From the Berlinale Talent Campus Into the Competition

An interview with Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic whose first feature, “Grbavica” is in competition for the Golden Bear.

“Grbavica” seems to be a women’s film: its director, producer and even cinematographer are females. Is it an advantage or a hindrance to be a woman director? Is the gender problem an issue for you, or do you simply focus on women because that is your natural perspective?

When men make a film with a male staff, nobody asks such a question but in the case of women it suddenly becomes an issue. If you as a woman write a story about women, people keep asking you if you are feminist. For me, it comes naturally that I work with female characters and I do believe that I can empathize with them more than I could with males, but I didn’t aim at creating a feminist movie. I sometimes manage to use my female charm to pursue people, though, so it might even be an advantage.

I believe that I’ve discovered a remarkable tendency in the moviegoing habits of my fellow Hungarians. Most of the people just won’t go to watch a film from another Eastern European country. Is the situation the same in Bosnia?

Before the war, Yugoslavia had a highly developed cinema and distribution network; we could watch movies from all around the world. The theaters were owned by the state, so it was not necessary that films had a commercial potential. Unfortunately, this all has changed after the war. Bosnia being a so-called “country in transition”, Hollywood has taken over completely. So we don’t even know if people would want to see those European films, because they simply don’t get to see them.

The wider public only knows Emir Kusturica from your country. Could you name a few outstanding directors we should certainly get to know?

Bosnia is a very small country that has just been established. From the past, I could name Shiba Krvavac and Bato Cengic, although they were regarded Yugoslavian back then. There are also some up and coming filmmakers out there, the first features of whom have been acclaimed recently: Srdan Vuletic was awarded in Rotterdam a few years ago and Pjer Zalica won the Silver Leopard in Locarno last year. A generation of new Bosnian filmmakers is yet to come, though.
Having been a former Talent, do you think presenting your project on the Campus here was decisive for your success?

It was very useful anyway. The main advantage of the European Pitch Point was having the opportunity to talk to a lot of people about my script. Filmmaking is storytelling, and when recounting your narrative to someone, you immediately get reactions. You already can judge if you can attract people’s attention. Besides, I met my German producer here, so the Campus was an immensely important step in the development of Grbavica.

Tamás Bella

© Berlinale Talent Campus 2006