Animation in Croatia
Despite its wealth of artistic talent, the Croatian animation industry faces systemic challenges that are stalling its growth—leaving many professionals feeling frustrated and under-supported.
World-class artists, weak pipeline
Among the main challenges facing the Croatian animation industry are its fragile production ecosystem, limited industry infrastructure and a disconnect between artistic training and commercial ambitions.
Croatia has produced many animated classics over the decades, from Professor Balthazar and Inspector Mask to Maxi Cat and The Little Flying Bears, but all of these were produced before 1995.
One of the core challenges in recent times has been education. Most young Croatian animators are trained at the Academy of Fine Arts, where they are encouraged to focus on their own artistic pieces. This has led to highly individualistic graduates capable of creating distinctively personal films, but without the collaborative skills needed for professional production pipelines.
This has led to a situation where the Croatian animation sector has huge amounts of artistic talent, but struggles to meet the basic staffing needs of animation studios, especially for collaborative or outsourced work.
Nevertheless, Croatia is becoming an increasingly active participant in European coproductions, particularly with Western European partners, which display producers’ expertise in post-production, sound design, music and editorial craft. Meanwhile, Croatian talent has been recognised at top-tier festivals such as Annecy and prestigious awards including the Emile and César Awards.
Family Portrait (2023) by Lea Vidakovic, Eeva (2022) by Lucija Mrzljak, Cyclists (2018) by Veljko Popović and Cricket & Antoinette (2023) by Luka Rukavina are works that demonstrate not just artistic merit but also the growing capability of Croatian teams to manage complex, international projects.
Croatia is a hugely popular destination for high-end TV dramas and Hollywood feature films—ranging from House of the Dragon to Star Wars: The Last Jedi—however, this popularity as a filming location has not translated into greater demand for local animation talent.
Financial sustainability remains elusive for many animation studios. Without consistent access to coproductions or new revenue streams, Croatian studios often face an uncertain future despite their artistic accomplishments.
Bright spots as gaming industry grows
A studio in Split, led by award-winning director Veljko Popović, is contributing to major streaming production in collaboration with a game development company. However, this remains an exception rather than a norm, and the team still faces difficulties staffing the project due to the overall lack of trained animators.
Funding remains a double-edged sword. Croatia does have a dedicated support system through the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), which allocates approximately €500,000 annually for animated shorts, plus an additional €100,000 for development. This funding is a vital lifeline, but with most shorts receiving just €45,000, it is far from enough to sustain a competitive industry. Feature-length projects are rare and none of the Croatian animation companies can offer full-time contracts.
Most artists work on a project-by-project basis, making financial stability elusive. Game companies, by contrast, are often the only entities that can afford to hire animators full-time. As a result, many graduates shift to gaming, where salaries are more attractive and the market more robust.
Television offers local producers little in the way of support. The Croatian national television broadcaster, HRT, invests too little in children’s animation to support high-quality local productions and instead prioritizes international acquisitions. Other forms of animation, including adult content or experimental work, receive no meaningful support from local broadcasters.
Under-funded, under-resourced
Croatia offers a 25–30% rebate on eligible production costs, including animation, but few animation projects benefit—mainly because there are no domestic service studios equipped to handle large-scale work.
Events like Animafest Zagreb provide essential networking opportunities and international exposure, especially for emerging artists, while initiatives like pitching lab Rise & Shine help connect young filmmakers with potential coproducers. However, the festival’s focus remains artistic rather than commercial, limiting its impact on the industry’s financial sustainability.
AI is beginning to shape workflows in the Croatian animation space, particularly in administrative tasks and project planning. However, its use in artistic processes remains cautious, with concerns around originality, intellectual property and job security still prominent.
Croatia’s animation industry remains under-funded, under-resourced and lacking in a cohesive national strategy. It produces world-class artists, but lacks the institutional support to build a sustainable production ecosystem. Addressing gaps in education, funding, and industry development will be critical if the country is to turn its artistic strengths into a commercially viable animation sector.
Despite its wealth of artistic talent, the Croatian animation industry faces systemic challenges that are stalling its growth—leaving many professionals feeling frustrated and under-supported.
World-class artists, weak pipeline
Among the main challenges facing the Croatian animation industry are its fragile production ecosystem, limited industry infrastructure and a disconnect between artistic training and commercial ambitions.
Croatia has produced many animated classics over the decades, from Professor Balthazar and Inspector Mask to Maxi Cat and The Little Flying Bears, but all of these were produced before 1995.
One of the core challenges in recent times has been education. Most young Croatian animators are trained at the Academy of Fine Arts, where they are encouraged to focus on their own artistic pieces. This has led to highly individualistic graduates capable of creating distinctively personal films, but without the collaborative skills needed for professional production pipelines.
This has led to a situation where the Croatian animation sector has huge amounts of artistic talent, but struggles to meet the basic staffing needs of animation studios, especially for collaborative or outsourced work.
Nevertheless, Croatia is becoming an increasingly active participant in European coproductions, particularly with Western European partners, which display producers’ expertise in post-production, sound design, music and editorial craft. Meanwhile, Croatian talent has been recognised at top-tier festivals such as Annecy and prestigious awards including the Emile and César Awards.
Family Portrait (2023) by Lea Vidakovic, Eeva (2022) by Lucija Mrzljak, Cyclists (2018) by Veljko Popović and Cricket & Antoinette (2023) by Luka Rukavina are works that demonstrate not just artistic merit but also the growing capability of Croatian teams to manage complex, international projects.
Croatia is a hugely popular destination for high-end TV dramas and Hollywood feature films—ranging from House of the Dragon to Star Wars: The Last Jedi—however, this popularity as a filming location has not translated into greater demand for local animation talent.
Financial sustainability remains elusive for many animation studios. Without consistent access to coproductions or new revenue streams, Croatian studios often face an uncertain future despite their artistic accomplishments.
Bright spots as gaming industry grows
A studio in Split, led by award-winning director Veljko Popović, is contributing to major streaming production in collaboration with a game development company. However, this remains an exception rather than a norm, and the team still faces difficulties staffing the project due to the overall lack of trained animators.
Funding remains a double-edged sword. Croatia does have a dedicated support system through the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), which allocates approximately €500,000 annually for animated shorts, plus an additional €100,000 for development. This funding is a vital lifeline, but with most shorts receiving just €45,000, it is far from enough to sustain a competitive industry. Feature-length projects are rare and none of the Croatian animation companies can offer full-time contracts.
Most artists work on a project-by-project basis, making financial stability elusive. Game companies, by contrast, are often the only entities that can afford to hire animators full-time. As a result, many graduates shift to gaming, where salaries are more attractive and the market more robust.
Television offers local producers little in the way of support. The Croatian national television broadcaster, HRT, invests too little in children’s animation to support high-quality local productions and instead prioritizes international acquisitions. Other forms of animation, including adult content or experimental work, receive no meaningful support from local broadcasters.
Under-funded, under-resourced
Croatia offers a 25–30% rebate on eligible production costs, including animation, but few animation projects benefit—mainly because there are no domestic service studios equipped to handle large-scale work.
Events like Animafest Zagreb provide essential networking opportunities and international exposure, especially for emerging artists, while initiatives like pitching lab Rise & Shine help connect young filmmakers with potential coproducers. However, the festival’s focus remains artistic rather than commercial, limiting its impact on the industry’s financial sustainability.
AI is beginning to shape workflows in the Croatian animation space, particularly in administrative tasks and project planning. However, its use in artistic processes remains cautious, with concerns around originality, intellectual property and job security still prominent.
Croatia’s animation industry remains under-funded, under-resourced and lacking in a cohesive national strategy. It produces world-class artists, but lacks the institutional support to build a sustainable production ecosystem. Addressing gaps in education, funding, and industry development will be critical if the country is to turn its artistic strengths into a commercially viable animation sector.
HRUP
Croatian producers association, founded in 2003, today has 84 members delegated from the ranks of movie professionals and graduate producers of the Academy of dramatic art.
Its main objective is systematic production improvements in audiovisual field of work, Croatian film and film profession in general. It collaborates with other professional associations and government institutions related to film production.
Its goal is the protection of film profession as a whole as well as the regulation of professional standards in the field. The important goals it aspires to achieve with its work are: the concern about the quality of work, the protection of the producers rights, raising public awareness about the importance of film and other audiovisual works as an important segment of our national culture.
In addition, as an association of producers, it strives to provide its members with legal, moral and operational protection in the production of films and other audiovisual works.