROM THE BENCH
By Katarina
Tepesh
New York, May
1 – A new Croatian fiction film, Two Players from the Bench
(Dva Igraca s Klupe) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New
York City.
The bitter legacy
of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia provides the black comic
grist for Two Players from the Bench, one of the few films that
openly addresses these explosive topics. Ante (Goran Navojec) and
Dusko (Borko Peric), a Croat and a Serb, are kidnapped together
and soon confess and accuse each other for the horrors the other
side did to them. Two ancient enemies find themselves under severe
pressure to deliver false testimony to exonerate a Croat military
officer, Colonel Skoko, a hero to some and a criminal to others.
Skoko’s sponsor from the intelligence circles, Antisa (Tarik
Filipovic), wants Ante and Dusko to impersonate two main witnesses,
Skoko’s ex-officers, and supply exculpatory testimony before
the International War Crimes in The Hague. Offered 20,000 Euros,
the two reluctantly agree. A host of complications develop including
a Ukrainian sex slave who leaves behind desperate poverty in Eastern
Europe for the promise of a better future. She becomes a victim
of a dangerous gang of human traffickers selling unsuspecting women
as prostitutes.
Directed and
written by Dejan Sorak, the Two Players film was celebrated at Arno
Restaurant in Manhattan, compliments of General Consulate Republic
of Croatia, Consul Petar Ljubicic and H.E. Mirjana Mladineo, Ambassador.
The talented actors Navojec, Peric, Filipovic, Dora Lipovcan and
Renne Gjoni were happily mingling among the guests.
Dejan Sorak
was born in Croatia in 1954. A playwright, theater director and
novelist made several other films: Little Train Robbery (1984),
An Officer with a Rose (1987), The Bloodsuckers (1989), The Time
of the Warriors (1991) and Garcia (1999).
A special guest
at the event was Branko Lustig, born in Osijek in 1932. A Croatian
Jewish survivor of Auschwitz is now famous executive producer in
Hollywood. Films such as the Schindler’s List (1993), Gladiator
(2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Sophie’s Choice (1982)
are among his outstanding work.
The Tribeca
Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal,
and Craig Hatkoff as a response to the brutal attacks on the World
Trade Center. “We have attracted more than 1 million visitors
to Lower Manhattan, helping to lift both the economy and broken
spirits of a neighborhood, while screening an incredible range of
films from over 40 countries. This year, as we celebrate our fifth
festival, we have the occasion to reflect upon our beginnings, celebrate
our achievements and remain true to our commitment to the community
and our mission to bring filmmakers and their films to the widest
possible audience,” said Rosenthal.
The annual festival
is helping showcase the talent, diversity and stories of outstanding
filmmakers from around the globe. Two Players is the first film
chosen from Croatia.
In celebration
of the Festival’s 5th anniversary, the Empire State Building
is illuminated with signature festival colors. The Croatian Tourist
office is located in the Empire State Building, where Nena Komarica
busily promotes the natural beauty of Croatia.
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