Leipzig's Golden Dove flew towards Peacemaker

By the decision of the jury composed of Heleen Gerritsen, Alain Kassanda, Annie Ohayon Dekel, Kazuhiro Soda, and Jim Stark, the Croatian documentary film Peacemaker, directed by Ivan Ramljak and produced by Factum, has been awarded the Golden Dove in the category International Documentary Film at the prestigious A-list festival DOK Leipzig in Germany.

“A film that addresses specific events in a specific region carries a universal message. Through archival materials, the director has told the story of the murder of a police chief in Slavonia — a man who, until the very end, believed that war between Croats and Serbs could be avoided,” stated the members of the jury when presenting the Golden Dove to Peacemaker.

DOK Leipzig (International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film), held continuously since 1955, is the oldest and one of the most important film festivals in the world dedicated to documentary and animated cinema. Renowned for its politically engaged and socially relevant programming, the festival annually brings together hundreds of film professionals from around the globe and attracts an audience of around 40,000 viewers.

Recognized as one of the most significant documentary film festivals in Europe, DOK Leipzig’s award further underscores the importance of this recognition for the film, created by a team including director and screenwriter Ivan Ramljak, producer Nenad Puhovski, co-screenwriters Drago Hedl and Hrvoje Zovko, editor Damir Čučić, and cinematographer Srđan Kovačević. The film makes extensive use of exceptionally valuable archival footage from Croatian Television (HRT).

Since its world premiere at ZagrebDox, Peacemaker has achieved remarkable success at Croatian festivals, winning nine awards across five film festivals, including the Grand Golden Arena for Best Film at the Pula Film Festival.