MELBOURNE - The award winning American/Croatian produced documentary film about the Croatian struggle for independence, "Freedom from Despair", is now available for purchase in Australia.

American Croat filmmaker Brenda Brkusic's student film, ''Freedom from Despair'', portrays the power of the human spirit and tenets of democracy

The immensely talented 26-year-old's film premiered at a series of screenings Australiawide in 2006, while it made its public television debut on America's KOCE-TV in late January of this year.

The 90-minute film uncovers the long history of suppression and abuse of the Croatian people and their struggle for independence from Tito's Yugoslavia, using as its focus the dramatized true story of Kruno Brkusic, Brenda's father, who risked his life to escape the regime.

The film is narrated by celebrated actors Michael York (Cabaret, Austin Powers), John Savage (The Deer Hunter, The Thin Red Line), and Beata Pozniak (JFK) and includes interviews with U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich.

Brkusic's work to promote human rights has been recognized and honored by the U.S. Congress at the House of Representatives. The film screened in October for members of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium; has been featured in 15 national and international festivals; and has garnered a dozen notable awards including the CINE Golden Eagle Award (previously awarded to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas), Best Documentary: New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, and Nominee: International Documentary Association (IDA) David L. Wolper Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award.

''Freedom from Despair'' follows the journey of Kruno Brkusic, a Croatian Catholic who was repeatedly jailed by communists and managed to escape the country on foot at age 17. As Kruno's homeland becomes scarred by war during the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, he becomes a voice in the American media, working to correct untrue propaganda and challenging the journalistic community to take a stand on human rights in that part of the world.

We watch as Kruno and thousands of Croatian-Americans demonstrate on Capitol Hill during the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, pushing George H.W. Bush to recognize Croatia while the nation watched the carnage on television.

This film reveals the atrocities committed and hidden by the communist government of Yugoslavia and its allies - piecing together a shocking truth that lay silenced for 60 years.

The film ''Freedom From Despair'' is available on DVD and VHS at Melbourne's Zagreb Croatian Bookshop. Located in the outer northern Melbourne suburb of Preston, it handles in person orders as well as phone orders from both within and outside of Melbourne, including interstate orders. For more information ring Miro at: (03) 9484 7236.

The film is also available from Hrvatska Knjiga in Sydney.