Her documentary was presented at Cannes this year and included in the ERIAC catalog, and now the 28-year-old director has been selected for the prestigious Sarajevo Film Festival program.
Lucija Marčec, a 28-year-old director from Čakovec, has achieved a series of international successes that position her as one of the most intriguing names among the younger generation of Croatian filmmakers. Her documentary was included in the ERIAC catalog this year and presented at the Cannes Film Festival, and she has also been selected for the prestigious Sarajevo Talents program, which takes place as part of the Sarajevo Film Festival in collaboration with the Berlinale.
Marčec earned her master's degree in journalism in 2022 and graduated in film directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb in 2025. However, her first encounter with the world of film happened quite by chance, right in her hometown of Čakovec.
"My first encounter with film was completely accidental. I ended up as an assistant on the set of Vanja Nikolić's film 'Kaže se Čakovec.' At the time, I was already working as a television journalist and was dissatisfied with the limited space I had for researching topics and expressing myself. That life on set opened up something entirely new for me," Marčec recalled.
Although she is primarily a director today, she emphasizes that her journalistic experience provided her with essential tools for working in film. "Journalism gave me the tools to research topics that interest me. At some point, I realized that it was important for me not just to present things informatively, but to interpret them and bring my own authorial approach," she explained.
She describes the transition from one medium to another as a natural process. "The shift from journalism to film happened very organically. It felt very natural to me. Journalism gives you a moment of understanding the world around you, and that's crucial for film," said Marčec.
Speaking about her experience studying at the Academy of Dramatic Art, Marčec reflected on an important moment for her generation, the student protests against abuse and unacceptable patterns of behavior within artistic institutions. "I am very proud of my generation and the student movement that took place. I believe it is commendable that students had the courage to stand up against such things," she said.
Today, she works as a freelancer, and her roles on projects range from director and assistant director to producer. "I mostly work on fiction, documentary, or commercial projects. My role can be director, assistant director, production assistant, executive producer, or producer. A shooting day lasts 12 hours. Equipment and people are expensive; everything is paid per day, so you try to shoot as much as possible. Of course, it's demanding work, but I think you have to be a certain kind of fanatic to do this full-time," she described.
Despite the demanding pace, she believes in the power of storytelling. "I still believe in that," she added, referring to her conviction that film and journalism can change the world.
Her first major professional success came at the Pula Film Festival, where her documentary in progress won in the "Films in Progress" category. This was followed by recognition and presentations of the project at festivals such as Beldocs, ZagrebDox, Makedox, and the Ji.Hlava festival.
"We tried to secure full funding and sought support wherever we could. In the end, we managed to close the financing completely, and it also brought us international recognition," Marčec said of her graduate film, which was made on a very limited budget.
This year, Marčec is the only Croatian among the directors selected for the Sarajevo Talents program. "This year, I am the only Croatian among the directors in that selection. That makes me very happy because the selection is based on projects and scripts that have not yet been realized. It's a sign that it makes sense to work on projects that are still sitting in a drawer," she emphasized.
Although she lives and works in Zagreb, Marčec remains strongly connected to Međimurje. She believes that local audiences outside the capital rarely have the opportunity to see contemporary Croatian productions. "I think local audiences very rarely get the chance to see what is actually being done in the domestic film industry, and there are many quality projects out there," she said.
At the end of the conversation, she emphasized what she considers key to filmmaking. "Film is a highly collective product. It's not about a single director transferring their vision to the screen; everyone has an equal stake in the final product. It's teamwork, and it's never the credit of one person," Marčec concluded.
