DIRECTED by: Igor Stanojević
Anja and Ahmo find themselves on Earth 2.0, only to discover that things there are much the same as they were on Earth.
Five Questions with Director Igor Stanojević
What was a unique challenge you faced in making this film?
Choosing the right approach to adapting a book of poetry, albeit rather narrative poetry, is a deliciously fluid task. In a parallel universe, there exists a lot more elaborate directorial take on the same subject matter that I strongly considered and, indeed, planned for, but ultimately decided to keep it restrained and let the writing itself come through.
The window of time for the shoot was quite narrow, and in opting for one day of the kind of weather you see in the film rather than two of the sunny kind, the only options available to us in this particular case, I ended up cutting our shooting time in half, in order to get the right mood for the piece. I would make the same choice again.
Where did the inspiration for this film come from?
While reading Ana Marija Grbić’s powerful verse, the images flowed naturally to my mind – ones already obliquely featured in the work itself as well as ones my own thoughts guided me towards. When you have a book like Earth 2.0, one can only ever be over-inspired.
Who are your top influences?
I’ve always found inspiration in Rented Lips by Robert Downey, Sr, a movie that taught me everything about filmmaking that I needed to know but nobody else wanted to teach me.
What do you hope people take away from this film?
Perhaps a feeling.
What’s your personal takeaway from this production?
Starting a fire in a desolate place is quite thrilling.