Aleksi

“Aleksi” is a coming-of-age film, but the girl who is coming of age is pushing 30. Stuck under her parents’ roof, she is ignoring her pressing responsibilities and acting on her impulses with various men. I think a lot of young women could relate with her. We all have an Aleksi in our lives. She is your savage friend, your rebellious daughter and that girl who broke your heart.

My personal experience and experience of my generation that takes a bit too long to grow up drew me to this story. In this post-recession period, people in their late 20s are stuck in an uncomfortable middle-ground, ejected from university into a big fat nothing. The expectations the society has from women are insane – nothing more or less than “to have it all.” I wanted to portray a pretty flawed girl who is totally deaf to what society wants and just follows her intuition and impulses, and add to the diversity of female heroines presented on the big screen.

Also, I am drawn to stories that focus on strong individuals, especially those with the potential to redefine certain standards imposed by society. Films have the power to create role models and define existence, and so far, I have seen a very limited type of women leading movies. Most of them are really alike: beautiful, sweet, appropriate. So, I thought, it would be kinda necessary to create a character who is a mess, a savage and totally deaf to what society wants from her. I observed the girls my age in my surroundings and noticed this inner conflict that appears in their mid- to late-20s when they wonder “and what the fuck now?”. Once you decide what path to take, it’s hard to go back. It was so much fun to create her, and we hope it adds to the diversity of female heroines presented on the big screen.

Croatia has arguably one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, yet it is rarely portrayed on the big screen. There is a widespread belief among the majority of Croatian audiovisual artists that only existential problems and big social dramas are worthy of a film. And, you know, it is a valid point, especially if we put it in the context of a small country with a limited number of films produced annually. The cinema needs to be a weapon to change things.
But, at the moment, domestic cinema went to the extreme with it, and it started alienating the audience and creating the prejudices domestic film is grey and depressing and only about the war. It also creates a vicious circle in the industry because people start having these expectations… As they expect all Colombian films to be about drug cartels, they expect all Croatian films to be about National war. That’s what is mostly being funded and later selected by festival programmers. So, you know, if you are don’t want to do a movie like that, it will be harder to make it and distribute it.
So – I was thinking, I need to step away from that and do something that will “feel good”, and that will be beautiful. I opted for a setting sentimental to me. “Aleksi” takes place on the beautiful Croatian peninsula of Pelješac, near my hometown of Dubrovnik, where I used to spend my summers with my family. In a superficial sense, it’s a sunny seaside village that seduces you with its green vineyards and the clean blue sea and the rough charm of its colorful locals. Yet, this sumptuously photogenic area also reflects the prison of circumstance that confines our character because of its isolation. The area is commonly known as the appendix of Croatia, and it a bit difficult to reach. No other feature film has ever been shot there.