Back in 1999, while my hometown of Belgrade was being blown up by 19 different countries, I was writing and uploading a diary. One day, a producer from German national TV phoned me. She’d been reading my online journal (Diary of a Political Idiot) and thought it might make a good film.

Unfortunately, since her country was so busy bombing mine, she couldn’t give me any practical help. However, she thought that if my film somehow got made, she could promote and distribute it, and show it at film festivals.

Immediately, I said yes! What a great occasion to make a meaningful European art film, without those tiresome commercial restrictions, backers, producers, and other artistic brakes that every true cineaste fears!

First, I found a cameraman who had somehow survived Bosnia with his equipment intact. He was a Serbian CNN stringer, which was perfect since everyone in 1999 thought that wars could only be won by and/or through CNN.

posted by Xeni Jardin at 04:11:01 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments