Dubrovnik people have traditionally always been cunning and usually under-spoken, but we’ve always had a sense of humour. This is why there was always someone around to criticise those in power and try to make them work harder or pay attention to the needs of the citizens.

One such local critic and humoresque performance artist showed up on the streets of Dubrovnik’s historical centre earlier today as the preparations for night time filming of Star Wars Episode VIII were in progress and staged a short performance with a few followers in very interesting costumes. Word of caution, some of the following images can be construed as a bit obscene (but just a bit).

Performance started in front of the seat of city government

Performance started in front of the seat of city government

Performers were dressed in sci fi costumes

Performers spoofed sci fi imagery similar to that of Star Wars in an attempt to criticise and joke about some of the recent moves by the city government and the aura of confidentiality which surrounded the preparations for filming of Episode VIII on the city streets.

Performers were dressed in sci fi costumes

The group even went to local drug store to do some shopping

Main performer was seen as having a “second head” which sometimes does his thinking for him. This is a joke aimed at one local politician who caused an uproar in national media yesterday by telling a rather distasteful sexist joke in front of members of the press.

Main performer was depicted as having two heads – to mock one of the local politicians

All the media attention the filming is getting in Dubrovnik created nothing less than a perfect situation for comical criticism of local politics. Local people were quite amused by the whole thing. Well done gentlemen.

With the boat scenes being filmed yesterday, our attention turned to the boat set. You can see a few video clips of boat leaving the Harbour for filming in the post below this one, and today we’re glad to bring a few great photos of the action as reported on by DailyMail.

Filming on board a ship in Dubrovnik, photo DailyMail

The scene seems to be that of a formal party in progress, photo Daily Mail

There is some sort of a formal party or event being depicted on the boat without a doubt. We are all still speculation as to what the end scene will look like, but it’s very possible we are to see the first real Star Wars movie scene on board an aquatic vessel, outside of the submarine scene in Episode I.

There are various aliens among those attending, photo Daily Mail

The scene seems to be that of a formal party in progress, photo Daily Mail

Costumes can be described as formal or elegant evening wear, photo Daily Mail

Costumes can be described as formal or elegant evening wear, photo Daily Mail

Costumes can be described as formal or elegant evening wear, photo Daily Mail

As DailyMail reports, we are still to see any of the stars on Dubrovnik set, but we have been getting reports on some of the main characters’ stunt doubles.

One of our dedicated Star Wars fans, Briggite, who we mentioned in a post earlier today managed to make s few short clips of the cast and crew on board a ship used for Episode VIII filming in Dubrovnik’s Old City Harbour. It is interesting to note, the ship seems to be the only location in Dubrovnik that’s used during the day. On the upper deck where the filming is taking place, the set up seems to suggest a formal gathering or an event of some sort. In fact, majority of the actors and extras we saw on locations in Dubrovnik seem to be portraying really well dressed characters.

It’s always a blast to talk to Riley of Star Wars Report and this time was no different. For those who missed our chat so far, you can listen to it here. Dubrovnik part starts at around 34:00 mark.

Today has been a quiet day so far mostly because the film crew is said to have been resting last night. We are biding our time until the final two nights of the filming and going through loads of material gathered over the past week from Star Wars Episode VIII filming in Dubrovnik.

Several interesting “behind the scenes” shots were published by StarWarsNewsNet that show the filming equipment and the sets, in various filming locations around Dubrovnik.

Behind the scenes, photo StarWarsNewsNet

Camera ready on Dubrovnik set, photo StarWarsNewsNet

Actors in the rain, photo StarWarsNewsNet

Set in the Dominican Monastery complex, photo StarWarsNewsNet

These make us remember people who are making this movie are probably dead tired by now, having worked nights for the last week, with weather changing from rain to heavy winds constantly.

We’ve been concentrating on the sets and actors and all the film related goings on for the past few weeks, but people who are an integral part of every Star Wars story in the past few decades are loyal fans of the franchise. We’ve been in touch with many fans since the start of our blog and were lucky enough to meet some of them in Dubrovnik. With all the thoroughly cool people for all corners of Croatia and the world it was hard to decide who to include in this post, so we randomly picked a few of our new friends just to thank them for making the trip.

Toma & Simona
Two Lithuanian students on their student exchange semester in Dubrovnik, Toma & Simona contacted us for one of their blog related projects. They were loving their time in Dubrovnik before the Star Wars filming got rolling, but now they are absolutely thrilled to be here for the entire duration of the preparations and filming. Talk about good timing!

Lithuanian students – Star Wars fans

Domagoj
From Croatian city of Pozega, quite a long way away from Dubrovnik, Domagoj made the trip just to see the sets first hand. He was delighted with the city and even more so with getting to see the sets of his favourite movie franchise being put up and taking shape. We’re thankful to Domagoj for some cool photos of the sets as well.

Crashed landspeeder on Dubrovnik Main Street, photo Domagoj Pandzic

Impressive green screens next to Onofrio’s fountain, photo Domagoj Pandzic

Goran & the gang
Continuing with Croatia fans, Goran and his 8 friends made the trip from the city of Split one sunny weekend to enjoy the city, try to catch a glimpse of the actors and make some awesome photos and a cool video. The force is strong with them.

Briggite
Briggite is a hard core fan from Germany who we met and went hunting for photographs together. Being a thoroughly cool person, she helped us get first shots of a production preparation area just above the famous Banje Beach in Dubrovnik. She’s also in charge of a two rock fan clubs http://unisonicfanclub.com and http://unisonicfanclub.com/ )

German fans on the hunt for photographs

Landspeeder being prepped for filming

There are many others who we got in touch with and countless Croatian and international fans who visited our home town over the past few weeks. Thinking about it makes us realise movies like this are after all very much dependent on their fans. This was honoured in plenty of ways in The Force Awakens and we sure hope it will continue with Episode VIII as well.

Until we get to see the end product, we hope to meet a lots more fans in person, here in wonderful Dubrovnik.

Material from the streets of Dubrovnik keeps getting more and more exciting. YouTube user Dulist dubrovacki tjednik published a video clip of an action scene being filmed at the Main Street in Dubrovnik. To say this clip is cool would be a serious understatement. Enjoy.

Local fans are scouting the streets for Star Wars Episode VIII sets in Dubrovnik. One of the smaller streets we already reported on as one of the locations has gotten some new lights. The alley is minimally re-done for the filming with some lighting fixtures and electrical installations on the walls, so it might end up appearing in the movie in its original shape. Croatian fans from Star Wars Hrvatska posted these pictures on their Facebook page.

Pustijerna Street set in Dubrovnik, photo Star Wars Hrvatska

Pustijerna Street set in Dubrovnik, photo Star Wars Hrvatska

Pustijerna Street set in Dubrovnik, photo Star Wars Hrvatska

Pustijerna Street set in Dubrovnik, photo Star Wars Hrvatska

This is what the street looks during the day.

Dubrovnik Star Wars Set, photo starwarsdubrovnik.com

All the light fixtures on the walls are movie props, photo starwarsdubrovnik.com

Just as it seemed to be a quiet day for news about Star Wars Episode VIII filming in Dubrovnik, DailyMail published some wonderful shots of the action. We can see some special effects and explosions as well as characters, some already seen, other new to us all. We usually don’t do any spoiler warnings, but at this point in Dubrovnik filming, all our posts can be considered potential spoiler zones for those wishing to watch Episode VIII without knowing anything that transpires in the story.

Interesting looking alien, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Interesting looking alien, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Interesting looking alien, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Actors in costumes with a central figure, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Action around a landspeeder, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Action around a landspeeder, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Landspeeder explosion, photo DailyMail.co.uk

Landspeeder explosion, photo DailyMail.co.uk

With the influx of local and international media in Dubrovnik, the quality of the materials fans can look forward to has certainly gone up!

Dubrovnik weather in March and February is notoriously unpredictable. We’ve already warned about possibilities of heavy rains and freak thunderstorms, but one of the most frequent weather related problems in the area are those caused by heavy winds.

As reported by Zagreb.info this is one lesson the production crew of Star Wars Episode VIII working in Dubrovnik learnt this morning. It seems the filming or scene rehearsals on board a ship in Dubrovnik’s Old City Harbour had to be postponed because of heavy northern wind called Bura. The ship was able to sail out with a serious delay, but at least we’ve got to see another shot of the actors on board in what seems to be some sort of a formal event scene.

Waiting for the ship to leave the Harbour, photo Grgo Jelavic/PIXSELL

If you think Dubrovnik is bad, at least we’re not seeing winds as strong as they are currently experiencing on the northern part of Croatian coast. Seen here in a clip that’s going viral in Croatia this morning, YouTube user Aleksandar Gospic posted a video made on Pag Island Bridge, showing how strong Bura can get.

It seems Star Wars Episode VIII cast and crew are sick of the stressful movie business and have taken a liking to local customs in Dubrovnik where coffee drinking is one of the favourite weekend pastimes. We’re joking of course, the sets being set up right now on Dubrovnik’s Main Street are reminiscent of open air cafes which are vastly popular in Croatia with locals and foreign visitors alike.

I think the franchise is due for another café scene myself. The one is The Force Awakens hardly has the musical background catchy enough to rival the success of the famous “cantina scene” in A New Hope.