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Croatia in Dub

Croatia in Dub is a documentary that follows an unlikely musical encounter between centuries-old Croatian folk traditions and contemporary electronic sound.

Italian producer and multi-instrumentalist Lo.Renzo travels to Zagreb driven by a curiosity that soon becomes an artistic obsession: can ancient voices survive inside modern rhythms without losing their soul?

Working alongside the vocal ensemble Čipkice and bagpipe player Dominik Kunić, he begins a process of listening, learning, and unlearning. Rehearsal rooms turn into laboratories where traditional melodies, once carried through villages and rituals, meet synthesizers, bass lines, and dub textures. The film observes not only the creative process but also the questions that arise: where does inspiration end and appropriation begin? What connects oral traditions shaped over centuries with electronic music built from loops and repetition? And why is merging them far more difficult than it first appears?

Through conversations, performances, and moments of doubt and discovery, Croatia in Dub reveals music as a living language constantly reshaped by those who dare to reinterpret it. The documentary becomes a journey from cultural distance toward genuine appreciation, showing how collaboration can transform heritage into a shared, contemporary experience, inviting audiences to listen differently and rediscover tradition through change together again.

  • Lorenzo Mantovani
    Director
  • Jana Obradović
    Writer
  • Jana Obradović
    Producer
  • Lorenzo Mantovani
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    33 minutes 44 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 20, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Croatia
  • Country of Filming:
    Croatia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Premiere at Ethnographic Museum Zagreb
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    November 24, 2025
Director Biography - Lorenzo Mantovani

Lo.Renzo is an Italian director and multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of film, music, and cultural research. His artistic practice explores how traditions can be reinterpreted through collaboration, using cinema as a space where sound, identity, and storytelling converge.

With a background in music and music therapy, Lo.Renzo approaches filmmaking through immersion rather than observation. His projects grow from lived experiences within the communities he collaborates with, where artistic exchange shapes both narrative and form. Music functions not only as a subject but as a creative methodology through which cultural memory meets contemporary expression.

Before moving into filmmaking, he developed a series of cross-cultural musical projects, beginning with Rajasthan in Dub (2018), created during an extended stay with musicians of the Kalbeliya tribe in Jodhpur, followed by Nepal in Dub (2023), born from an international artistic residency in Assam, India. Both projects explored the translation of traditional music into contemporary electronic forms through collaboration and field research.

Croatia in Dub marks Lo.Renzo's first official documentary film debut, expanding his artistic practice into cinema while continuing his exploration of cultural dialogue, artistic responsibility, and the evolving relationship between heritage and modern expression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtb-J9BAk9s&list=PLnLcmGnCo1rwjVvgexyXYOWM0F4pISB2R&index=5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkBhE4FdF44&list=PLnLcmGnCo1rxeoqHV7nAeC6sYKMv2iqbm&index=1

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Director Statement

At a time when discussions around cultural identity are often framed through the lens of appropriation I believe it’s more important than ever to explore new frames.

This documentary was born from a simple idea: different cultures can meet, influence each one another and create something meaningful without losing respect due to their origins.

The film explores the tension between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, not as a theoretical debate, but through its own creation. Rather than simply discussing these ideas the project puts them into practice. Croatia in Dub is the result of a shared creative process built on curiosity, mutual respect and willingness to learn from one another. While all the production is based in Croatia the project was made possible thanks to financial support from different continents and cultural backgrounds, where people not only contributed to the film but also came into contact with cultures other than their own through its development.

This spirit of exchange is reflected in the music which brings together Croatian traditional sounds and electronic music.

The combination of these influences mirrors the film’s central theme, it builds a bridge between different generations and musical languages while preserving the identity of each element and allowing none of them to lose their value or authenticity.

This film is a celebration of collaboration and cultural exchange.

— Lorenzo Mantovani