3/11/97 Contact: Rajko Grlic, 614/593-1323
ATHENS, Ohio -- Three feature films written and directed by Ohio University Eminent Scholar of Film and Croatian-born filmmaker Rajko Grlic (RYE-ko GRILL-ich) are available on video for the first time in the United States.
The acclaimed films, "Charuga," "In the Jaws of Life" and "The Melody Haunts My Reverie," are among the seven feature films written and directed by Grlic. The films are available for rental at Magic Video in Athens.
Grlic, who joined Ohio University's School of Film faculty in September 1993, also has written more than a dozen short films and documentaries. His only English-language feature film, "That Summer of White Roses" (1989), has been available on video since he arrived in Athens.
Screened at a number of prominent international film festivals, "Charuga" (1991) was awarded best actor and best actress awards at the first Croatian Film festival and received the "Golden Arenas" at the Pula Film Festival in the former Yugoslavia. It tells the true story of the Croatian Robin Hood of the 1920s, an ex-soldier who tries to bring revolution to his homeland but ends up robbing people in the process.
"In the Jaws of Life" (1985) is a comedy that blends the stories of a middle-aged woman filmmaker and an office clerk, both looking for love. It was named the "Best Yugoslav Film" the year it was released. Among several other awards, it won the "Bronze Palm" at the Valencia Film Festival, and was screened at many U.S. film festivals, including in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Washington-based film critic Mark Jenkins recommended the film as "one of the best of the year."
Grlic's "The Melody Haunts My Reverie" (1981) is the story of an idealistic war hero whose life and ideals crumble after he falls in love with a middle-class ballerina. The film, which was a large popular success in the former Yugoslavia, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and won two European Grand Prix awards.
The films are distributed by Chicago-based Facets Video.