Can you tell us in a few words what TILVA ROŠ is about and what makes it unique?
Nikola Ležaić: It's about two friends, Toda and Stefan, skaters from my hometown, Bor, who spend their first summer after finishing high school shooting "jackass clips" and trying to impress a girl, Dunja. I guess the unique thing about the film is that it is inspired by two real guys who made this amateur "jackass-like" film named CRAP – PAIN IS EMPTY. I really liked their film so I decided to have them playing themselves in TILVA ROŠ So it’s a mix of real people and a fictional plot, and quite often you find yourself unsure if the thing you're watching is happening for real or not.
How difficult was it to get your film financed and produced?
It was a nightmare to finance it abroad, since it was my debut, and our production company's first project, with non-actors, the plot was quite loose, so not a lot of elements to convince someone to stand behind the project, especially back then when we were trying to finance it, in 2008, when "the world crisis" started. So in the end we just started with what we had and that was what we got from our national fund, but we put a lot of effort in planning and preparing the film to overcome the lack of money. And I think it worked.
After this first feature film experience: What do you most love / most hate about filmmaking?
I love working on set, experimenting, just working with all the different people, that's a beautiful feeling, I have to do that more often (hah). I can't remember the thing I hate, the financing I guess, that's boring, to me at least.
How did you hear about the nomination for the Discovery Award and what was your initial reaction?
We got an email. To be honest, I still don't know what to think, it's incredible, that was way beyond any of my hopes for the film, because in my mind it's too personal to reach that far, but then again, personal stories get through more easily. I just wished some people would like it, and it turned out that some people really do like it.
How important is the Discovery Award for you as a young filmmaker and what do you expect from the nomination?
This is my first film and it's chosen among the best debut films in Europe, so that's important enough. I hope this will help me and our company in our further projects.
TILVA ROŠ
TILVA ROŠ
