Brešan emerged into prominence in Croatia and abroad with three critically acclaimed and award-winning films that, each in its own way, broke some of the perceived taboos of Croatian cinema in the 1990s.

In 1994 and 1995, Brešan was awarded the Oktavijan prize at the Days of Croatian Film Festival for Zajednički ručak ("Lunch Together") and Hodnik ("The Corridor") respectively.

It proved to be a tremendous commercial success as well, beating Independence Day at the Croatian box office in 1996 with over 300,000 viewers,[1] and was screened at 32 international film festivals, including Toronto and Montreal.

Perhaps the most controversial part of Brešan's opus to date is the 2003 war drama Svjedoci ("Witnesses"), based on the novel Ovce od gipsa ("Alabaster Sheep") by Jurica Pavičić.

Reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, it explores the human complexities and moral murkiness of war through multiple perspectives and flashbacks surrounding the unintended murder of an alleged Serb smuggler by three Croatian soldiers returning from the front in Karlovac.