EXCLUSIVE: LA Emmy winner Jack Baric (Bloody Thursday) is set to begin production on feature doc, More Than A Dream, which will tell the story of the Croatian national basketball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Baric will direct and produce the film, which will explore the team’s surprise silver medal win in their Olympic debut as an independent nation, challenging the legendary U.S. “Dream Team” in the gold medal game. This came amid the country’s early ’90s war of independence.
Led by four players who were among the first group of international players to enter the NBA – Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, and Stojko Vrankovic – the Croatians emerged as a premier European force, defying expectations and securing a place in basketball history.
Full production is slated to begin in May and is due to feature interviews with various sports, cultural, and political figures from Croatia and the U.S. and include archival footage of the team, Olympic games, and wartime Croatia. Baric plans to premiere the film at the LA28 Olympics.
Baric said: “More Than a Dream is more than a sports story—it’s about a nation fighting to define itself under impossible circumstances, and the courage of athletes who carried the hopes of an entire country onto the world stage. Their journey to Barcelona, facing the greatest team ever assembled, is a testament to resilience, love, unity, and the unbreakable human spirit. I can’t wait to bring their story to life on screen.”
Toni Kukoc, who has already sat down with Baric for an interview, said: “Representing Croatia in 1992 was one of the greatest honors of my life. Our people were going through a very hard time, and the Olympics were much more than a basketball tournament for me and my teammates. We wanted to do something for our people. I’m thankful to Jack for telling the story of what that team meant—not just for basketball, but for Croatia.”
The full synopsis reads: “While the Dream Team commanded the global spotlight during the 1992 Olympics, the Croatian squad arrived in Barcelona with little fanfare. Back home, the newly independent nation was fighting the deadliest conflict on European soil since World War II — a war that claimed more than 10,000 Croatian lives and displaced over 300,000 people.
“With a third of their country under siege and fierce fighting all around them, the Croatians risked everything just to make it to practice and games. Leading the charge were four players who were among the first wave of international stars to enter the NBA: Drazen Petrovic of the New Jersey Nets, Toni Kukoc of the Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics big men Dino Radja and Stojko Vrankovic…The entire world knew the Dream Team was destined for gold in 1992, so the real race was to see who would face them in the final. Croatia, Russia, Lithuania, Brazil, and Australia all vied for that spot—with Croatia ultimately earning the right to meet the Americans in the championship game.”
