Zagreb, Croatia doubled for "over 30 different cities" says film office

Over the last few years, Croatia’s capital city Zagreb, has evolved into a desirable location for filming due to its unique 1000 years-old charm, diverse socialist-modernism architecture and stunning natural scenery of various city parks, lakes, and a mountain 'behind' the city.

In the last decade, the city transformed to double for over 30 different cities around the world including Prag, Vienna, Moskow, London, Tel Aviv, Portofino and many others, Mia Pećina Drašković, head of Zagreb Film Office tells KFTV. However, Drašković teases that their biggest success is coming in 2024 with the release of the action thriller Canary Black – where Zagreb plays... Zagreb.

It is little known that some Oscar-winning films were shot in the city as well, such as the American film Sofia's Choice directed by Alan Pakula, for which actress Meryl Streep won an Oscar, and the German film Tin Drum by V. Schlöndorff, which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1979. In 1962, the screen adaptation of Kafka's The Process directed by the legendary director Orson Welles.

Filmmaking in Zagreb

In 2019 Zagreb Film Office (ZFO) opened its doors, which simplified bureaucracy and made filming in Zagreb even more attractive. ZFO is the first step for all your needs when filming in Zagreb and we are here 24/7 for your next project.

Croatia's attractive rebate of 25%+5%, improved levels of excellent service and highly professional crew members, combined with excellent cooperation with ZFO helped put Zagreb on an international map for commercials, TV series and film productions.

Project highlights

STRIKE BACK, SERIES (season 8) – BBC/HBO
HITMANS WIFE'S BODYGUARD – dir. Patrick Hughes
DAY BY DAY – dir. Felix Herngren
MEDICAL POLICE, SERIES 2020 - Netflix
E-FORMULA RACE, ZAGREB
DER KROATIEN KRIMI, SERIES – Disney+
THE IPCRESS FILE, SERIES - ITV, UK
KRASS KLASSENFAHRT – dir. Felix Charin
HAMILTON – dir. Thomas Kail
CLARK, SERIES – Netflix
SPOTIFY UNTOLD, SERIES - Netflix
CAMINO – dir. Brigitte Staermose
HOTEL PORTOFINO Season 2 - britbox
CANARY BLACK – dir. Pierre Morel
TVC -COCA COLA, GOOGLE, SAMSUNG, ZALANDO, VW, PLAY STATION

Attractive film incentives

Financial incentive for Film and TV productions shooting in Croatia is available to international and local filmmakers in the form of a rebate of 25% on qualifying Croatian spending. An additional 5% is approved for productions filming in regions with below average development which can be found around Zagreb within 2h drive.

Crew and infrastructure

Set in the heart of Europe - a bridge between east and west traditions, and a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area - Zagreb boasts a substantial film production history, high-quality flexible English-speaking crews, and a stunning array of locations. The variety of landscapes covers river and lakes and northern mountains to parks and bursting city history dating back over 1000 years.

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