Global and Local, Fictive and Documentary

A heart-warming story about a father and son’s path to fame and glory and their bonding is the fruit of extraordinarily closely knit and energetic film crew. Apart from narrating the story of the main character, a Bosnian teenager Armin, the big screen images are also imbued with their characters.

After the screening in Kinoklub Vič the spectators were able to chat with the crew and cast; scriptwriter and director Ognjen Sviličić, the leading actors Emir Hadžihafisbegović and Armin Omerović, producer Damir Teresak and cinematographer Stanko Herceg, in charge of capturing the intimate story on film. Armin’s journey to Zagreb to try his luck at the casting for Put lubenica (film buffs were able to see it at last year’s LIFFe), accompanied by his father and an accordion, triggered off the idea for a script. Like in the movie, Armin’s real-life audition turned into an offer for a different, somewhat more befitting, non-documentary film. The young actor explained: “That isn’t me; I am completely different from the boy in the film.”  “Despite the realistic backdrop, it is not a ‘Bosnian’ story,” elucidated Emir Hadžihafisbegović. “The film has elicited an enthusiastic response because it features a universal story about the relationship between a father and a son that could be shot in Kuala Lumpur or Škofja Loka.”

Sporting genuine vigour and amiable humour, underpinning the convincing universality as well as authenticity of the film, the team won us over not only during the post-screening chat but also at Armin’s concert in Cankarjev dom, where the accordion was replaced by a guitar and a keyboard. Armin will be screened again on 15 November in Maribor and at 17.00 h in Linhart Hall.