Croatia

Croatia knows how to host. The country has welcomed all comers in the past year, from big-budget to low, Bollywood to Hollywood, European co-productions to high-profile, high-end TV projects.

Boasting a coastline on the Adriatic, Croatia shares borders with Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro, and has myriad locations that draw filmmakers from far and wide.

Among recent productions to have shot here are Indian blockbuster Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, produced by Namah Pictures & Dharma Productions (service production by Blenda), the final season of Netflix series Outer Banks (service production by Embassy Films), while James Watkins’ Clayface spent four days on location in Krk, Opatija and Bale (service production by MP Films).

The producers of Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri defied the widely accepted belief that filmmakers should not film in Croatia during tourist season. The project stayed for just over a month in spring and summer 2025, visiting capital city Zagreb, Trogir, Dubrovnik and the islands Vis, Brac and Hvar. This included the country’s
annual Yacht Week, a large-scale event running from late May through August.

A key hire was local production services specialist Blenda. The company’s Ivan Cvirn served as a line producer and helped corral a large group of yachts anchored in a circle for one of the film’s setpiece musical numbers.

“The coastline is very busy during the summer tourist season,” says Tanja Ladovic Blazevic, head of Filming In Croatia at the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. “We always advise filmmakers to take advantage of the pre- and post-season period, when prices are lower, places are not crowded and temperatures are not that high.”

Most of the final season of Outer Banks was shot in Dubrovnik, with other featured locations including Split, Trogir, Sibenik and Omis, with local service production by Embassy Films. The company also serviced Apple TV’s heist drama series Betamax, filmed late last summer in Krk, Rovinj, Volosko, Opatija, Rijeka and Preluk.

OneTwoThree Media headed to the European Film Market in Berlin earlier this year, selling a brace of US features that shot in Croatia, including Tim Roth war drama 260 Days and coming-of-age drama Tidepools featuring Honor Swinton Byrne.

Croatia is a popular destination with tourists flocking to its three geographically distinct zones: the coastal region, the highland region and the Pannonian lowlands region. Its terrain includes rocky coastlines, flat plains along the Hungarian border, densely wooded mountains, lakes and rolling hills. Among the 8,216 square kilometres of protected natural areas are eight national parks and numerous other reserves.

The country’s rich cultural heritage spans Roman, Venetian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian rule, and is evident in its architecture. It offers outstanding examples of pre-roman, romanesque, renaissance, baroque, classical, socialist-era and modern architecture.

“The most common request is a search for locations along the Adriatic coastline,” notes Ladovic Blazevic. “Even though Croatia offers great locations on the mainland, there is something special about the sea and everything the Mediterranean atmosphere offers.”

Croatia is famous for its spectacular locations and experienced English-speaking crews. The country can accommodate up to three large-scale productions at once, without crews and facilities becoming too stretched. Leading local production companies include 4Film, Antitalent, Blue Sky Adriatic, Embassy Films, Drugi Plan, MP Films and Pakt Media.

Croatia has excellent transport links thanks to its highly developed tourism industry. Zagreb is the centre of the film business, while Dubrovnik is only an hour by plane. It takes an hour or so in a car to get from Zagreb to the coast.

Croatia can be divided into three geographically distinct zones: coastal, highland and the Pannonian region, connected by modern highways, which shorten the travel times. 

Zagreb Airport is the centre of air traffic, while smaller facilities on the coast (Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Pula, Rijeka) bring many passengers to Croatia, most of them tourists.

Croatia is a small yet diverse country, situated at the crossroads of central Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. It has a long coastline, including 1,244 islands. The country can be divided into three geographically distinct zones, while capital city Zagreb is the cultural, economic and political centre, and the main hub for the film and TV sector.

Contact

Tanja Ladovic Blazevic, head of Filming In Croatia, Croatian Audiovisual Centre  filmingincroatia@havc.hr