Damjan Kozole – director of the film Rezervni Deli (Spare Parts)

by Federico Greco

Slovenian director Damjan Kozole is interviewed during the press conference at the 53 Berlin Film Festival where his film Rezervni Deli (Spare Parts) was screened.
The film is about two smugglers based in Krško, and the refugees they illegally transport across the Croatian border. The only Slovene nuclear power plant is based at the outskirts of Krško, a small industrial town near the southern Slovenian border with Croatia.
In the interview he says that in his films he tries to talk about issues he is interested in. He started working in this way at the beginning of his career for independent productions.
He says he is happy for he presentation of Rezervni Deli (Spare Parts), adding also that he entered a stage where he needs "to show where he stands". In the film he focused on the capacity to illustrate and show how bad and fragile life can be, especially in a town as Krško, where time is almost standing still. Many real-life illegal refugees and smugglers participated in the making of the film. As Damjan Kozole started the work, he collected newspaper articles about illegal migrants and the articles formed the basis for many situations in the film. With his production he shows how the hope for better future, which Europe represents to the refugees, often, turns into serious human drama.

Read the article about his feature