Croatian producer Tamara Babun Zovko is among this year’s cohort at EFP’s Producers on the Move in Cannes. Her early credits include the popular documentaries Naked Island [+lire aussi :
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interview : Sonja Prosenc
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Cineuropa: Looking at your filmography, it seems you are interested in both strong auteur voices and audience-orientated films. What is it that attracts you to a project?
Tamara Babun Zovko: At first, I was picking projects which I wanted to learn from, or I simply loved a script and believed a story should be told to change people’s minds. Some of the projects I started way back when are still not finished, as it sometimes takes so long to finance and complete a film. Now I work with two other producers, Matija Drniković and Aleksandar Arsovski, and the conversations we have make all the difference in the work process. I am also a lot pickier. I say “no” a lot; I want to take more time to decide whether I want to spend several years of my life on a project.

What attracts me now is skill, determination, clarity of vision and a value system I can adhere to. But I think the reality of the world has moved us away from the exclusivity of the auteur or the frivolity of chasing the widest possible audience. The purpose of our work is challenged daily, and there needs to be deep emotion, strong intellect and a distinct perspective in our storytelling. I believe we need to think hard before we start working on a project – especially before we go into filming – about whether the world really needs our film or whether we should simply go and do something else. Sometimes, it takes more guts to give up than to go through with something.

You are also producing series, a format that has been growing in this region in recent years. How do you see the regional scene and the potential audience reach?
I am producing two documentary series – one about families who work sustainably in agriculture and farming, and one about scientists. This is a good format to use to shed light on topics that are meaningful but that usually stay hidden because good news is not interesting to the media. The size of the audience for these series shows that people do seek the motivation and inspiration that quality TV can bring. 

But I honestly don't think we know what audiences in Southeast Europe prefer, as there is not enough choice for them to be able to really develop a taste, and this is because there is not enough money or continuity of financing. Such work is expensive, and skills are best developed on the job, so we need to work a lot more and face the audience regularly in order for us to know how to be better and for the audience to distinguish between the different levels of quality.

When do you typically get on board a project?
I like to get on board very early, at the idea stage, but I do have two projects that I am working on now which were partially developed before I joined, and I find that it doesn't really make a huge difference. What does make a difference is if a director knows what they want, and if we are aligned in terms of values and culture.

What are you working on at the moment?
Drniković and I are at the financing stage of First Week of August, the first feature by director Filip Mojzeš, and Night Waves, Heraković’s second feature. We are also in production with the documentaries Another Film About the War, Father & Home by Damir Markovina, Zanki by Marcella Zanki, Parenthood by Katarina Zrinka Matijević and Identity by Slađana Lučić. The fourth season of the Back to the Land documentary series by Filip Filković Philatz and Tomislav Krnić is also under way. Dalija Dozet is editing her short Buše, and I am in editing with a short that I wrote and directed, entitled In Another World. Some of our films are coming out this year: Franko Dujmić’s Funk Yu [see the news] and Renata Lučić’s A Year of Endless Days. It is a busy time!