10/03/2017 - We met up with Tibor Keser, Emerging Producer 2017 from Croatia, to discuss his work with the production company Restart

We met up with Tibor Keser, Emerging Producer 2017 from Croatia, to discuss his work with the production company Restart.

What qualities should a documentary producer have these days?
Rich relatives? A trust fund? Joking aside, a contemporary producer must be a know-it-all type of a person. Jack of all trades, master of one – finance. While technological know-how can save the project money, being an outgoing person helps a lot as does love of travel. Computer skills are an absolute necessity. I also find that vigorous scouting for talents should be really high-up on every to-do list.

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To what extent do you, as a producer, get involved in the creative process?
It always depends on the vision and the director. Some directors like when everyone throws ideas around to see what sticks, some are more driven by their own vision and don't like input from anyone. A creative producer should probably be skilled and talented enough to fill any gap when needed, but to also surround him or herself with people that will do the best job.

What projects do you have underway?
I'm co-producing wonderful documentary Playing Men by Matjaz Ivanisin. It's his second film after Karpotrotter. The film is, simply stated, a documentary about why and how men play games – but it goes much deeper in its search for a perfect "gamer". We're finishing and soon premiering My Life Without Air. It's a debut feature-length doc by Bojana Burnać, focusing on the character of the
world record holder in apnea type of diving. The film is not a biopic but more a journey into what makes us push ourselves beyond our comfort zones. The other feature length debut we're about to finish is Days of Madness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Damian Nenadić. It's a heart-warming and intimate story about Maja and Mladen, two brave individuals battling with psychological issues by filming themselves. 

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Emerging Producers is a promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the Emerging Producers 2018 edition is 31 March, 2017. Click here.