Željko Malnar (born April 12, 1944 in Zagreb) is a Croatian maverick traveller, writer and a minor television celebrity, best known for his own weekly show Nightmare Stage and his satirical micronation the Republic of Peščenica. He lives and works in Zagreb.
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In last 45 years he has traveled the Middle East, Pakistan and India in numerous expeditions. He co-wrote the book U potrazi za staklenim gradom ("Seeking the glass city").
In the period between 1972 and 1976 he studied philosophy in India and the Indian philosopher Swami Ashram Shama, which allowed him to gain more insight into Indian society. In India, he worked for the producers Don Charnon, Canadian film ltd, Indian film division, and for the government of the state Rajastan. In 1977 he led an expedition for Zagreb television entitled "Journey to the East", which had great success.
In 1982 he became the leader of professional expeditions, and worked for the American Institute of Ecotechnic institution with headquarters in London. For the U.S. company Tropic Ventures he operated one of the largest expedition the world called "Around the Tropic World" (1982–1986). He is the author of the documentary series with the expedition entitled "Journey to other worlds." Speleological participating in expeditions that achieved the world accepted the results in the scientific world (the discovery of the longest olm).
Malnar authored over 70 documentary films and reports from Turkey, Jordan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Samoa, the South Pacific, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, etc. He received many awards throughout the world - Chicago International Film Festival, Barcelona Film Festival, etc. In 1986 he got the city keys to Fort Worth, Dallas in the U.S. state of Texas from mayor Bob Bolan as a reward for bringing cultures and peoples. He is the only holder of foreign titles SEIU (chiefs speaking) Polynesian states Samoa.
In 1992, Malnar started producing Nightmare Stage, a show that hosted many picturesque characters from the streets of Zagreb (Cro Rom, Tarzan, Jaran, Laki, Ševa etc.). Malnar proclaimed himself the president of the so-called Republic of Peščenica in the beginning of the 1990s, a satirical-parodical project, a parody on contemporary Croatian political scene.
In 2004, the City Council of Zagreb nominated Željko Malnar for the city award (plaketa) for his work on Nightmare Stage, for the show's "authenticity, brave opposition to an artificial virtual world, false greatness and hypocrisy in the society".[1]
In 2005, Malnar's TV show included shots from a local pornographic movie, which caused the Croatian agency for electronic media regulation to censure his then-station OTV and force it off the air for a period of 24 hours.[2]
The Nighmare Stage was later broadcast on the TV station Z1.