This year's Film Festival in Pula, famous and appreciated in these parts since the time of Yugoslavia, ended on July 23 with an award ceremony. Four awards were given to two Serbian films: The summer when I learned to fly received the Audience Award (rating 4,87) and the Golden Arena to the actress Snježana Sinovčić Šišković, and the Serbian minority co-production Uncle won Golden Arenas for best screenplay and costume.
Only three media reported on this success of the domestic film abroad.
Namely, in those days, local media of all kinds were talking about Aleksandar Vučić's failed attempt to visit Jasenovac privately, so it is possible that it was considered inappropriate to convey good news from Croatia, regardless of the fact that it relates to Serbia.
To make the bad luck even worse, The summer when I learned to fly (a film for children and adults directed by Radivoj Raša Andrić based on the book of the same name by Jasminka Petrović) was on the program of the Pula Festival on July 18, just at the time when President Aleksandar Vučić was explaining to the nation that Croatia did not obey his wish not because it respects its laws , as he claims, but because he and the Serbian people do not respect him.
Jasminka Petrović does not want to comment on why the media were not interested in announcing the success of the Serbian film, although she admits that it surprised her.
He says that none of what happened that day between the two countries was felt in Pula. She only noticed the summer and festival atmosphere, and that young people from Serbia work in the cafes.
The Serbian film in Pula, says Jasminka Petrović, did not for a single moment prompt anyone to mention the current interstate excess.
"I would say that there are two parallel realities in the region. One takes place among politicians, and the other among other people. They do their thing, and we do ours."
He worries that "politics is taking up more and more of our living space." It robs us of time, joy, hope. The Pula Film Festival was not the place to talk about Vučić. Both the guests and the hosts had many other topics to talk about - about art, creativity, children, the sea, love... There were business and private meetings, public performances, interviews... I think politicians should take care of their people, not the people about theirs. politicians."
He says that "the whole of July 18 was festive and joyful. Before noon, we were at a reception at the Serbian Cultural Center", and emphasizes that Serbs are right behind Croats in terms of the number of inhabitants of Pula. "The director of the library from Pazin came and initiated the project The summer when I learned to fly – book, play, film and to organize visits to Istrian schools."
It was an example, says Jasminka Petrović, "of connecting individuals thanks to which many films and other works of art are created." People unite and do for culture what their ministries of culture should do."
In the evening, the team Leta entered the "most wonderful cinema in the world" with a red carpet. There were about 3000 visitors, of different generations, mostly in a family environment. During the screening, they reacted very passionately, there were laughs and tears, and at the end of the film there was a long, strong applause."
"And this time the audience recognized our good intention and message of peace." In the Arena, both the book and the film proved to be bigger than all of us together. That night I fell asleep with a confirmation - if we want to change the world, we deal with culture for children and young people."
According to Jasminka Petrović, the film was shown in the Arena with English subtitles and Croatian titles The summer when I learned to fly. The beginning of the cinema showing in Croatia will be on August 11.
The novel, whose publisher is "Kreativni centar", has not been published in Croatia, even though in it Jasminka Petrović talks about the summer vacation of the teenage girl Sofia on Hvar, and even though the novel is spoken not only in Serbian, but also in the Bodul dialect, as spoken on Hvar. "There are some Croatian publishers who are interested in the book, but the contract has not been signed yet. I hope that the situation will be clarified soon. I believe that the film will also help in that."
The summer when I learned to fly is the latest example of Serbian cultural diplomacy. State borders, says Jasminka Petrović, "break through honesty." First to yourself, and then to readers, viewers, listeners. Also important is honest feedback from the audience to the authors. That's exactly why I decided to write for the youngest. Children don't really care what my name is, where I'm from, what my plans are. They are only interested in one thing - whether the book concerns them or not. If they are bored, they stop reading, if they find it interesting, they read to the end."
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