Elizabeta Vidović
FOTO: Privatni album
Biografija filmske redateljice Elizabete Vidović dokazuje ono što većina nas u hrvatskoj dijaspori zna – nikad ne podcjenjujte hrvatsku ženu.
Tek rijetki od nas odmah znaju što žele kada je vrijeme za donošenje teških odluka. No. s time nema problema Steve Bubalo, Amerikanac hrvatskog podrijetla koji je 1955. godine došao u Sjedinjene Američke Države kao izbjeglica i postao nadaleko poznat. Odlučnost, tvrdoglavost, odanost i marljivost bile su ključne osobine koje su Stevea učinile jednim od […]
Elizabeta i njezina obitelj s prijateljicom Kathryn Michelle posjeduje producentsku kuću „Almost Normal Productions” koja se nalazi u Los Angelesu u Kaliforniji. Njihov posljednji film „The Accursed” (“Prokleti”), u kojem glume Goran Višnjić i Vidovićeva kći Izabela, triler je koji opisuje borbu jedne žene da spasi svoju obitelj od desetljeća starog prokletstva.
Dok su mnogi filmaši imali luksuz veze preko obitelji i prijatelja, ili su odrasli u filmskoj industriji, pozadina junakinje naše priče potpuno je drugačija.
Elizabeta Vidović odrasla je u malom mjestu Busovača u Bosni. Nije bila školovana za glumicu. Umjesto toga, od nje se očekivalo da se skrasi, napravi dobar burek i odgaja djecu. Srećom, godine 1990. dobila je poziv tete iz Chicaga da joj dođe u posjet.
Na pitanje što ju je motiviralo na dolazak, iako nije imala većih veza ili glumačkog iskustva, naša sugovornica odgovara: “Nisam imala što izgubiti, a mogla sam sve dobiti. Znala sam da ću, ako se odlučim na nešto, pronaći način da to ostvarim”.
A Elizabeta je upravo to i učinila. Bacila se na učenje engleskog jezika, a sada ne samo da ga može govoriti tečno i točno, već to čini i s naglaskom izvornog govornika iz SAD-a. Dok je studirala engleski, planirala je korake kako bi ostvarila svoje ciljeve u glumačkoj industriji. Išla je u kozmetičku školu kako bi imala zvanje od kojeg bi zarađivala, dok je istovremeno pohađala kazalište Michael Colucci’s Actor’s Workshop Theatre u Chicagu. Nakon pet godina žongliranja engleskim, rada kao frizerke i studija kod Coluccija, shvatila je da, iako voli glumiti u kazalištu, jako želi producirati i režirati. Pod Coluccijevim vodstvom naučila je sve detalje produkcije kazališta.
Tek 1998. godine uspjela se vratiti u Bosnu i posjetiti svoju obitelj…
“Živeći u Chicagu osam godina, veliki dio mog života činila je američka zajednica. Morala sam se ponovno povezati sa svojom obitelji i životom kod kuće”, otkrila je naša sugovornica.
Tijekom posjeta domovini počela je promatrati svoj grad, čije je stanovništvo smanjeno s 20 tisuća prije Domovinskog rata na 15 tisuća nakon rata, i proučavala ljude kao likove u filmu. Shvatila je koliko joj nedostaju jednostavne stvari, poput rituala kuhanja i ispijanja turske kave uz čavrljanje s prijateljima. Kao aktivna rimokatolkinja također je shvatila koliku su ulogu vjera i Bog imali u svakodnevnom životu tamošnjih žena.
Svi su govorili „Bog te blagoslovio” ili su se križali prije jela. Posjet se pretvorio u to da je posebnu pažnju posvetila ženama u gradu koje su ostale snažne, iako su mnoge ostale udovice i siročad iz borbi tijekom rata.
“Duša Bosne su njezine žene. Hrvatice sve rade s dušom. Ulažu srce u sve što rade i bezuvjetno vole svoju obitelj”, istaknula je Vidović.
S tom spoznajom počela je raditi na scenariju koji će umjesto tipičnog ratnog filma dočarati ljepotu Bosne i snagu Hrvatica koje tamo žive. Tijekom tog posjeta povezala se sa svojim starim srednjoškolskim prijateljem Marijom, za kojeg se kasnije udala i živjela u Chicagu.
Do 2011. rodila je dvije kćeri, napisala desetak scenarija i zainteresirala se za snimanje filmova. Iz svog istraživanja i iskustva znala je da se treba približiti Hollywoodu.
Sv. Antun Padovanski prati don Ivana Jordana od početka njegova svećeničkog djelovanja – župe u Dragama do župe sv. Ante u Los Angelesu. Ističe da ga je Isusu doveo njegov djed i da je još od djetinjstva bio predodređen da bude svećenik, a on se otvorena srca predao Bogu o čemu svjedoči njegovo mladomisničko geslo: […]
Kada je došla u Los Angeles ponovno je bila uronjena u američku zajednicu. Jedino je kod kuće govorila hrvatski i nije znala ni gdje je hrvatska zajednica u Los Angelesu. Tek kada joj je majka došla u posjet i zahtijevala da pronađe misu na hrvatskom jeziku, Elizabeta je otkrila hrvatsku katoličku crkvu sv. Ante u središtu Los Angelesa.
“Preselila sam se u Los Angeles 2002. i bavila se glumom sve do 2006., kada sam napravila kratku pauzu kako bih dobila svoju drugu kći Katarinu. Po povratku 2007. počela sam pisati i planirala sam se vratiti produkciji i režiji. U međuvremenu se moja starija Izabela počela baviti glumom, što je malo pomaknulo planove. Počela sam mentorirati njezinu karijeru i putovati s njom, Ovo je vrijeme mog života koje sam provela razvijajući projekte, putujući zrakoplovima, vlakovima i automobilima! Razvila sam desetke projekata i producirala nekoliko kratkih filmova i dugometražnih filmova. Sve je bilo tako nevjerojatno kaotično”. prisjetila se Elizabeta.
Kako je bilo ući u hrvatsku zajednicu u Los Angelesu?
Sjećam se da smo se osjećali dobrodošlo. Prišao nam je pokojni gospodin Pero Matijašević i dočekao nas raširenih ruku. Naglasio je da ako nešto trebamo, samo se moramo obratiti, a on će pomoći koliko može. I suprug i ja bili smo emotivni na njegovu pogrebu jer je on bio naš prvi susret, i to pozitivan, naša povezanost s našim naslijeđem u ovom gradu. Gradu koji nije mogao biti drugačiji od mog rodnog mjesta u Bosni.
Primjećujem da čitate drugo čitanje u hrvatskoj crkvi u Los Angelesu. Kako je do toga došlo?
Don Vlatko Poljičak, tadašnji svećenik župe Sv. Ante koji je inače iz Kupresa, pitao je tko želi čitati. Nitko se nije dobrovoljno javio pa sam podigla ruku i nekako od tada to radim. Volim ako nekako mogu doprinijeti župi.
Koliko Vam je važna vjera?
To mi je jako važno. Kroz molitvu možemo otkriti sebe. Vjerujem da s Bogom razjasnimo što želimo, a on pokreće svemir da se to i ostvari. Možda nas odanost držanju svojih uvjerenja drži prizemljenima i usredotočenima.
Kako ste došli do naziva „Almost Normal Productions”, što se doslovno može prevesti kao „Skoro pa Normalna Filmska Produkcija”?
Pa… Radim gotovo sve što radi tradicionalna Hrvatica kada je u pitanju vođenje doma i odgoj djece. Postoji još jedna stvar koju volim raditi, a to je da snimam filmove. Dakle, to što moja predanost obitelji ide paralelno s mojom ljubavlju prema snimanju filmova je, u očima čak i članova moje obitelji, gotovo normalno! Mislim, doslovno sam čula ljude kako govore: ‘Ona putuje svijetom s jednim djetetom, dok je drugo kod kuće’. Nije da bi uopće trebalo biti važno što ljudi govore, ali zanimljivo je imati prozor u tuđu percepciju svega toga. Tako sam na povratku s jedne od njezinih audicija pitala svoju stariju kćer: ‘Što misliš o Almost Normal za produkcijsku tvrtku?’ I bez oklijevanja je odgovorila: ‘To te super opisuje mama’. Znala sam da sam pogodila pravo ime.
Kakva je filmska scena u Los Angelesu?
Los Angeles je poput tobogana, kreće se tako brzo. Ili ćete moći ostati na njemu i naučiti uživati u vožnji, ili ćete odmah biti izbačeni! To je posao onih koji su najizdržljiviji!
Kći Izabela bila je u većini Vaših filmova. Kako je raditi s njom?
Pa, ja sam joj mentor od njezine sedme godine. Ona piše, glumi, producira i režira. Izvan seta smo jako bliske. Problem je na snimanju gdje moram zapamtiti da je tretiram kao kolegicu ili filmašicu umjesto kao svoju kći. Na primjer, poludim ako mislim da nije dovoljno toplo odjevena ili ako nije pojela svu hranu na tanjuru. Došlo je do točke kada je morala sjesti sa mnom i reći: ‘Mama, ovo mora prestati’. Dakle, prestala sam ju gnjaviti. A svakako volim raditi sa svojom obitelji.
Koja je najveća razlika između stranih i američkih filmaša?
Smatram da strani filmaši imaju više umjetničke slobode budući da su mnogi njihovi filmovi financirani od države, tako da mogu producirati bilo koji žanr i samo se fokusirati na umjetnost. U Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama postoji veći pritisak na povrat ulaganja. Mislim da su najuspješnije nezavisne produkcijske kuće koje su svladale umijeće žongliranja komercijalnih i umjetničkih filmova. Ja sam zadužena za financiranje svojih filmova, a moram pokazati ROI kako bi se moji budući projekti realizirali. Uglavnom, moram prodati ideju ulagačima.
Spomenuli ste da se ste prava Hrvatica. Što to znači?
Pričamo kako jest. Ne okolišamo. To je gubljenje vremena. Također ne govorimo stvari samo da bi se netko osjećao bolje ako je očito da ne možemo promijeniti ono što se događa. Sjećam se da sam jednom bila u Dubrovniku s obitelji i bilo je na stotine komaraca u našem stanu. Kada sam se požalila vlasnici, ona me samo pogledala i rekla: ‘Pa mi imamo komarce stoljećima; nije da su došli samo po tebe’.
Kakve vrste filmova snimate i koje bi još željeli snimiti?
Ne ograničavam se ni na jedan žanr ili etiketu. Imam toliko interesa i poznato je da svoje ideje zapisujem svugdje, u vlaku, automobilu, taksiju… Zaista sam fascinirana horor i triler filmovima. A kada kažem horor, ne mislim na slasher filmove (u kojima je mnogo krvi i ubojstva). Horor filmovi, po mom mišljenju, nastoje iznijeti folklor. Ne mislim da se sve mora precizirati, ali volim raditi sa simbolikom i tradicijom.
Nostalgija, ples, povijest i ljubav prema pokretu i izražavanju te Zaostrog ključne su riječi koje povezuju ovu priču u zanimljivo iskustvo pripadanja s jedne strane plesnoj zajednici, a s druge strane jednom podrijetlu. To je znanje i sjećanje koje se nosi kao vodeni žig, nevidljiv kreativni trag s jednog dijela svijeta na drugi. Odredište iz […]
Kako je nastala ideja za film “The Accursed” i kako ste dobili Gorana Višnjića da glumi u njemu?
Scenarij sam napisala 2007. kao verziju irskog folklora. Tada je počeo poprimati romske nijanse. Međutim, nisam željela netočno prikazati bilo koju specifičnu kulturu niti nekoga uvrijediti pa sam odlučila donijeti aspekte iz različitih nasljeđa i stvorila fiktivnu zemlju Balvaniju. Znala sam da će Goran Višnjić biti savršen za tu ulogu pa sam njegovom agentu samo poslala poruku, objasnila tko sam i što radim. Goran je zatražio scenarij, svidio mu se i pristao je glumiti u našem filmu! Ženski likovi vrlo su jake volje i neovisnosti.
Čime se bavite kada ne producirate i ne režirate?
Puno čitam i dosta istražujem. Upravo sada istražujem priču o bosanskoj kraljici Katarini. Zanimaju me snažni ženski likovi kroz povijest. Volim i kuhati. Kao što znate, hrana je vrlo važna u našoj kulturi, posebno domaća. Možemo satima sjediti i jesti dok pričamo o svemu i svačemu.
Koliko je za vas važno, odnosno vrijedno, biti dio hrvatske dijaspore?
Jako važno. Moja djeca uvijek kažu da su pod velikim utjecajem svoje hrvatsko-bosanske baštine. Oni su Amerikanci, ali se razlikuju i po tome što na stvari gledaju iz svjetovnije perspektive. Budući da su bliski svojim bakama i djedovima, stječu starosvjetsku mudrost.
Kakvo je bilo Vaše odrastanje i što mislite o današnjim mladima?
Mislim da današnja mladost možda nema istu dubinu mašte. Društveni mediji, iako impresivni, postali su toliko moćni i ometajući da djeca više ne izrađuju stvari svojim rukama. Dok smo odrastali, to smo radili i za to smo morali upotrijebiti svoju maštu. S djecom sam bila vrlo stroga po pitanju mobitela. Moja 15-godišnjakinja mora dio dana živjeti bez mobitela, a ono što je nevjerojatno je kada mi kaže da ona sama ne može vjerovati u sve stvari koje radi kada nije na svom mobitelu.
Kako vidite svoju ulogu u odnosu s Hrvatima u dijaspori?
Imala sam sreću imati mentore kao odrasla osoba, a moje kćeri imaju sreću da imaju mentore u mom suprugu i meni. Vjerujem da vani imamo mnogo Hrvata sa sjajnim pričama koji jednostavno ne znaju kako svoje snove pretvoriti u stvarnost. Uvijek rado mentoriram naše ljude koji su zainteresirani za filmsku industriju.
Velika i napredna građevinska tvrtka Mladena Buntića, specijalizirana za inženjering i gradnju infrastrukture, vodovoda, odvoda, crpnih postaja i regulacije bujica – može se pohvaliti izvođenjem brojnih složenih projekata u Los Angelesu i Južnoj Kaliforniji. “Planiram kupiti kuću za odmor u Makarskom primorju. Ako Bog dadne zdravlja, neka se nađe pri ruci za Nadu i mene; […]
Imate li kakvih planova?
Više filmova! To svakako mogu obećati…
EN
Filmmaker Elizabeta Vidović’s biography proves what most of us in the diaspora already know—never underestimate a Croatian woman. Vidović and her family, along with friend Kathryn Michelle, own the film studio Almost Normal Productions, located in Los Angeles, California. Vidović’s last film, The Accursed, starring Goran Višnjić as well as Vidovic’s daughter Izabela is a horror film that describes one woman’s fight to save her family from a decades-old curse. This film, like many others that Vidović has planned for production, was scripted, produced and directed by Vidović, Kathryn Michelle and family. While many filmmakers have had the luxury of having connections through family and friends or growing up in the movie industry, Vidović’s background is completely different.
She grew up in Busovača, Bosnia, a place that most people have never heard of, Vidović was not trained to be an actor. Instead, as she put it, she was expected to settle down, make good burek, and raise children. Fortuitously, Vidović received an invitation from her aunt, who lived in Chicago, to come to visit her in the United States. When asked what motivated her to do so even though she had no major connections or acting experience, Vidović states, “I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I knew that if I set my mind to something, I would find a way.”
And, that is precisely what Vidović did. With no knowledge of English, she threw herself into learning the language, and is now not only able to speak it fluently and accurately, but she also does so with a Midwest accent.
While studying English, she planned out the steps to bring her objectives to fruition. She went to cosmetology school so that she would have a vocation from which to make money while she simultaneously attended Michael Colucci’s Actor’s Workshop Theater in Chicago. After five years of juggling English, working as a hairdresser, and studying under Colucci, she realized that even though she loved acting in theater, she really wanted to produce and direct. Under Colucci’s guidance, she learned the ins and outs of producing theater.
It wasn’t until 1998 that she was able to go back to Bosnia and visit her family. She says, “I felt that living in Chicago for eight years, a big part of my life was the American community. I needed to reconnect with my family and life back home.” During her visit, she started looking at her town, whose population had been reduced from 20,000 from before the war to 15,000 after the war and studied the people as one would a character in a movie. She realized just how much she missed the simple things from home, such as the ritual of making Turkish coffee and drinking it while chatting with friends.
Being a practicing Roman Catholic, Vidović also realized how much of a role faith and God played in the everyday life of women there. Everyone said, “May God bless you” and made the sign of the cross before eating. The visit turned into her paying special attention to the women of the town, who had remained strong even though so many had been left widowed and orphaned from the fighting during the war. She said, “The soul of Bosnia is its women. Croatian women do everything with soul. They put their heart in everything they do and they love their family unconditionally.” It was with this realization that she started working on a script that would portray the beauty of Bosnia and the strength of Croatian women living there instead of a typical war movie. It was also during that visit, that Vidović reconnected with her old high school sweetheart, Mario, whom she later married and lived with in Chicago.
By 2011, Vidović had had two daughters, written a dozen screenplays and became interested in making films. She knew from her research and experience that she needed to move closer to Hollywood. When Vidović came to Los Angeles, she was again immersed in the American community. The only Croatian she spoke was at home with her family and she did not even know where the Croatian community in Los Angeles was. It was not until her mother came to visit her and demanded that Vidović find a mass in Croatian that Vidović discovered St. Anthony’s Croatian Catholic Church in downtown L.A.
“I moved to LA in 2002 and was immersed in acting until 2006, when I took a short break to have my second daughter, Katarina. Upon returning in 2007, I started writing and was planning on getting back into producing, with plans to direct as well. In the meantime, my older daughter Izabela started acting, which shifted plans a bit. I started mentoring her career and traveling with her for about a decade. During the time of my life, I spent developing projects, while traveling on planes, trains and automobiles! I developed dozens of projects and produced several short films and a feature during that time. It was all so fabulously chaotic!”
What was it like entering the Croatian community in Los Angeles?
I remember how welcome we were made to feel. The late Mr. Pero Matijašević approached us and welcomed us with open arms. He emphasized that if we needed anything, we just had to reach out and he would help as much as he could. Both my husband and I got emotional at his funeral because he was our first encounter, and a positive one at that, of our connection with our heritage in this city that could not have been any more different than my hometown in Bosnia.
I notice that you do the reading in church every Sunday. How did that come about?
Don Vlatko Poljičak, the priest at the parish from Kupres, asked who wanted to do the reading. No one volunteered, so I raised my hand and kind of ended up doing it ever since. I love being able to contribute to the parish, in some capacity.
How important is your faith to you?
It is very important to me. We can discover ourselves through prayer. I believe that we clear with God what we want, and he moves the universe to make it happen. Perhaps it is devotion to sticking to our beliefs that keeps us grounded and focused.
How did you come up with the name Almost Normal Productions?
Well, I do just about everything a traditional Croatian woman does when it comes to running my home and raising my kids. But then… there is this other thing that I love to do, which is to make movies. So, being that my dedication to my family runs parallel to my love for making movies, I am almost normal in the eyes of even my own family members! I mean, I have literally heard people say, “She travels across the world with one of her kids, while the other is at home.” Not that it should really ever matter what people say, but it is interesting to have a window into others’ perception of it all. Then, on the ride back from one of Izabela’s auditions, I asked her, “What do you think of Almost Normal for the name of the production company?” And, without hesitation, she replied, “That’s so you, Mom.” I knew I had a winner.
What is the LA movie scene like for a filmmaker in your opinion?
Los Angeles is like a roller coaster; it moves so fast. Either you’re able to stay on it and learn how to enjoy the ride, or you get ejected right out! One really has to be resilient in this industry.
I know that your daughter Izabela has been in most of your films. How is it working with your daughter?
Well, I have been mentoring her since she was seven. She writes, acts, produces and directs. Off set we are very close. The problem is on set, where I have to remember to treat her as a colleague or filmmaker instead of as my daughter. For example, I freak out if I think there is a draft and she is not dressed warmly enough, or if she hasn’t eaten all the food on her plate. It got to a point where she had to sit down with me and say, “Mama, this has got to stop.” So, I stopped. I love working with my family.
What do you think is the biggest difference between foreign and American filmmakers?
I think that foreign filmmakers have more artistic freedom since many of their films are government funded, so they can produce any genre and just focus on the art. In the United States, there is more pressure on the Return on Investment (ROI). I think the most successful independent filmmakers have mastered the art of juggling commercial and artistic filmmaking. Here, I am in charge of acquiring funding for my films, and I have to show an ROI so that my future projects will be realized. Basically, I have to sell my films to the investors.
You mentioned that you are very Croatian. What does that mean?
We tell it like it is. We don’t beat around the bush. It is a waste of time. We also don’t say things just to make someone feel better if it is obvious that we cannot change what is happening. I remember one time I was in staying in a vacation rental in Dubrovnik with my family and there were hundreds of mosquitos in our apartment. When I complained to the landlady, she just looked at me and said, “Well we have had mosquitos for centuries; it is not like they came here just for you.”
Tell us about the kinds of films you make and want to make:
I don’t limit myself to any genre or label myself. I have so many interests, and I have been known to write down my ideas everywhere, on the train, in the car, in a taxi, anywhere. I do find myself fascinated with horror/thriller films. And, when I say horror, I don’t mean slasher movies. Horror/thriller films, in my opinion, tend to bring out folklore. I don’t think that everything has to be spelled out, but I love to work with symbolism and traditions.
Tell us about how your idea for the film The Accursed came about and how you got Goran Višnjić to star in it.
I wrote the screenplay in 2007 as a version of Irish folklore. Then, it started taking on Roma nuances. However, I did not want to incorrectly portray any specific culture or offend anyone, so I decided to bring aspects from different heritages and created the fictitious land of Balvania. I knew Goran Višnjić would be perfect for the part, so I just sent his agent a message, explained who I was and what I was doing. Goran requested to read the script, he liked it and he agreed to act in our film! Also, the female characters in the film are very strong willed and independent.
What do you do when you are not producing and directing?
I read a lot. I research a lot as well. Right now, I am researching the story of Queen Catherine of Bosnia. I am interested in strong female characters throughout history. I also love to cook. As you know, food is very important in our culture, especially homemade food. We can sit and eat for hours while talking about anything and everything.
Tell us how important, or valuable, for lack of a better word, being part of the Croatian diaspora is for you.
Very important. What it has done for me and what it has done for my kids is indescribable. It allowed them to find roots and people from the same corner of the world. My kids always say they are heavily influenced by their Croatian-Bosnian heritage. They are American, but they are also different in that they look at things from a more worldly perspective. Being close to their grandparents, they have acquired old world wisdom.
What is one thing that you think is very different from how you grew up and how teenagers and kids are today?
I think that youth today do not perhaps have the same depth of imagination. Social media, though impressive, has become so powerful and distracting that kids no longer make things with their hands. Growing up, we made things with our hands and had to use our imagination to do so. With my kids, I was very strict in terms of the phone. My 15-year-old has to live part of her day without her phone, and what is amazing is when she says to me that she cannot believe all the things that she is able to do when she is not on her phone.
How do you see your role in terms of interacting with Croatians in the diaspora?
I was fortunate to have mentors as an adult, and my daughters are fortunate to have mentors in my husband and me. I believe that we have many Croatians out there with great stories who just don’t know how to turn their dreams into reality. I am always happy to mentor Croatians who are interested in the film industry.
Any plans we should know about for the future?
More movies! I can promise you that;)
