Abstract

Something over ninety movies have been produced in Hvar since the first saved amateur film by Maximilian Paspa in 1932, either as part of or as full editions of movies or documentary works. More than forty foreign productions were filmed in Dalmatia during the pre-Second World War period. Hvar has been the chosen location for two documentarists and representatives of the Culture Film – Urlich Schulz (The Sea Creatures in the Adriatic Bays and Fjords of South Dalmatia) released in 1934 – and two blockbusters, The Coral Princess and The Impossible Mr Pitt. Ćiro Gamulin, the first known Hvar amateur filmmaker, made the first Hvar island mosaic film “Jelšanski slikopis” (Jelsa Photo Painting) 1939–1941. Most films became part of the “collective memory” and local people from the island took on secondary roles or took part as extra walk-ins. Though the island’s territory has been exploited many a time as a stand-in for other nameless locations, the scenes and sites are still attractive to the contemporary audience. According to historian Duško Kečkemet, cinema made its first appearance in Stari Grad in 1916. (Kečkemet D. Počeci kinematografije i filma u Dalmaciji. Muzej Grada Splita, Split, 1969, 130) In the appendix, one can find the listing of all known movies or film documentaries filmed either completely or in part on the island of Hvar.