Interview with Nenad Puhovski
Nenad Puhovski was born in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia (in former Yugoslavia), in 1949 and made his first film at age 16. He studied Philosophy and Sociology at Zagreb University and also Film and TV Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art. After graduation he worked professionally in theatre, film, and television. He has directed a handful of stage plays and almost 250 TV productions of all genres – fiction, documentary,music and educational. Nenad has directed a number of documentaries for the “big screen” – mostly about social issues but also films about art. His works have been screened around the world and received a number of awards. In 1978, he started to teach at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb and also in a number of countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In 1997, Nenad founded FACTUM Documentary Film Project that has established itself (IMDb).
Armando Russi: We are currently in Croatia, in its capital city, attending the 21st International Documentary Film Festival – ZagrebDox. It is an honour for me to have taken part in this beautiful celebration of cinema as a member of the FIPRESCI critics’ jury. I am deeply grateful for the invitation and wish to commend the festival’s organization, curatorship, and hospitality.
It is also a great honour to be here today with Nenad Puhovski, a man who has devoted his life to cinema as an influential director, screenwriter, producer, educator, and cultural manager, he is also the founder and Artistic Director of ZagrebDox. We will be speaking with him today about cinema and The State of Things.
Dear Nenad, thank you very much for accepting this interview on behalf of documentary film enthusiasts in Colombia and the FIPRESCI community.
Nenad Puhovski: I’m glad you and I found time to talk, because, as you know, film festivals are, as someone so well defined, “organized chaos”!
Armando Russi: I would like to begin by asking: where does your passion for cinema originate? How did you come to filmmaking?
Nenad Puhovski: I started very early, as a cinema amateur at the age of 12, I shot my first films on 8mm film, watched everything that was shown in the local Cinematheque, and later for a while, I was also engaged in film criticism.
Armando Russi: Let us speak about the birth of ZagrebDox, and the demanding work behind 21 years of promoting regional and Croatian cinema, as well as the dialogues it has fostered on cinematic language and the role of cinema as a mirror of society.
Nenad Puhovski: Given the overwhelming number of impersonal, “Botox” documentaries, we decided from the beginning, to show the audience what, for the most part, could not be seen elsewhere – personal, creative documentaries. We emphasized this with the first film we ever showed, Herzog’s The White Diamond (2004). Of course, the social role of documentary film is also emphasized by the creative approach of the author who is not limited by corporate constraints.
Armando Russi: What are the distinctive characteristics of ZagrebDox compared to other festivals in the region?
Nenad Puhovski: We are a medium-sized festival of regional significance that, alongside the best world documentaries, tries to present and support films made in Croatia and the region. Because if we don’t, who will?
Armando Russi: What can you tell us about this year’s edition of ZagrebDox? What excites you about this 21st edition that perhaps was not present in previous years?
Nenad Puhovski: First of all, extremely high attendance, some 25% higher than a few years ago. Correspondence of the ratings of the audience and expert juries. A completely new concept of “Slow pitch” presentation of future projects. Inclusion of radio documentaries. expanding to digital platforms. On-line voting … I think that’s enough, don’t you?
Armando Russi: Yes it is. I would like to discuss the “The State of Things” of Croatian cinema from four perspectives. What is the nature and current condition of contemporary Croatian film production in terms of volume, quality, key figures, genres, and trends?
Nenad Puhovski: Croatian film in general (I am thinking primarily of the successes of Nebojša Slijepčević) and documentaries have certainly progressed significantly over time. I would not like to talk about other film genres, but as far as documentary film is concerned, I think we have managed to develop all its forms – from reportage to experimental documentaries.
Armando Russi: How does contemporary Croatian filmmaking relate to the society it seeks to portray? I believe this is one of the main issues facing cinema worldwide—distribution, exhibition, and circulation. The near-absence of dialogue between films and audiences, and the overwhelming dominance of US cinema on commercial screens around the world.
Nenad Puhovski: Again, I can’t speak about the entire Croatian film industry , but when it comes to documentary film, it (apart from a few attractive American commercial ones) is not available in multiplexes, so its distribution is reduced to a network of independent cinemas and television.
Armando Russi: What is then the role of the state in the development and support of Croatian cinema?
Nenad Puhovski: The state, through the Croatian Audiovisual Center (HAVC), largely co-finances film production, but this is not enough. When it comes to documentary film, what is lacking is support from public television.
Armando Russi: Finally, what is the relationship between cinema and academia? What is the state of both the production and reflection of Croatian and global cinema? And what is the landscape like for young filmmakers in Croatia?
Nenad Puhovski: If you are thinking about the education of young documentary filmmakers, it is largely carried out through the graduate study of documentary film at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. I think I can say that the chances for young filmmakers are good, and this is also proven by the main award in the Regional Competition at ZagrebDox this year.[1]
Armando Russi: Let us talk a bit about the future of cinema—not as a fortune teller would, but rather as someone who has been observing its evolution for many years. What lies ahead for cinema? What will the cinema of tomorrow look like?
Nenad Puhovski: As we analysed in one of the panels at this year’s ZagrebDox, new technologies, especially “deepfake,” pose a major ethical challenge for the future of documentary filmmaking. I believe that this development should be carefully monitored and, if necessary, legally regulated.
Armando Russi: I would like to conclude by expressing my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering love and dedication to the development of a reflective cinema, one that invites critical thinking. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your tireless commitment, as well as that of your team, in making this beautiful event, ZagrebDox, possible year after year.
[1] KIX, directed by Dávid Mikulán and Bálint Révész
Armando Russi
Edited by Ela Bittencourt
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