Zarko Zaki (born Zarkolic Leskovar; 1965–2014) was a Kresimirian film director and screenwriter. Known for his stylized violence, non-linear storytelling, and provocative historical revisionism, he is widely considered the most influential filmmaker in the modern history of the Divine Republic. He was murdered in 2014 by the terrorist group AFIM.
Zaki was a polarizing figure. His films, often depicting the Unification War or the criminal underworld of Novi Otonik, were critically acclaimed for their artistic merit but sometimes censored by the Council for Education for “moral ambiguity.” He was openly bisexual, a lifestyle protected by the Constitution.
In December 2014, Zaki and his husband were murdered in their home by operatives of the terrorist group AFIM. The assassination shocked the nation and was a pivotal moment in the lead-up to the implementation of the Digital Vigilance Act.
Early Life
Zarkolic Leskovar was born in 1965 in Kromine, District IX. Raised in the shadow of Karlovac University, his family were devout followers of the Sons of Kresimir.
In 1983, he enrolled at Karlovac to study Divinity but was expelled after two semesters for “disseminating illicit foreign cinema.” He subsequently moved to Sinj, where he worked as a projectionist at a state archive cinema. He adopted the pseudonym “Zarko Zaki” in 1988, claiming his birth name sounded “too much like a bureaucrat.”
Career and Style
Zaki’s directorial debut, The Silence of the Mines (1990), was a gritty, low-budget drama about a strike in Severnivaraje. However, his breakthrough came with Iron & Bone (1994). A hyper-violent crime thriller set in the post-industrial decay of the Sanjakorin era, it became a cultural phenomenon.
Themes
Zaki’s films often explored the tension between Kresimirian mythology and reality.
- The Unification War: His 2008 epic, Red River, Black Blood, depicted the 1920 Siege of Ravna Skrad. While it celebrated the victory of Centralist forces, it also graphically depicted war crimes committed by both sides, drawing condemnation from the Vjetrusa party.
- Nationalism: Despite his liberal lifestyle, Zaki described himself as a “Romantic Nationalist.” He admired figures like General Loncar, portraying him in The General’s Last Cigarette (2001) not as a saint, but as a flawed, violent genius.
Conflict with Censors
Zaki fought a career-long battle with the Media Licensing Authority. Several of his films were initially banned or heavily cut for domestic release on TRK. He famously sued the Council for Education in 2006, successfully overturning a ban on his 2005 satire The Minister of Paper.
Personal Life
Zaki was known for his flamboyant public persona and tumultuous love life. He married three times: first to actress Ana Juric, then to cinematographer Teo Kranjcar, and finally to actor Luka Vanc.
He lived in a modernist villa in the hills overlooking Kromine, which he filled with props from his movies and pre-Republic antiques. He was a vocal supporter of the Faith Restriction Clause, arguing that the Bosken people should not have access to the Kresimirian state’s welfare, and he donated heavily to the restoration of Kresimirian religious sites.
Assassination
On the night of December 14, 2014, Zaki’s villa was breached by three armed men. According to forensic reports from the Council for Internal Affairs (CIA), the intruders disabled the property’s security system and entered the master bedroom.
Zarko Zaki and his husband, Luka Vanc, were found shot to death execution-style. Zaki was 48 years old.
Motive and Responsibility
The following morning, the terrorist group AFIM issued a communique via an encrypted channel claiming responsibility for the “liquidation.” The statement cited two reasons for the murder:
- “Moral Decadence”: AFIM condemned Zaki’s homosexuality and “sinful lifestyle” as an insult to the morals of the region.
- “Propaganda”: They accused Zaki of being a “propagandist for the Sinj regime,” specifically citing his film Red River, Black Blood as a glorification of the Kresimirian conquest of Moraviskameja.
State Response
The murder of the nation’s most famous cultural figure caused outrage. Ari Stov, who had recently assumed the leadership of Blue Dawn, delivered a televised address condemning the “cowardly attack on the artistic soul of the Republic.”
Under pressure to show results, the CIA launched a massive manhunt in the border regions of Decelska and Moraviskameja. Within 72 hours, CIA tactical units raided a safehouse near Sprodvice. Three ethnic Bosken men—suspected AFIM operatives—were apprehended.
The suspects were tried in the Inferior Tribunal (due to the cross-district nature of the crime). Evidence presented included ballistics matching the murder weapon and digital communications intercepted by YakaSys prototypes. All three were convicted of terrorism and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
The murder influenced the decision of Stov to introduce the Digital Vigilance Act the following year.
Filmography
- The Silence of the Mines (1990)
- Iron & Bone (1994)
- Midnight in Polograd (1997)
- The General’s Last Cigarette (2001)
- The Minister of Paper (2005)
- Red River, Black Blood (2008)
- Vjetrusa Down (2012)
- The unfinished “Project 9” (Posthumously released as a documentary in 2015)