The Golden Arena for Best Director ''( Croatian: Zlatna arena za režiju'') is an award given for best director at the

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski 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 ...

, which was until 1992 the Yugoslav equivalent of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. Since 1992 and the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

the competition narrowed to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n films only. The first festival was held in 1954, but the award was introduced in 1955.

List of winners

Yugoslav competition (1955–90)

Croatian competition (1992–present)

Multiple winners

The following directors have received multiple awards. The list is sorted by the number of total awards. Years in bold indicate wins in Yugoslav competition (1955–1990). Shared wins are indicated with an asterisk (*). *4 :

Zrinko Ogresta Zrinko Ogresta (born 5 October 1958) is a Croatian screenwriter and film director, professor of film directing at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and a member of the European Film Academy in Berlin. Praised for their strong visual style, ...

(1995, 1999, 2016, 2021) *3 : Aleksandar Petrović (1965, 1967*, 1972) *3 :

Krsto Papić Krsto Papić (7 December 1933 – 7 February 2013) was a Croatian screenwriter and film director whose career spanned over five decades. He is generally considered among the best directors of former Yugoslavia and the only director from Croatia th ...

(1970, 1992, 1998) *3 :

Dalibor Matanić Dalibor Matanić (, born 21 January 1975) is a Croatian filmmaker. His most well-known film is the 2002 feature '' Fine Dead Girls'' which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sochi film festival. His 2015 film '' The High Sun'' was screened ...

(2002, 2011, 2015) *2 :

Branko Bauer Branko Bauer (18 February 1921 – 11 April 2002) was a Croatian film director. He is considered to be the leading figure of classical narrative cinema in Croatian and Yugoslav cinema of the 1950s. Early life Bauer became interested in cine ...

(1956*, 1963) *2 :

Matjaž Klopčič Matjaž Klopčič (4 December 1934 – 15 December 2007) was a Slovenian film director and screenwriter. He directed 28 films between 1959 and 2005. His film ''Heritage'' ( sl, Dediščina) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at ...

(1973, 1975) *2 :

Živojin Pavlović Živojin "Žika" Pavlović (15 April 1933 – 29 November 1998) was a Yugoslav and Serbian film director, writer, painter and professor. In his films and novels, Pavlović depicted the cruel reality of small, poor and abandoned people living i ...

(1968, 1977) *2 :

Goran Paskaljević Goran Paskaljević ( sr-cyr, Горан Паскаљевић; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director. Biography Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, foll ...

(1976, 1980) *2 :

Srđan Karanović Srđan Karanović ( sr-Cyrl, Срђан Карановић, , born 17 November 1945) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 17 films since 1968. His film ''Miris poljskog cveća'' won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1978 Cannes F ...

(1978, 1983) *2 :

Vinko Brešan Vinko Brešan (; born 3 February 1964) is a Croatian film director who emerged into international renown with three critically acclaimed and award-winning films that, each in its own way, broke some of the perceived taboos of Croatian cinema in t ...

(1996, 2003) *2 :

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

(1984, 2010) *2 :

Kristijan Milić Kristijan Milić (; born 25 December 1969) is a Croatian television and feature film director. He is best known for winning two awards Golden Arena for Best Director at the Pula Film Festival (Croatian national film awards) for his feature fil ...

(2007, 2014)

References

External links

Web archive 1954–2010
at the Pula Film Festival official website {{Golden Arena awards Pula Film Festival Awards for best director Croatia-related lists Awards established in 1955 1955 establishments in Yugoslavia