The Collection of Film and Theatre Holdings contains archival film holdings on fragments from the history of Rijeka and the donated valuable documentary material on the construction of today’s HNK Ivan pl. Zajc of Rijeka (Croatian National Theatre). Of special interest are the donated holdings from the Theatre, which were completed thanks to the latest donation in 2009, and testify to the tradition of theatrical life of the city of Rijeka that is more than two centuries long. Namely, the Museum holdings now include the entire contents of the ornamented lead tube which was symbolically laid in the foundations of the newly built theatre Teatro Comunale, on 3rd October 1885 by Mayor Giovanni Ciotta. The contents of the tube consist of the opening ceremony charter, a poster of each of the first plays Aida and Gioconda, coins of the time, photographs of the façade and floor plan of the interior of the new theatre building and a precise hand-written 36-page construction report signed by the contractor and conceptual design author, respectable Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer.
The collection of film and theatre holdings also contains a part of Drago Gervais’ legacy – manuscripts, photographs, personal and family documents, magazines, letters and the quartermaster’s diary in manuscript.
During the realization of the Willy exhibition about the Rijeka film poster designer Vili Stipanov, in 2008, the Museum purchased 34 film posters with his signature.
Collection manager: Deborah Pustišek Antić