Libertas (film) - Production

Production

The film had a remarkably long and troubled development history. In a 1992 competition for funding by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, the film was accepted under the working title "Project Libertas". However, personal and political animosities towards the director kept the project in limbo for eight years. By 2000, Bulajić had recruited Ivo Brešan, Mirko Kovač and Feđa Šehović as screenwriters, as well as Vlado Ožbolt as a scenographer, but had not yet decided on the cast. At the time, the film's budget was estimated at HRK 12 million (US$ 1.4 million), and the start of the shooting was planned for late 2000.

The shooting started only in spring 2003, and almost immediately ran into delays and various other problems. Contrary to earlier agreement, the City of Dubrovnik refused to pay for extras' expenses. By May, the shooting was behind schedule due to director's illness and hospitalization, and there were reports - denied by Aleksandar Črček, the film's producer - that the cast and the crew were not being paid.

The financial difficulties ultimately stopped the filming, and the entire project was in serious jeopardy until the Government of Croatia intervened with a HRK 3.6 million financial guarantee that revived the production activities. The filming was finally completed on April 22, 2005, more than two years after the start, and was followed by post-production in Zagreb and Rome.