Former Culture Minister hopes to send his documentary to film festivals.
Jasen Mesić, HDZ’s MP and former Minister of Culture (2010-2011), is again running for Parliament. He has the sixth position on HDZ’s candidate list in the sixth parliamentary constituency and for the last several weeks has been campaigning hard to get re-elected. However, that is where all the similarities between him and other candidates disappear. Mesić has decided to make his campaign the subject of a documentary film which he will direct. He will then send it to documentary film festivals, hoping to be selected for competition, reports Novi List on September 6, 2016.
That is an original approach, since as far as we know no one has ever done a documentary about a campaign for the perspective of a candidate himself. Those who did have cameras around them, usually did it only to have shots of them greeting people and listening to compliments. “I am not doing that. This documentary will be dedicated to voters in the sixth constituency which is in a difficult economic and economic situation”, said Mesić. And he is right, whether he is talking about the rights of workers at the Zagreb Airport, the collapse of industry in Sisak, or the people who work for Petrokemija which is the major employer in Kutina.
“Ninety percent of material includes regular people talking. There is everything; proposals, criticism, despair and disappointments. I have to say that this campaign has given me a lot to think about when it comes to our responsibility as politicians”, said Mesić.
The reaction of his party has so far been positive. But what do voters themselves have to say? “It seems that people did not expect this from me. Those of us who come from the world of culture are often considered to be very serious people. However, this is something completely different. It is very nice to remember some of the locations in this area. My grandparents were from Sisak, and I grew up in this part of Zagreb and lived here my whole youth. With this documentary, in a way I remember that part of my life and I would love to represent this area as a member of Parliament, said Mesić.
Mesić will soon start posting videos for the film on his Facebook page. He says there will be praise, questions, criticisms, everything except censorship. “There were some funny moment. For example, when I did not recognize that the lady whom I was talking with was a well-known Croatian singer Jasna Zlokić. Or when my acquaintance who does deliveries in Zagreb first said he would give me all his support, but then demanded I pay him 200 kuna for a delivery ‘because only politicians have money’. However, the worst part is when people say they are ready to leave Croatia”, explained Mesić.
