Back in 1987, Vladimir Blazevski’s “Hi-Fi” was perhaps the most talked about film in the former Yugoslavia. Blazevski won the Golden Arena Award for Best Director at the renowned Pula Film Festival, and in 1992 directed “Revolution Boulevard”, another major blockbuster. He then retreated from directing for 17 years, during which time he wrote screenplays for several notable films. Now, he is finally back, apparently, with another hit.
“Punk’s Not Dead” (2011), which recently premiered at the Skopje Film Festival, is a story about punk musicians from Skopje reuniting as a band after 17 years, a period identical to the author’s own absence from directing, to do a gig nobody else wants. Told in the coarse street language of the main characters, “Punk’s Not Dead” is a warm story about friendship, urban marginalisation, love... and much more.
In an interview for Southeast Europe: People and Culture, Blazevski gave his views on the Macedonian film industry and filmmaking with a small budget.
Your last film, Punk’s Not Dead was very well received at home, and has already been invited to quite a few festivals. Where will it be shown next?
The first thing which is confirmed is the festival in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. Many others will probably follow. For the time being, we accepted an offer from an unconventional and cute festival – Motovun, in Croatia, also in July, right after Karlovy Vary.
I experienced the film as a warm story about friendship. Then I read an interview of yours, where you spoke about your self-identification with the main characters who are marginalised from society, and about punk as a deliberate rejection of distorted values. To what extent is “Punk’s Not Dead” actually a metaphor for the transitional nature of our society?
I believe it is. It is awkward for the author to add explanations about what he wanted to say; it would be like telling a joke and then further elaborating the point to make people laugh. My intention was to have the film develop casually in a sort of a first-level dimension of who/why/how and then to have a sort of “excess of meaning”. Then, everyone can interpret that “excess” for him or herself.
The film depicts Skopje in a wonderfully interesting way. Scenes of urban poverty and degradation dominate. Is this your Skopje?
I came of age at the time when Baudelaire’s aesthetics of the ugly was a legitimate artistic approach. To me, ugly sites are beautiful. And our ugly Skopje is OK to me. I think that this emotion can be felt in the film.
I read in some of your interviews that the film was made with a very small budget. What was this experience like?
Very unpleasant and I would like to forget it as soon as possible. It is as if someone gives you 1,000 denars (16 Euros) and tells you: go shopping; tonight we are having a big party. Mission impossible! But sometimes, filmmaking loves such impossible missions. Especially, if you cannot see it in the final result. Only afterwards, your doctors will give you an account of all the consequences of the stress involved. For the time being, I am only dealing with dental bills. So far so good.
How was it to make a film after 17 years?
Both easy and hard. Easy, because the hands still remember the trade. Hard, because the entire film industry has changed radically. For the worse, unfortunately. It is as if music videos and commercials have eaten film from the inside. I even think that it applies globally, not just locally.
Related to this, why such a long break of 17 years?
Because I am not a hustler. In some older times there was room for non-hustlers in the business too. Now, that is long gone. And this is the price. You have to wait for someone to turn a blind eye and to let you, a bum, among the players. I chose this way, I won’t cry about it.
As a young man, whose work inspired you to become a director?
Had you asked me this many years ago, when I was starting to do this work, I would have answered right away and jumped the gun as the saying goes. Now I have to think about it; this is a difficult question. Still, I recall that back in high school I was most thrilled by Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up. And all of his other films I guess. Back in the 70s we were all Antonioni-ites. I still love some of his films a lot.
**The European Commission does not accept or recognise in whatever form or content a denomination other than “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. All references, direct or indirect, to this country used in this article are those of its author.
