Maja Miloš’ feature film debut Clip is a raw portrait of the generation gap in Serbia where young teens indulge in destructive group behaviour involving lots of drugs, sex and pop music. So what’s new? The social media.
In a nutshell: "Clip is an intimate, tender story that plays out against a hard background. A mix of cruel reality and love scenes, a mixture of the disinterest of young people and the severity of social problems in Serbia."
First time
"It was a much more complicated process than I had become accustomed to making my previous short films and documentaries. Complex due to the theme and because the cast was young and inexperienced. I spent three years working on this film. I started casting two years ago and during the four months preceding shooting we talked and rehearsed intensively with the youngsters involved. Once we reached the set, everything went surprisingly smoothly in spite of the intense scenes the actors had to play."
Serbia
"In Serbia it is difficult for anyone to make a film, whether you are famous or have only just started, it makes no difference. During the 1960s and 1970s, Serbian cinema was world class and quality was really high. This was followed by a period of indifference. That is slowly changing now. Government subsidies were recently re-introduced and thanks to digital technology it is much easier for makers to just start."
Rotterdam
"Nothing is more important to young filmmakers than screening their film to an audience. Being selected for a festival as important as the IFFR is the best opportunity a debut film can be given."
Generational conflict
"My own youth wasn’t what you call plain sailing; there was a war on. Now our society is determined by a combination of lost values and total apathy. The older generation is conspicuously conservative and many young people rebel against this by fleeing into overly passionate relationships. That passion expresses itself in both violence and immense tenderness. The behaviour of youngsters in Clip is unpredictable, just like in real life. I initially wrote the script with 18-year olds in mind, but after conducting research, I made the characters younger. I spoke to hundreds of young people of whom some 80 percent had experience with home-made sex tapes that were disseminated online. This was particularly prevalent among 14 – 16-year olds.
The lead Isidora Simijonovic was only 14 when we shot Clip so I spent a lot of time talking to her and her parents, continually placing every scene in its context to clarify why it was so crucial for it to be in the film. Honesty was paramount, I did not want to engage in exploitation."
Bright Future
"After the IFFR I will give myself a week off and then I’ll start my social research for my next project which will also be based on Serb reality. Naturally, in time, I hope to be able to make another film with Isidora. I truly think that I found a diamond in the mud!"
Clip – Maja Miloš
Fri 27 15:30 Pathé 7, Sat 28 21:15 Pathé 6, Mon 30 16:15 Pathé 3, Tue 2 22:15 LantarenVenster 3, Sat 4 21:45 Pathé 5