Participants

Dragan has been involved in sports since early childhood and todaz he is an accomplished sports conditioning trainer. Gymnastics, football, volleyball and swimming were the beginnings, while kickboxing is the sport in which he has been the longest. He achieved significant results, including the title of world champion in kickboxing in the junior competition, and has also achieved notable results in the senior competition at the domestic and international level. He is a successful sports worker, coach and owner of his own club in Osijek. Dragan continuously educates himself and is a kettlebell trainer according to the SFG Federation, a training instructor for the Krav Maga self-defense system, and has completed bodyguard training – Basic and Specialist. Thanks to his experience, he also started doing stunt work and worked on blockbusters such as Hitman’s wife’s bodyguard with Selma Hayek, and then on the big hit Expendables 4, where he had the opportunity to be a “stunt double” for actor Dolph Lundgren. On the same film, he also worked as a “fight choreographer” and created fight scenes for famous actors. He collaborated with 50 cent, Jason Statham, Megan Fox, Randy Couture, Tony Ya and others.

Rok is a world-renowned stunt coordinator with 45 years of experience in stunts and the film industry. He has worked as an actor, producer and action director. Although he currently works mostly as a stunt coordinator, he still works as a stuntman. He has been sharing his knowledge and skills with generations of stuntmen and stuntwomen, and has participated in countless world productions, of which Schindler’s List, Patriot, No Man’s Land, Diana and the Expendables franchise make some of the best known titles to wider audience.

Danijel is a senior sports recreation coach by profession. He has 26 years of experience in the Croatian Army, and has recently retired. He has been involved in sports all his life (taekwondo, half-marathon running), and he was also a champion in the military triathlon and military pentathlon. He started doing stunts 22 years ago on the film Man called rage. Since then, he has worked on over 30 projects, he has collaborated with the most famous Hollywood actors such as Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Jason Statham, Megan Fox, 50 cent, Robert De Niro and many others.

Stella is a student of physiotherapy, was involved in gymnastics and athletics, and was introduced to stunts by her father, a stuntman himself. In the past two years, she participated in six projects, in one of which she was a stunt double for the main actress throughout the entire film. Known for: Jack Ryan, FBI International, Tin Soldier, Canary Black, Gora, O’dessa

Always inclined to pushing her own limits, Christine has been involved in various sports since she was a child, and was involved in ballet, archery, horse riding, climbing, parachuting and many others before graduating from the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb. She owns her own business for body care and works as a sport climbing coach. She was most intensively engaged in industrial climbing during her studies, when she entered the world of stunts. She is currently the president of the stunt branch at the Filmmakers Association of Croatia.

Master of editing, worked in almost all positions in the film production process and related media – producer, executive producer, line producer, director, 2nd director, editor, scenographer, designer, consultant in the last 39 years of work. He collaborated on the Law on AV Activities and the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, various regulations, statutes in the field of media and culture. He has been dealing with safety on set for several years. He held the position of secretary and chairman of the Court of Honor of the Filmmakers Association of Croatia (HDFD), and is currently the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the HDFD, a member of the Coordination of Film Authors’ Associations and teaches production at Algebra University. The highest achieved positions are in co-productions: Key 2. AD, 2. Unit Director, line producer za Hallmark / Silver star ltd. i Head of production za Ridley Scott Associates

Željko is an award-winning athlete with significant results in world competitions and a proud father of two children. He has successfully transferred his passion for gymnastics and fitness training to the world of stunts, where he has gained recognition as one of the most experienced Croatian stuntmen. In 2000, he was hired by Pat E Johnson as a stunt double for the character Gaston. He has woven his skills and dedication into numerous national and international productions.As a member of the Filmmakers Association of Croatia, the Association of Stuntmen and the Croatian Stunt Team CST, he contributes to the community of stuntmen with his expertise and experience. Throughout his career, he has also been engaged in marketing and organizational activities.Željko created the idea of the Festival and he performs the function of professional and creative program consultant and coordinator of organizational and promotional activities at the Festival.

Multiple award-winning film and TV director, author of the most significant action film about the Homeland War, graduated in 2001 from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. He won his first awards as a debutant (“Sigurna kuća”, at the Days of Croatian Film and as part of the omnibus “24 sata” at the Pula Film Festival in 2002). He completed his first feature film “Živi i mrtvi” in 2007 based on the script and book by Josip Mlakić. In the same year, the film won 8 “Golden Arenas” at the festival in Pula, and after that the film won 8 more awards outside of Croatia. The film was distributed on DVD and/or Blue-Ray in 7 countries (Japan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium). From 2007-2019 he collaborated on 6 television soap operas (“Ne daj se, Nina!”, “Najbolje godine”, “Larin izbor”, “Kud puklo da puklo”, “Zlatni dvori” and “Pogrešan čovjek”) and the drama series “Emergency 94”. In 2012, he directed six episodes of the series “Počivali u miru”. For the fourth episode of that series, he received the Croatian Actor’s Award for the best directorial achievement in a TV drama. In 2014, he completed his second feature film “Broj 55”, which again won 8 “Golden Arenas” at the festival in Pula (best film, direction, screenplay, editing, scenography, costume design, mask, and special effects) and three more awards at the Vukovar Film Festival. In 2017, he shot his third feature film “Mrtve ribe”, again based on the script and book by Josip Mlakić.

Slaven started his career as a stuntman in 1986, when he was involved in the Dirty Dozen (MGM/VA) TV series, which was filmed in Zagreb for several months. Since then, he has participated in numerous international and Croatian projects, and has collaborated with world-famous stunt coordinators. In 1990, he became a regular member of the Filmmakers Association of Croatia, between 2000 and 2003 he was the president of the stunt section of the Association and today he leads the members of the stunt section and the Croatian Stunt Organization.

Matija is a professional stuntman and film worker with fourteen years of experience in the audiovisual and entertainment industry. Born in Zagreb, Matija grew up working with racehorses on the family ranch. At the age of 16, he began to compete professionally in endurance riding and harness races. At the age of 18, Matija began to specialize in handling weapons and joined stunt profession. Today, he is a specialist in working with horses, full bodz burning and falls. Today he is a secretary of Croatian Stunt Organization, member of Filmmakers Association of Croatia, professional stuntman, horse department and SFX crew member.

Matija is the record holder for the longest ride on the head (4.3 km) and is the European record holder for the longest ride on the front wheel. He is the winner of numerous championships, among others he was the champion of the world competition in Bulgaria, the champion at the European competition in Hungary, 3x champion of Germany, 2x champion of Austria and 6x champion of Croatia. His videos have 400 million views, which speaks best of the attractiveness of his rides and his skill on two wheels.

Ivo graduated in geotechnics at the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering in Zagreb and worked for several years on various mining sites in Croatia. During his studies he also developed as a free climber. After a couple of jobs outside the profession, he was self-employed as a height worker and did his first stunt job in 2008, as a key stunt rigger, without even realizing it. He officially entered stunt profession in 2009 as a co-founder of the Croatian Stunt Society. His specialty is stunt rigging, but he also performs burns, falls, and other stunts as needed, and he was also a stunt double.

Ilir Smakici entered the world of action through boxing, where he gained his foundations, and by working on various projects, including the Hollywood action film “Expend4bles”, he is upgrading his stunt skills. His desire is to inspire and delight viewers all over the world through his work, and he is especially looking forward to “celebrating the art of action together at this festival”.

Goran spent his childhood in Osijek, where he gained his master’s degree. After graduation, he moved to the USA where he became an actor, stuntman, fight choreographer and stunt coordinator. He has been active in film industry since and has done over 70 films. He was a guest lecturer at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, where he presented his program for student-actors, which was enthusiastically received. He is dedicated to writing and travels around the world shooting films. In martial arts, he was the coach of the Croatian kickboxing team and the American taekwondo team. He was a fitness coach for the Croatian junior volleyball team.

Carl comes from Germany and is one of the most award-winning European stuntmen. He won 3 Taurus awards (world stunt award), in 2009, 2012 and 2017. Since 1999, he has also been a stunt coordinator, and coordinated about 200 episodes of the popular and acclaimed series “Cobra 11”. As a stunt coordinator, stuntman and precision driver, he participated in numerous international productions such as „Rush“, „Dunkirk“, „Collide“, „Shanghai Job“, „Canary Black“

Saša Vuk, associate professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, has been dedicated to stunt work and acting as a member of the Filmmakers Association of Croatia for almost two decades. His extensive experience spans over various media platforms, including films, series, music videos, commercials and live performances, while his professional skills, such as choreographed stage fights, acrobatics, weapon work, skydiving and acting, leave a lasting mark on the film industry. He has participated in more than 50 projects.