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Jan Cvitkovič • Director

Irony in life and cinema

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- Jan Cvitkovič • Gravehopping's director

Jan Cvitkovič , archaeologist, actor, writer and director —almost out of curiosity—, is one of the most promising filmmakers in Slovenia. His first feature film, Bread and Milk, presented at the Venice International Film Festival in 2001, received the Golden Lion of the Future. Now Cvitkovič is back with Gravehopping (o.t. Odgrobadogroba), a Slovenian-Croatian film co-produced by Staragara, Propeler film Zagreb, RTV Slovenja, and co-financed by the Slovene Film Fund and the Ministry of Culture of Croatia. The film, which received the Altadis – New Directors Award in the 53rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, is about to open in Slovenia, screening in the Ljubljana International Film Festival (10 – 24 November). In this depiction of the daily life of a professional funeral speaker, his family and friends, Cvitkovič combines dark comedy elements and instrumental versions of pop songs with the shadow of a violent unannounced tragedy. Interview with a filmmaker, whose sense of irony nourishes both his scripts and his answers.

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Cineuropa: Gravehopping is about the way people relate to death, but all characters seem very ironic towards this dark prospect. Is that some sort of self-defence?
Jan Cvitkovič: Most of the people I know are very ironic about death. Detachment is a kind of a weapon against fear. I used that irony, but the film is more about acceptance —one character dies voluntarily, for love, let's say… Every person should reach a certain point in their lives when they realise that death is not such a terrible thing: it is part of life and we should learn to accept it.

What about the relationship with God? Is it a main concern in your film, outside the religious ceremonies?
I don't really like religions. When I say God, I mean the Universe. In the beginning of the film there is a quote by J.D.Salinger about everything around us being God and about a 6-year-old boy's realising it as he sees his baby sister drinking milk: she was God and the milk was God. That is the key to understand the essence of this film.

Why did you write a film about a man who makes speeches at funerals? Is it a real job in Slovenia?
People do it voluntarily and you can pay them if you wish. It is still rather common in small towns. The idea came up very naturally, as I was discussing it with a friend. Yet, unlike my previous film, this one is not based on real people; all stories and all situations were invented.

How did you and the actors approach the characters? Did the deaf and dumb character required a special attention?
Sonja Savis, who plays Ida, is very different from the other actors. We have this very intense relationship which may lead to conflicts but can the same time be really inspiring. I had two months to prepare her and the rest of the cast. We did exercises which were not related to the film at all, worked a lot on improvisation, instead of rehearsing the script.

When you finally shot, did you stick to the script or were the actors allowed to improvise?
Several things were invented on the set, by discussing with the actors. For some scenes, I made suggestions without really knowing why. Later, as I was editing, I realised these scenes were amongst the most powerful of the film. I like letting my intuition guide my actions.

The film which seems to start as a black comedy ends very tragically. Why is that?
The turning point of the film was not improvised at all. When I make a film I never think about a genre. I find genre a silly limitation. I just felt like making it that way and once again followed my intuition.

Can you tell us about your work with Simon Tanšek, the DoP?
As I was trying to figure out what kind of film I wanted to do, I started analysing the work of some painters. I liked the colours of Degas and used them as an inspiration for the interior scenes, but outdoors, I wanted golden light. Simon —with whom I had already worked on Idle Running (1999)— and I spent some time in the countryside of Slovenia just to study the light, get a feel of it.

How difficult was it to finance the film?
We got the support of the Slovene Film Fund, and everything went ok, this time —for I had quite a different experience with my previous film, Bread and Milk, which was initially rejected; then the jury changed so I presented the project again (without changing a line) and it was accepted. The film was also supported by the Ministry of Culture of Croatia, although it was entirely shot in Western Slovenia. We had a Croatian crew filming the making of.

Is it true you are not a film lover?
It is. I have never been a film fan. I am actually an archaeologist who started writing scripts by accident. Then I started to act and finally, I thought it might be interesting to shoot my own scripts. It made me curious so I wanted to give it a try. When some things I had written were filmed by others, the result was totally different from what I expected. So I thought I should do it myself. I wrote a script for a short film, Bread and Milk, which then became a feature film. It was successful so I carried on. I have been writing poetry lately; it is what I enjoy most at the moment. Maybe when I run out of money I will get back to films.

Is it all about the money, then?
Yes, of course (laughs).

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