DUST IN THE SHOWCASE / PRAŠINA U VITRINI - documentary, 70 min.
Crew:
Daniel Pavlic screenwriter and director
Dario Hacek, director of photography
Branko Vukovic, editor
Jan Galic, sound
Zeljka Bencic, line producer
Branko Istvancic, producer
Srdjan Sarenac, coproducer
Pere Istvancic, music composer and sound designer
Supported by Croatian audiovisual centre / Hrvatski audiovizualni centar
Production: Artizana, Croatia
Coproduction: Novi film, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sinopsis
During the crisis caused by the corona virus, I decided to look for a new job in the Netherlands. Looking for work, I was passing through the neighborhood where my father lives, with whom I have not been on good terms for more than eight years. Feeling some kind of "unfinished business", I decided to stop by my father and ring his doorbell. I find him sober, but with his leg in a cast, because a few months ago he fell and broke his leg. In the conversations, which become serious for the first time because since the war separated us, we never had the opportunity to talk about family, father's life, childhood traumas, the father "opens up with his heart and soul" and his father's secrets begin to surface...
In the conversation with my father and my stay in Amsterdam, finding a job falls into the background, and trying to connect my father with the rest of the family; his brothers, with whom he has not spoken for more than ten years, even though they live in the same city, but also his brother from Canada, who was separated by his grandfather when his father was 5 years old. Emotions are mixed, and the father shows and proves how the transition after the war affected his life, just as the current global crisis due to covid-19 affects my life. Emotions awaken in me, questioning my essence and my role in everything, especially in my father's life.
The conversations in the father's apartment are permeated by a secret focused on a display case that has been gathering dust on its crystal glasses for several years. The father is afraid to wipe the dust, lest, like Aladdin's lamp, he awakens some ghosts from the past that would destroy him emotionally...
This is a film about the relationship between father and son, and the destinies of people who were affected by the life transitions of society by breaking up families. This is a life we don't dream about, but it happens to us intensively. The life we live.
Director biography
Daniel Pavlic, born in 1974 in Sisak, and childhood spent in Hrvatska Kostajnica, where is back and after the study.
He graduated from the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb. His interest in filmmaking dates back to these early formative years and has never left him.
Currently, Daniel curates the film program at the Kristalna Kocka Vedrine Cultural Centre in Sisak. In addition to performing arts, working with youngster an association of young people who left a mark in the region after the activism to preserve nature and the environment.
He is involved int he organization and production of three different festivals: SEFF – the Emerald Eco Film Festival, PRESS Film Festival and FIBULA, dedicated to documentaries. Daniel is an eco activist, artist, journalist, designer and documentarist. He lives in Hrvatska Kostajnica, where he has organized an environmental NGO called Ecological and Cultural Scene.
Filmography:
Republika mašte (2010),
Prof. bike-man (2011),
SEFF – Emerald walley (2012),
Water up to my neck (2015)
Dear Mrs. President! (2019)
Director statement
Between lucidity, creativity, a harsh life without a father, an asylum seeker who was beaten by other asylum seekers in the Netherlands, a homosexual who still believes that his partner is alive, my father is exceptional "material" for a documentary film that will keep the viewer in suspense until the end. This could be a movie that will change the lives of many.
This is a film about dust in a display case that evokes memories. The dust that my father doesn’t wipe away for the reason of not "awakening" the ghosts of his past has a lot of symbolism and metaphor. When Aladdin rubbed the lamp, a genie would come out. That's how my father keeps everything clean in his apartment, except for that old glass case where he keeps some memories of his partner. There are glasses that are covered in a thick layer of dust. Dust "sticks" to the memories in layers in the light, protecting them from sunlight.
The transition we went through during our life left traces in the ways of living. As a result of the economic and world transition, my father also experienced the sexual transition that I present in the film, because my father finally "spoke" about it. In his story, he asks that our "life roles" of father and son, also transform into "son and father".I also have some videotapes (VHS) of my visits to my father during the late nineties. In these recordings, you can also see life with other asylum seekers from the former Yugoslavia, and Iran, which the father often mentions. I have pre-war photos that I saved from wartime Bihać. I would also use photos of my relatives from Canada, especially photos of my uncle Danko and grandfather Milan, i.e. Milenko's brother and father, in order to visually convey the story of my father who was left behind.
The film would be feature-length so that I could show the story of my father, which consists of several part; early life where his father separated him from his brother, going to an asylum, the story of sexual orientation, the story of Ron's mistic death and the story of living with AIDS, i.e. treatment with new drugs. Everything would be interwoven with my personal story in which I get to know my father as I have never known him before. In the film, I would reunite my father with brother Danko from Canada, who had never seen each other in person. Who knows, maybe a situation where they meet again after 70 years in Canada or the Netherlands will be born in the film.
Distribution and production strategy
Like any creative documentary film, this film will contribute to the quality of the film program and encourage audiovisual creativity.
Motivated by previous experience and good results in the promotion and placement of films from our production, this film will have its own promotion and participation first of all at film festivals, and then at many other cultural events.
As it is a biographical film, we will try to take care to creatively make a feature-length author's documentary that will show a deep and subtle story in which every viewer will be able to recognize. Because of this, we think that this film can win the heart of every viewer and that it has potential for cinema viewing. Together with the co-producers, we will work out a special plan for distribution and placement.
If possible, we plan to "save" the film for its premiere at one of the world's leading festivals, such as the IDFA festival in Amsterdam or Jihlava in the Czech Republic. This will enable special promotion of the film for all further showings. Then, we plan to premiere the film in Croatia, in one of the leading cinema halls, because we expect a large number of viewers at the premiere. After that, we plan to screen the film in major cities in Croatia in digitized and renovated cinemas with a guest appearance by the film crew and a discussion with the audience.
In this way, we will bring various audiences, from young to old, closer to the work of our filmmakers and promote the artistic value of this film, as well as promote the importance of support and investment in such projects that encourage audiovisual creativity.
In addition to this, we certainly count on participation in one of the domestic film festivals and premier festival events (Zagrebdox, Pula Film Festival, Days of Croatian Film, Liburnija Film Festival, etc.) and participation in some of the prominent European or regional film festivals (Beldocs, CPX , Beyond the Borders, Sarajevo Film Festival, etc.). A special part in the distribution and placement of the film will be the promotion in the Docs for Sale (IDFA) program, where our two documentaries were selected and offered to foreign selectors and distributors.
At this moment, we have confirmed funds from the Croatian Audiovisual Center and co-producers from Bosnia and Herzegovina who will participate in the realization of the film as part of minority co-production. Also, we count on finding other co-producers and distributors who can confirm their interest in this film project and help with filming in the Netherlands, post-production and distribution of the film. Co-producers from foreign countries will be able to help a lot in the distribution of the film at very important foreign documentary film festivals.
It will also help us when filming some segments of the film in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for the most part in the Netherlands and Canada, and in the post-production phase of the film.
Trailers
