Film stars in Istria

Croatia is already widely known as a sought-after tourist destination. Thanks to its natural wealth, beautiful and very diverse landscapes, but also its long and rich history and culture, it attracts visitors from all over the world. However, what may often be forgotten is that these same assets, attract not only foreign tourists, but also foreign film production. Wide known filmmakers have long discovered that Croatia can offer a variety of natural scenery for filmmaking: mountain regions, plains, lakes, canyons, sea, islands… but also Croatian cities with their centuries-old history and architecture represent sought-after scenography in the ideas of many directors and film producers. From the recent film history, we can easily recall the Dubrovnik city walls, where the Game of Thrones was filmed, and every year thousands and thousands of tourists come to Dubrovnik just to walk around the same city where their favourite actors and characters from the mentioned series walked.

In terms of film, Istria certainly does not lag behind the rest of Croatia: thanks to its charming small towns, superb architecture and beautiful landscapes, Istria is a very common place for films, and apart from itself, Istria often “plays” French Provence, Italian Tuscany or Sicily, the Wild West and even Viking settlements on film. It would probably be impossible to list all the films and all the great world names that were filmed in Istria and Kvarner, but in this text we will try to single out some of the most famous actors that have have visited our largest peninsula on business.

The interior of Istria as Provence

Gérard Depardieu, Michael York and Nastassja Kinski visited Draguć, a photogenic town in the interior of Istria, during the filming of the series La Femme Musketeer (2004). The town attracted so many filmmakers with its location and, above all, its antique architecture that it earned the nickname “Istrian Hollywood”.
Draguć played France, as well as the town of Vižinada, which served as the backdrop for the film Kelly’s Heroes (1970), a World War II wartime comedy starring Clint Eastwood, while Donald Sutherland appeared in a supporting role.

Rovinj and Opatija – Star Cities

Not only did the interior of Istria attract foreign film productions, cities by the sea are also highly sought after locations for filming, starting with Rovinj, which Daniel Craig visited in 2015 as James Bond, the most famous secret agent, shooting a beer commercial. Recently, in Rovinj, Hollywood stars Salma Hayek, Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds were spotted taking breaks from the shooting of the action comedy Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2019). And apart from Rovinj, this well-known film crew toured all over Istria and Kvarner – shooting in Rijeka, Motovun, Vodnjan, Buje… and sharing their enthusiasm for Istria on social media every day.
Let’s not forget Opatija, which was visited by big names such as Vanessa Redgrave, filming Isadora (1968), a biographical film about the dancer Isadora Duncan, Naomi Watts, who visited the Opatija Riviera in 2013 in the role of the late British Princess Diana in the film of the same name, or Mads Mikkelsen, who shot the action film Move on in this Istrian town.

Istria as a magical backdrop

In addition to the urban scenery and beautiful architecture, Istria is also breathtaking to actors, directors and spectators, so the film Long Ships directed by Oscar winner Jack Cardiff was shot in Lim Bay, while the surroundings of Pula served as a place of shipwreck – Nicolas Cage was stranded on Cape Kamenjak in the role of a crusader in the film Season of the Witch (2011).
Walking through Istrian towns or nature, there is a good chance that you are following in the footsteps of Hollywood stars. And if you need a place to stay in between visiting movie sets take a look at the Molo Longo agency website.