925 to 2025 – New Film by Croatian Film Institute That Leaves Croatians Gleaming With Pride and Others Amazed at New Knowledge About Croatians’ Indelible Contribution to the Modern World Throughout the Ages

“This film is a dedication to the 1100th anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom by the Croatian Film Institute and to patriots who love their homeland and their Croatian people, aware that the holy spirit of the nation unites the past, present and future,” says the beginning of this new film by the USA-based Croatian Film Institute. The film was directed and produced by Nikola Knez, director of photography David Knez, with a screenplay by Dr Dorothy McClellan, music editor Kristian Matias Knez, and co-produced by Damir O. Rados.

In this film (currently Croatian language version), the glory of Croatia’s first king, King Tomislav, and the strong Kingdom of Croatia he built, as well as his magnificent defeat of the warring aggressive Huns in the 10^th century, come alive in ways that leave anyone with even a drop of Croatian blood in their roots gleaming with pride. Furthermore, in this film, the glorious legacy of King Tomislav can be interpreted as having breathed life into the brilliance of many inventors who have left an indelible impact on world history and progress and who are also presented in this film.  

It is, by all accounts and as presented in this film, a lineage of greatness and ingenuity, both historical and modern-day.

Photography did not exist in the 10^th century. Artists and their canvases did, although the works preserved are scarce and not always appropriate for the historical events one might wish to present to today’s audience. In a fascinating convergence of history and artificial intelligence, researchers and filmmakers can now use sophisticated AI systems to bring historical figures back to life or create living history that has never been shown before.

With the Croatian Film Institute’s evidently masterful use of AI, we are treated to a splendid visual presentation of how, in the tenth century, the Croatian Kingdom went about uniting people and courageously fought its enemies. The visuals, although imagined most skilfully, are also most plausible. Historical records on King Tomislav and his times are extremely scarce, but there are 10th-century papal letters and Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus’s De administrando imperio, which document Tomislav’s alliance with Byzantium and victories against Bulgarian and Hungarian forces. These two irrefutable historical sources serve as a credible guide for recreating that history as it was, or as close to it as possible. This, of course, depends on the skills and knowledge of those instructing the AI. This film is, in my opinion, an excellent example of how human knowledge and skills can use artificial intelligence technology to bring before us the realistic tenth century.

This film broadens historical knowledge in a dynamic fashion. It is comforting and exciting to imagine an eclectic bunch of passionate historians, filmmakers and AI professionals working on this piece of Croatian history who have taken the time and effort to research and delineate the topic of the first Croatian Kingdom during the tail end of the Early Middle Ages, its strength and its glory, into the film format, the modern world can watch even on YouTube.

This is an art form – one which is to be respected, because quite weighty historical topics, such as “our beginnings/ our roots”, that are often abstract and invisible, are introduced into the visual realm of learning at its very best. This film brings King Tomislav and 10th-century Croatia to life, making it a perfect format for learning about history, particularly for today’s AI-mindful youth.

Besides King Tomislav in this film, the viewer also briefly meets many of the famous and renowned Croats who have, through the ages, made an indelible impact on the growth and progress of mankind. These include  Benedict Kotruljevic (founder of modern accounting), Nikola Subic Zrinski (heroic battles against the occupying Ottoman Empire), Faust Vrancic(inventor of parachute technology), Joza Batalekov (inventor of men’s tie, cravat), Rudjer Josip Boskovic ( Father of modern atomic theory), Vatroslav Lisinski (composer of the first Croatian opera), Ivan Vukic (invented the torpedo), Nikola Tesla (electromagnetic field, induction coil and more), Josip Belusic (inventor electrical speedometer), Ivan Vucetic (inventor of fingerprint technology), Ante Supuk (first hydroelectric power plant in Europe after Nikola Tesla’s Niagara one), David Schwarz (inventor of  airship with metal armour, precursor to the Zeppelin), Anton Lucic and Anthony Lucas (Founded modern oil well engineering, thus transforming the world economy), Franjo Hanaman (Invention of the first electric light bulb), Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (inventor of the first fountain pen), Marcel the Noble Kiepach (maritime compass and dynamo for vehicle lighting), Ambroz Matija Gubec (revolutionary leader of peasant uprising for freedom), Lavoslav Ruzicka (1939 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry), John A. Miskovich (best known for inventing water cannon for firefighting and hydraulic gold mining), Mario Puratic (invented a winch for pulling nets out of the sea thus increasing the catch of fish by 300%), Zlata Bartl (inventor of Vegeta, the most popular savoury cooking seasoning), Ivo Andric (1961 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), Vladimir Prelog (1975 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry), Tomislav Uzelac (software programmer inventor MPEG audio decoder used for MP3 player, Apple iPod),  Marin Soljacic (inventor of wireless transmission of electricity), Mate Rimac (manufacturer of fastest electric car in the world), Paul L. Modrich (2015 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry), John Martinis (2025 Nobel Prize winner in Physics).

This trove of knowledge also makes this film particularly suitable for educating both children and adults seeking to deepen their understanding of the pivotal roles Croats have played in the development of the modern world as we know it. Ina Vukic

The film can be seen here: