March 9, 2020 – Bold and visionary Croatia film director, Hana Jušić, is pleased that the female position is strengthening among domestic filmmakers. And young women directors like Jušić are increasingly visible in Croatia and abroad.
No Wolf Has a House | Hana Jušić
Her first feature film “Quit Staring at My Plate” was awarded the best European film in Venice, and her short film “No Wolf Has a House” received several awards in London. The award-winning Croatian director is in development with her second feature film “God Will Not Help”, produced by Kinorama in coproduction with Gustav film from Slovenia and TICO Film Company from Italy.
Few Acclaimed Croatia Women Directors
However, the young artist does not believe that her successes have rubbed off on other female colleagues quite yet. She shared her thoughts about the emergence of a new female wave in the film industry in Croatia with Ana Lukiček/24 Sata on March 8, 2020.
“Talking about this (female) wave in terms of identity, rather than on a poetic basis, is not interesting to me. But one can certainly reflect upon empowering womens’ position among artists in Croatian film,” explained the director.
Quit Staring at My Plate | Hana Jušić
She premiered the bleak oppressive story of a working-class family in Šibenik at the Tokyo Film Festival. “Quit Staring at My Plate” has won awards at many major international film festivals, and young directors, like Jušić, are increasingly visible worldwide.
Women Directors Completing First Features
“There are simply more of us, so we have become more present and stronger. For example, my colleagues Sonja Tarokić and Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović are completing their feature films. Dubravka Turić is preparing to shoot her film, and I hope I didn’t overlook anyone. Until recently, big budget movies had rarely been in womens’ hands, she pointed out.
She also indicates that many younger colleagues, who have already completed great short films, are excitedly preparing for their first features. As she works as a Professor at ADU (Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb) she is proud of her female students, who are both ambitious and fearless. She believes that it is up to them to mature artistically, stand in solidarity with younger women and help them find their way in the industry.
Jušić: Young Women Directors Will Make Living
“When I was studying, Snježana Tribuson, was the only female professor in the department and the only woman to have made feature films. She was very supportive of us. As the number of women in this business expands, young women will find it increasingly possible to pursue a career as director and live off the income of that job,” Jušić claims.
She has seen changes as they relate to colleagues who are engaged in varios activities in the film sphere. As producers, directors and directors of photography; they will continue to pave the way.
“In a climate of mutual female empowerment, other filmmakers, actresses and editors are also becoming bolder. One famous late director’s book describes female film editors as pleasant basement women who did whatever a director told them to do. That approach won’t work today.
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