Lucija Marčec

NO OFFENCE

Does discrimination ever change or does it only change its victims?

SYNOPSIS

In Međimurje, a small Croatian region shaped by tensions between Croatians and Roma, the arrival of Nepalese workers is a catalyst for bringing unresolved conflicts back to the surface. We follow three Croatian grandmothers, all named Ana, and three Roma football players, while three Nepalese food-industry workers almost literally feed everyone else. The main narrative line follows Sandi, one of the Roma protagonists, as he tries to find legal work in the region. The exploration of collective identity reveals the repeating cycle of discrimination: those once seen as victims, like the Roma community, now aim discrimination at the newcomers. Breaking the cycle, it’s not only an observation, but intervention: we bring segregated groups together. With a light approach to serious issues, the film breaks the fourth wall with humour, creating empathy while initiating much-needed dialogue.



DIRECTOR
Lucija Marčec

PRODUCERS  Ida Barac, Ema Mikolaci

EDITOR
Petra Šobak

PRODUCTION COMPANY
Academy of Dramatic Art

COUNTRY
Croatia, Czechia

LENGTH
70 min

Lucija Marčec

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Lucija Marčec (1998, Croatia) is a Croatian film director and journalist. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of Zagreb and an MA in documentary film directing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Mainly working in documentary, she has been building experience across documentary, fiction film, and television production. Her work focuses on the topics of marginalisation, politics, and system critique. No Offence is her graduation film.

Međimurje is a small and historically complex border region in Croatia, and this film is a way for me to face the prejudice I inherited and to examine the social mechanisms of its reproduction. I grew up with our Croatian protagonists, my grandma Ana and her two friends, also Anas. We follow them, three young Roma men negotiating visibility and status, and three Asian workers whose instinct is to source economic survival without engaging in local tensions. The grandmas empathise with the Nepalese, as their won husbands worked abroad, yet this empathy deepens their hate toward the Roma, who themselves now reproduce similar patterns of discrimination they experienced toward the Nepalese. Through a mix of observation of local traditions and interviews, No Offence is a collage of perspectives across generations, ethnicities, and social positions. As a director and interviewer, my questions and personal connections actively shape the film’s encounters and narrative. Through a meta-film process, I ask participants what they want the film about the region to be, letting them guide us. Ultimately, they call for unity so we take it in our hands to connect them. In an overall light tone, the humour and warmth of the protagonists demystifies the role of good people in spreading prejudice, while researching how deeply they run and how they make us fear change.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Ida Barac

PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY

Ida Barac(1996, Zagreb, Croatia) is a Croatian film producer. She holds a BA in international business and finance and an MA in audiovisual and multimedia project production from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She further expanded her production training through the producing programme at the New York Film Academy. She began her career in television production before moving into film, where she worked as a production coordinator and assistant on feature films and produced several short films at the Academy of Dramatic Art, including Marta and Stranac (dir. Milorad Milatović), Interludij (dir. Sara Tomas), and PUF PUF (dir. Irena Antin). Barac currently works as a junior producer at Eclectica, where she focuses on the development and production of feature films, working closely with directors and creative teams to take projects from initial concept to the screen.

PRODUCER’S STATEMENT

As producers, what drew us to No Offence was its honest and observational approach to a complex social issue. Rather than offering simple answers, the film focuses on everyday life and personal relationships, allowing the audience to form their own understanding. From the beginning, we believed this was an important story to support. Throughout the production, our goal was to create the best possible conditions for the director to build trust with the protagonists and follow the story as it unfolded. We hope the film encourages audiences to look beyond stereotypes and opens space for conversation. If it inspires people to reflect on perspectives different from their own, we believe it has achieved something meaningful.

Ema Mikolaci

PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY

Ema Mikolaci (2000, Zagreb, Croatia) is a Croatian film producer. She is currently completing her MA in audiovisual and multimedia project production at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Before pursuing film production, she studied civil engineering at the University of Zagreb. Mikolaci gained her first professional experience as a production assistant on the feature film Once We Were Good for You, directed by Branko Schmidt. She has also worked as a production assistant on numerous commercial productions in collaboration with Val Production and Vertigo Production. Alongside her professional work, she has produced several student fiction and documentary short films at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She also co-organised the student film festival FRKA, contributing to the production of the festival's industry programme.

Production company profile

The Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb (ADU) is Croatia's film school and one of the country's most important institutions for film education. Every year, the Academy produces a wide range of student fiction, documentary, animated and experimental films as part of its educational programme. The Academy's student films are regularly screened at Croatian and international film festivals, where they receive recognition and awards. Through a practice-based approach and close collaboration between departments, the Academy provides students with the opportunity to develop their projects in a professional production environment and supports the development of new generations of Croatian filmmakers.

Where are we at?

PRODUCTION BUDGET
120.000 €

NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
3.000 €

TERRITORIES AVAILABLE
WORLD (except Czechia and Croatia)

EXPECTED RELEASE 2027

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