WATCH: This powerful drama about gay men in 1950s Europe is Croatia’s controversial Oscar contender

Image Credit: ‘Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day,’ 4 Film

This awards season, Croatian queer period piece Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day will be vying for an Oscar nomination in Best International Feature Film. And even though it’s set in the 1950s, it tells an urgent, timely story that could make it a real contender for the prize, against all odds.

From writer-director Ivona Juka, the black-and-white drama is inspired by harrowing true events, following a gay filmmaker and his collaborators as they attempt to make art under communist rule in the former nation of Yugoslavia.

Back during WWII, young Lovro (Dado Ćosić) became a hero of the resistance as he and his comrades—Nenad (Djordje Galic), Stevan (Slaven Doslo) and Ivan (Elmir Krivalic)—helped protect their country from fascist

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