Chess is a pure drama

Sometimes as filmmakers we are looking for new fields of drama for ideas for films. Court and medicine are the best examples of pure drama where life and death and other values like justice are at stake. That explains the popularity of courtroom series and hospital tv series.

But sometimes drama lies in the things that we usually regard as boring. Chess is a great example of a dramatic sport where personalities and different temperaments crash and collide.

A new film "Bobby Fischer Against the World" distributed by DogWoof, proves that chess is a great source of drama with great and weird genius at war, like Bobby Fischer himself. This is the first documentary to explore the bizarre life of one of the greatest chess players, Bobby Fischer.

You can watch the preview or the whole film here

Michael Schumacher. Brilliant 20 years.

The other day I was talking to the priest in Orthodox church as part of my "Leto Be" documentary about the fans of 30secondstomars, Echelon. So I was asking him about the lines in Bible that say that one shall not make yourself an idol in the form of of anything. The truth is that I always had idols in life, they helped me to be who I am.

One of them, the first of them is Michael Schumacher.

He is an unwritten book. He is a warrior in shining arms of nowadays. His poster that I had since I was 15, helped me to believe in myself and to fight till the end. Whether you are at the exam and feel like you lost it all, or in your relationship. He was always fighting till the end even when it was illogical to continue. The most logical driver used his intuition when it mattered the most.


And sometimes he was totally wrong. I admire him for his mistakes more then for his championships. Not that I approve of them and I am glad he acknowledged and apologised and learnt a big deal from them. He didn't give up.

It is very easy to take your mistake of one moment, one wrong choice you did and guide your whole life as a misery and blame yourself and have this eternal excuse of being a wrong-doer. It takes far more courage and inner strength to stand up as if you are a new person with a blank history and go on. It is much easier to be unhappy then happy and brilliant.

Michael Schumacher is not brilliant because he's born brilliant. He is brilliant because he chose to be brilliant. And that choice is a choice of a true hero. Whether it means tragic hero one day, like in Adelaide, or a perfect hero like in Japan (choose your favourite year).

My admiration of him wasn't always consistent. I cried my eyes out when he broke his leg. And his decision of come-back made me cry too, in a good way. But then for numerous races I was questioning his decision and choice to be back. Until I realised again, that he is being himself, not an idol, a real person who makes illogical choices because he believes in them. And he might be wrong sometimes. But yet again, he will never have regrets, that he didn't try.

He is racing for 20 years because he cannot not to race and there is no ego anymore involved in this process. He is doing it because he can and he wants to. I admire this even more then some of his greatest victories. He reached the state of not caring when he cares. It's hard to explain but I guess that's what they call wisdom and I hope that one day I will reach it too. And when I do, I will look back at my most embarrassing moments in life and acknowledge them and be thankful to Michael Schumacher for teaching me not to give up and get pass your own selfish guilt.

Last race (Spa 2011) was amazing and British media and fans all worshipped Button who came third from 13th. But the man who was 5th came from the last place on grid, he overtook 19 cars. He didn't win. Neither did Button. But we know that those two really are true warriors.

I have no vocabulary to express my feelings to Michael!!!

To prove he is not an idol but a human being here is a press-conference of him at Monza when he cried.


Picture taking from F1Racing Facebook page, September issue of F1Racing magazine. 

My Short Observational documentary "Two More Sausages"

As some of you know I am co-producing a feature documentary happening in Bosnia "My Side Of School". Director Chris Bates is leaving today for the first trip of shooting today so wish him luck. With your help and support of our friends and relatives we raised $4000 for the first art of the documentary. Check out the fund-raising trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki1zYr3k1Dw&feature=player_embedded


But as a director of documentaries I am very novice, so here is my first very short observational documentary on one day of a local coffeeshop "Two More Sausages". The criteria for this doc was to shoot without words, so no interviewing and not interfering the process and life. This is as part of my documentary module at MetFilm School.

As my tutor, Caroline Deeds, director of some BBC and Channel 4 docs, always says, patience is very important for any documentary-maker. And it was certainly true in case of shooting "Two More Sausages". A 3 hours wait was worth it as a very interesting client appeared in the cofeeshop...



Please let me know what you think and how it can be made better, your advice is very important for me.

Licensed Web Series

During two months of this summer I was working on the webseries called "Licensed" as a producer. These are webseries about Raymond Hewitt, a TV Licensing detective enforcement officer. His sole mission in life is to find all those who have failed to pay for their TV Licences and punish them. He will do so in style.

The production of series was a great pleasure and surely a lot of hard work. It was a great experience and I shall take some time one day to share with you my idea of making webseries on low budget.

Here is a 4th episode of Licensed, where Raymond Hewitt visits a student house...

If you like the series, subscribe to us on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/LicensedProductions

My Side Of School - Crowdfunding campaign

I have been quiet on this blog for a while, please forgive me for such a long silence. I was going to create a new blog but then decided that this one has too many things I value.

I am co-producing a feature documentary called "My Side Of School".

My Side of School' will be an observational documentary about the division between young and old in the small town of Stolac in Bosnia & Herzegovina. There is already division in Stolac - the population of Bosniaks (Muslim) and Croats (Catholic) has endured nationalist rule since the end of the war in the 90s, and local politics aims to keep the two groups apart.

Most young people do not mix with those from the other group, drinking coffee in their own cafes.
However Edvin, Nives and friends are unconventional in that they are a group from both backgrounds.

These characters find it hard to spend time together, especially during the week, as the school they all attend keeps the two ethnicities apart: Croats attend in the morning, and Bosniaks in the afternoon.
Separate sets of staff teach them their own languages and their own versions of history.

This division is clear in the open, but away from the public eye, it's a different story.

There is a hotel in the centre of town which has been decaying since it was burnt out during the war.
Nives and her friend Zora joke that it's now alive again - its dark rooms are the perfect place for clandestine, cross-ethnic teenage adventures.
If their parents knew they were romantically involved with Muslim boys, there would be hell to pay.

This feature-length observational documentary will follow these and other characters over 12 months, to provide a picture of young love, ambition versus apathy, and the conflict between religion, politics and identity in a country that is struggling to prepare itself for the future.

We are funding the next trip to Bosnia via crowdfunding on the website called Indiegogo. For as little as $5 you can be involved in making this documentary and be part of this project.

Dream Journal - death of a cowboy

July 9 - crime scene
This dream was again without my presence and not about me. I was a constructor of a dream, I was a director looking through the camera display, a writer putting the words in the mouth of a man.
This man, a cow-boy looking old man with grey hair but yrt black moustache, was shot in two places. His first thought was how is it fair, but it soon passed away necause a sharp wave of pain hit his brain and soul. He thought for a moment that he can trick death yet again. He covered the wound with his hand and on camera he was alive. But he was dying in a movie, and for him - both an actor and character it was a point of no return. 
He died in my dream, he died in a movie, but that image of an old hand covering wound is still there.

Film Releases in 2011

My friends from FirstShowing.Net created a wonderful list of film releases in 2011 (US dates).

This list should be as usual divided into the Pre-Oscar season untill March and Post-Oscar season.

January is full of funny blockbusters and comedies with the highlight of beloved "Green Hornet".

Not so many big names are released in February as companies will be busy with the awards season.

March comes back to screens with several interesting-looking thrillers: The Adjustment Bureau, Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer.

April looks interesting as it highlites the release of comedy "Your Highness", a detective action film "Hanna" and circus drama "Water for Elephants".

May is definately a big month for blockbusters: Hangover part 2, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom. Another film that is coming out in May is the film I am most looking forward to "The Tree of Life" starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.

Summer brings us a great number of summer actions flicks like Green Lantern, X-Men, Cars 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Captain America: The First Avenger, Cowboys & Aliens and the final part of Harry Potter.