Legendary Croatian film ‘Tko pjeva zlo ne misli’ gets digitally restored

Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (Image: Croatian State Archives)

By Miroslav Edvin Habek

ZAGREB, 29 October 2025 (Hina) – The legendary 1970 film Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away), long hailed as one of the greatest Croatian films ever made, has finally been digitally restored.

Yet, as celebrations begin, film experts warn that the pace of restoring Croatia’s cinematic heritage remains far too slow.

While the presentation of the restored classic is highly anticipated, it coincides with the government’s newly adopted €2 million plan for the protection and restoration of Croatia’s audiovisual heritage, stored in the Croatian Cinematheque.

The programme, covering the 2016–2018 period, aims to double the rate of digital restoration for Croatian feature films.

The plan, quietly adopted by the government in July, envisions the full protection of 1,800 minutes of film material, including up to 20 feature films and a dozen shorts.

It also covers the restoration of nitrate film from the 1930s and the reprinting of selected works on new film stock.

Supporters welcome the initiative as the first long-term programme with a dedicated restoration fund, predicting it will bring new rules, clearer pricing, and technical standards to the process.

However, critics argue that the current system, launched in 2008 with the restoration of Breza by Ante Babaja, has been painfully slow and inconsistent.

Between 2015 and 2019, no feature films were restored due to funding gaps, and restoration efforts only resumed in 2020 with H-8 and The Ninth Circle.

According to experts, only about 30 of the 300 films stored in the Cinematheque have been restored so far. Even at the current “accelerated” rate of five to six features per year, full restoration would take more than 40 years.

A call for support beyond the state

Director Rajko Grlić and others have long criticised what they describe as a “neglectful and almost hostile” attitude towards Croatia’s film heritage.

Vinko Grubišić, director of Jadran Film, the studio behind many Croatian classics, has welcomed the new plan as a “step in the right direction”, while also stressing the need for wider public-private cooperation.

“Had the 2008 model of partnerships with companies such as Croatia Film and Hrvatski Telekom continued, the process might have been finished by now,” Grubišić told the press.

“Even with this new pace, restoration won’t be complete in our lifetimes. It’s clear we need cultural patrons, from telecoms to private companies, to join in.”

Grubišić emphasised that each restoration project should be handled individually, with technical oversight from a panel of experts to ensure quality and prevent errors, such as those seen in Breza, where some scenes were colour-corrected to unrealistic levels.

A new framework and cautious optimism

The Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) praised the new plan, saying it offers a more stable institutional framework and greater transparency.

“For the first time, there will be a long-term programme and a dedicated fund for film restoration,” HAVC noted. “This will enable systematic planning and the selection of titles based on artistic and historical value.”

Recent projects under HAVC include restorations of Sinji galeb (1953), Skopje 63 (1964), Rondo (1966), For Happiness, Three Are Needed (1985), and now Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (1970).

The restoration of Tko pjeva zlo ne misli took nearly four years to complete, led by the Ater Studio in Zagreb and funded by HAVC and the City of Zagreb.

The film’s original negatives were digitised in 2021 as part of the European Film Archives’ “Season of Classic Films” project.

According to Vjeran Pavlinić of the Croatian Cinematheque, the restoration involved extensive correction of mechanical and chemical damage to both image and sound.

The restored version is expected to premiere in Croatian cinemas soon.

Why film heritage matters

Film experts remind that, ultimately, the audience decides the value of restoration. On World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, viewers at Zagreb’s KIC enjoyed a screening of Zoran Tadić’s Rhythm of Crime (1981), the best existing copy, subtitled in English because the original is held in Belgrade.

The translation of Zagreb neighbourhoods “Trešnjevka” and “Trnje” as “Cherry Hill” and “Thorn Bush” drew amused reactions, underlining the irony of how fragile, and lost in translation, cultural heritage can be.