You tell the story that actually happened in the beginning of the nineties from a certain time distance. Probably a lot of material has been amassed in the meantime.
Miha Mazzini: Time distance is quite long because we have been looking for money for a long time (laughter). From the original version of the script to the film's creation, it has been about ten years, but even before that, I thought of telling a story that would not be a biography, which I would have to base on actual events, and make one story out of several told stories.
What did your work process of collecting statements look like, and then the gathering of those stories?
Miha Mazzini: This erasing happened in 1992, but fortunately there are many non-governmental organizations that had these stories written, so there was plenty of material. I was hoping someone would tell this story much earlier, but nobody did, so I did it.
You said that it took a lot of time to raise money for this film. Why was that so difficult considering this story addresses social issues?
Frenk Celarc: When I read this script, I thought that this story should be told not only to Slovenians, but to the whole world. We were supposed to assemble a lot of people in order to gain some power, to achieve something and I am proud of what we did.
Apart from being the director of photography, you are also the co-director of the film. How did this collaboration come about?
Dušan Joksimović: Miha (Mazzini) and I have already worked together on a short film, so we agreed to do this together.
What drew you to this story and what got you interested in establishing the cooperation with Slovenia?
Biljana Prvanović: We, Delirium Films, work a lot with Slovenia, this is the sixth project that we work on as producers. The story was extremely interesting and it is a story that concerns us. However, it took time to convince the Film Centre to fund this film.
You are the voice of many who have gone through the same story. How did you react when you first read the script and how did you prepare for this role?
Judita Franković: I got to know the whole story for the first time when they called me for an audition. I had not been overly informed about it before. It is when I got the role that I became conscious of the story that we would be telling, and then I began to collect information that was quite terrible. So, you arrive somewhere, at the bank or to the doctor’s, and you say that you need help, and someone answers you: Excuse me, but you do not exist. But I am here? Flesh and blood ... I am sorry, we do not have you in the system. It still sends shiver down my spine when I think that this story is not only the story of those erased people but the story of all of those people who are left without identity and roof over their heads, all those refugees who are fleeing, who are certainly not running away because they are doing well at home. I think it is important that we got an opportunity to tell this story.
Your character appears pretty late in the film and until the very end we are not sure if he will help the main heroine.
Sebastian Cavazza: This character is constrained, in an unusual way, as part of the mosaic of the system. She comes for help, he does not really help her, he asks if she needs money, so everything is reduced to ... And besides, that is his child as well.
Veronika Klačar
