Annual Vladimir Nazor Award Goes to Silvestar Kolbas

Silvestar Kolbas is the winner of the annual Vladimir Nazor Award for Film Art for 2011. Kolbas has been awarded for his medium-length documentary War Reporter, produced by Factum.

The annual Vladimir Nazor Award is given by the Republic of Croatia to individual artists for the best works artistic achievements that have been published, exhibited, screened or performed in the past year, as well as to a group of artists for collective artistic achievements. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to prominent artists whose artistic achievements have left mark on the time they worked in, whose creative path is complete and whose works remain as the permanent good of the Republic of Croatia.

I am very proud and excited. To me, Nazor Award is as recognition for an exceptional artistic achievement. As much as we try, it sometimes happens and sometimes it doesn't. It happened to me now, probably once in my life. War Reporter is a result of a time-consuming work, energy and love of many people, from producer Nenad Puhovski, diligent editors, archivists and numerous and unselfish "ordinary people" to my patient family and the people whose destinies are embedded in this film. I am grateful to all of them. Nazor Award is recognition to all of them, too. Without them, I would never – and I mean never – be able to make this film, said Silvestar Kolbas.

This award makes us very happy, particularly when we know that the last such thing took place ten years ago – in 2001, when Biljana Čakić Veselič received the award for her documentary The Boy Who Rushed, also produced by Factum, said Factum's director Nenad Puhovski.

Vladimir Nazor Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film Art went to film theoretician and critic Hrvoje Turković.