Split is an indisputably cinematic city. The combination of Roman, Byzantian, Venetian, Austro-Hungarian and Socialist architecture, natural landscapes and the special light at dusk and dawn by the sea makes of its modest territory a possible scene of various film narratives. Such an emblematic city carries visual reminiscence from the past but also presently creates original imagery that reflects in eye´s memory.
Two possible doors to the past are the collection of Classic and Modern paintings from local artists in the Fine Arts Gallery (Galerija umjetnina Split) and the film collection of the Cinema club (Kino Klub Split). While the present, inevitably mingled with historic ruins, is all around. And here are some actual and possible film genres that an obsessed by cinema visitor would recognize and foresee around the streets, secret places and cultural depots of Split:
An epic by the sea…
Procession, Juraj Plancic,1929, Fine Arts Gallery collection
…or a Russian mafia thriller by the yacht port;
Yachts at the port of Split
Historical drama in ancient Rome…
View from Mestrovic Gallery, www.lidija-photo.com
…a touristy comedy about a love triange between “raiders of the lost Diocletian” …
The peristyle of Diocletian´s Palace in a hot crowded day
…or a Monthy Python style parody of popular historic myths and legends;
A “Roman soldier” at his kebap lunch break
A fantasy epic cult serial…
A still from Game of Thrones shot in Split
…or its making documentary that would tempt TV fans to recognize filming locations;
A probable Game of Thrones scenes hunter
A new version of the Merchant of Venice…
Trg Republike square inspired by the Venetian San Marco
…or a Sissi type of costume melodrama praising the glorious times of Austria-Hungary;
Croatian National Theatre in Split built in 1893
Split could be a set for a Mediterranean family saga…
Laundry in the old town
…a cheerful “comedy of manners” around local pubs…
Bacchanal, Ignat Job, 1930, Fine Arts Gallery collection
…or a silent comedy by an expressionist filmmaker;
A still from The Grand Duke’s Finances, 1924, by F. W. Murnau shot in Split
But also a claustrophobic political utopia with a modern Kafkaesque touch…
Black Flag, Ljubo Babic,1918, Fine Arts Gallery collection
… a black comedy about lost generations and drug addiction…
The public phone that Marija Skaricic´s heroine in A Wonderful Night in Split (2004, Arsen Anton Ostojić) uses to call her drug dealer
… a gloomy experimental arthouse film…
A still from Dead Day by Ivan Martinac, 1965, Cinema club Split collection
… or a documentary observation in a rainy afternoon.
A view from Kavana Bellevue
And all these possible cinematic universes could be have their glorious premieres at the two very right places for that:
Zlatna vrata cinemateque Kino klub Split
Any genre missing?