

On the unspoilt banks of the Save River lies the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Numerous species have made this green setting their home. But the star of the region is the white stork. Some villages have more than two nests per rooftop, and the cohabitation between man and beast generally goes well. A surprising illustration: for the past twenty-four years, Stjepan Vokic, a retired school janitor, has looked after the stork Malena, who has been grounded by an injury.
Cinematography
Storks silhouetted against Croatian sunsets—nature cinematography at its most shameless.
Direction
Twenty-four years distilled into patient, unsentimental observation.
Director
Mirjana Momirovic
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Storks are fertility symbols across Europe; Croatia's 'Stork Village' of Čigoć became an eco-tourism site partly thanks to Malena's fame.
Klepetan's annual 13,000km migration from South Africa to reunite with Malena made international news; the film captures several of these arrivals.
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