FEST IS THE PINNACLE OF YUGOSLAV GLAMOUR

Director Goran Rusinovic is an old acquaintance of the Belgrade public, who had the opportunity to see his previous two films – Mondo Bob and the World Monster. The third film, Buick Riviera, was inspired by the same named book of bestseller mid-generation writer Miljenko Jergovic. Rusinovic says the cooperation with Miljenko was excellent and that it began at a very specific moment of his life:

“This film was a big adventure, having lasted four and a half years of difficult production. It is not very easy to plan a shooting on another continent, as it was not easy to plan it financially. But it was worth it. Since the Sarajevo film festival, where it was first shown, it has a very successful festival life. The circumstances related to my decision to make the film are interesting too. It happened that I was reading Jergovic’s book when I started living in America. A simple story: two characters, one care and a road made me start thinking about making a film. It was an impulse after my second film that was huge production wise and I had a big team for it. I wanted to go back to the simple human story. This script drew much more attention than predicted and this is logical in view of the story and the theme. When the film got out of Croatia, it was shown on festivals in the scope of programs including psychological thriller, dramas, road movies… It was placed in various genres. It is not far from the truth for all these genres are present in the film. But the story and the film were a tragedy from the very beginning, a story about two people who can’t have a happy ending,” Goran Rusinovic says.

Miljenko Jergovic wrote the Buick Riviera in 2002. He says that he didn’t picture the readers of his book like Goran Rusinovic.

“Truth be told, I never imagine my readers, I imagine and invent characters and places I write about. I never visited America. I have invented a non-existent city in order to avoid facts. However, the situation of an immigrant, a person living outside of his world and space was very well known to me; first, I had friends scattered worldwide because of the war, but also personally. Regardless of me living in Croatia and have the “papers”, I came to that country after 16 months of living under siege in Sarajevo, without the need or intention to be someone else. The situation in which you are walking in this foreign world (wherever – in the USA, Germany)… and you hear someone speaking you language… You can’t be sure if he is yours” or someone else’s… if he is a friend or foe.

It’s was very interesting for starters… How do “our people” who are placed in a foreign world identify those “other” identities! How one’s heart shivers when you hear your people on the railway station in Frankfurt and you’re thinking at the same time can they be the ones from the other side of the trenches? It was fascinating and the motive for my book. When Rus came having read the book, that was it for me. The first reason is that he is a bright and talented man and the second one is that different existentialist situation one must understand what it is like to be in another country. Finally, we are also politically on the same side. Such story may easily slide in the stupid UNPROFOR pathetic or in nationalism, even worse. When we agreed on the story, I was relieved that it couldn’t happen. When later I saw the film, I was amazed. Although I believed Rusinovic had made a film the story deserves, I thought that only a small number of people would understand what it is about. I didn’t think Buick will end up in Sarajevo (Two “Heart of Sarajevo” awards, for best film and best actors), let alone on FEST! As a kid, I always thought that FEST is an impressive event for big films, the pinnacle of Yugoslav glamour. FEST and the Pula Festival were the pinnacle of Yugoslav Socialist glamour. The fact that this film is on a post-Yugoslav or post-communist FEST is something completely incredible and of course, beautiful”, Miljenko Jergovic said.