With more than 100,000 views on TCN’s article on the viral video America First, Croatia Third, we catch up with one of the three masterminds of the video on February 9, 2017 – stand up comedian,Ivan Šarić.
1. Tears are still rolling down my cheeks. A fabulous video – tell us how the idea came about, and who was involved?
After the video from the Netherlands and Germany we had an idea to do the same for Croatia. We loved the idea that we can be part of a big European troll movement. Material for political satire is one thing we have in abundance in this region.
We made the video in 22 hours from scratch to upload. People behind the scenes are Siniša Mareković, Vedran Tomac and me.
2. Dubrovnik walls, fake Slovenian walls, Slovenian women, the Croatian invention of the tie – there were so many fantastic links to Trump. With so much rich material, it must have been hard to limit yourself to the end product. Tell us a little about that, and also about any gems that did not quite make the cut.
You’re absolutely correct about that. So much stuff going on in this Monthy Python Republic… if we wanted to do a decent video and mention everything, it would last 45 minutes.
3. There are several of these videos now in circulation from other European counties. Do you have a particular favourite, and why?
Definitely. We love the Netherlands video and the video from Switzerland.
4. It is a clever video, which strikes a balance of promoting Croatia as a destination with pushing some buttons of some of the neighbours. How hard was it to get that balance right?
Thank you for noticing. We wanted to say that we love our country and are proud of it, we knew that the video would be controversial, and that it would gain some traction and actually be a great campaign for Croatian tourism.
5. You were the first Croatian standup comedian to put a sold-out sign on Lisinski hall twice, celebrating a decade in this business. What’s next?
This year I’m planning to do a big stand-up comedy tour with my show in the Balkan region. A couple of months ago the idea to take the show to Canada, America, Australia, Germany… came up. So, if all goes well maybe my Balkan people will have the chance to see me live. I’m very excited about that.
6. Last year your show was seen by more than 30.000 people, which is more than some Croatian Football League soccer teams. Maybe Croatians should invest more in comedy, compared to sports?
Stand-up comedy is relatively new in our country, but it’s growing rapidly. Ten years ago when I started doing stand-up it was very difficult, people couldn’t pronounce stand-up, they would say “let’s watch that stand-by comedy show. Now times have changed and young comedians have it much more easier. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a hard job to do in Croatia.
I’m lucky enough that I can live from my stand up gigs. I’m also lucky that I have found my calling in life because I live for stand up.
7. One of your first international projects was focused on Jon Stewart, where you made a video „Hire me Jon Stewart”. Do you have international offers, or at least a proposal for a diaspora tour?
Not, yet. But if anybody would like to help that would be great!
8. Do Croatians have a good sense of humour, or do they need to be in some kind of crisis situation to trigger it?
Sometimes I think that we survive in Croatia because of our sense of humour. It’s a bit dark and brutal. Just like life in Croatia…
9. Why do people often say that Croatians can’t make funny movies, especially compared to Serbs, or Czechs?
We are a funny nation! Pun intended.
I think that kind of comments are a jealousy thing. Because Croatians don’t like Croatians. Do you know that old Croatian saying: “I hope my neighbour’s cow dies!”
10. For our readers who are not familiar with your work before this video, can you briefly introduce yourself and perhaps give us a couple of links of other video material you have produced?
Hi I’m Ivan Šarić and I am a comedian.
Here is my Facebook page if you want to follow my work and receive info about my shows. Hope to see you soon in Diaspora! 😀
