Film director, Vice-Dean for Education and Students of the Film Studies at the Academy of Dramatic Art, Zagreb University
1. What is a short film in your book?
It is an effort to produce the same effect on the viewer as in a feature length film – but within a limited timeframe. Although the aim is the same, the means are often different.
2. Why is the short film so important? What is its best quality?
Unlike the feature film, short film teaches us about the economy of storytelling. It teaches us that subtraction is more important that addition. It teaches us that less is more; it teaches us the true meaning of the words redundant and concise in the context of film time; it also teaches us that basically all we need is one motive to create and develop a story.
3. What is your favorite short film and why?
I think Chill by Hana Jušić and Then I See Tanja by Juraj Lerotić are great shorts. Both created worlds I still remember. They are very creative and precise.
4. How do you help students in making short films as a Vice-Dean for Education and Students of the Film Studies at the Academy of Dramatic Art, Zagreb University? Are you happy with their work and do you think the Academy provides necessary conditions for successful short film production?
I help with passion, dedication, solidarity and by telling them about mistakes I have made in my own films. It is impossible to provide all the necessary conditions for students. To be a film director means you’ll never be happy with conditions. You have to embrace the misery and try to overcome it. I think the conditions and resources at the Academy have improved in the past few years. But that will never be good enough, especially from the students’ perspective, and I understand it.
5. You have directed several short films. Tell us something about your experience. Do you enjoy the process? What makes it so special?
I don’t think my experience differs from anyone else’s. I had less productional issues, which means less issues with resources, finances, weather and acting, than when making a feature film or a TV show. So, the process is less demanding in that sense. I’ll stick with that.
6. Do you have any advice for young filmmakers making their first short film?
Be well prepared, like you’re robbing a bank! Try to foresee all the problems which will happen on a shoot and find ways of prevent them. Don’t count on your luck. Don’t improvise. The key to a successful film – either short or long – is 80% in preparations. But if you fail, start with yourself and analyze what you could have done better. And then apply it to your next film. It’s easier to say it than to do it. We all make mistakes, they are part of the process. But let’s try and make better mistakes in the next film.