Branko Schmidt was born in Osijek, in 1957. He graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb in film and television directing. In 1988 he directed his first feature film Sokol Did Not Love Him and won the Newcomer of the Year Award at the Pula FF. In the course of his career he has directed many plays, documentary films and TV series. The Melon Route earned him the Oktavijan Award for Best Film granted by the Croatian Film Critics’ Association. The film received best film awards at numerous festivals and had a theatrical release in a number of countries. In 2004 he was a member of the jury at the Moscow FF.