Even 20 years ago, Miloš Todorović pushed the limits of those times with his photographs, so even today he emphasizes that she is his greatest love. He has been successfully engaged in video production for some time, and behind him are numerous commercials and videos.
However, Todorović did not want to limit himself to the short form, so he filmed the documentary "The Way of the Empty Hand", dedicated to the history of Montenegrin karate.
It was his achievement at the recently concluded 11th International Sports Film Festival in Zlatibor that won the award for the best medium-length documentary film.
"I've been interested in directing and film since I was a child, and I've been planning to try my hand at filming it for a long time. Although feature films interest me more than documentaries, I decided on the latter precisely because of finances. The film is a serious story, and institutions often do not listen to artists, so we are left without support. We are mostly left to our own devices, because it rarely happens that someone from state institutions helps such projects. And when that happens, it will be some sums that are insufficient to cover even the basic costs," explains Todorović at the beginning of the conversation.
However, in spite of the modest budget he had in the medium-length film competition at the Zlatibor festival, he also won productions whose budgets Torodović could only dream of.
"Even seven or eight films in my competition had budgets that even full-length feature films would envy. Imagine that a documentary has a 250 thousand euro budget. These are really all serious productions from the Sports Club to the national public services of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. To triumph in such a competition where there are serious productions really shows that what I have made is good and of high quality", points out Todorović, whose film is signed by Extreme Production.
He himself, embarking on the adventure of filming the film, knew from the very beginning that it was a demanding project.
"I approach everything I do studiously, and every project I realized had to go through many filters in order for others to see it. I am self-critical and difficult", admits the author of the film and reveals why he came up with the idea of making a film about karate.
"The late Goran Brnović, karate player and representative of Montenegro, was my brother. I got into that story with the Buducnost karate club and my first wish was that he dedicate himself to it. I succeeded in that, but this film is not only a tribute to him, but to many people who gave themselves through this sport", reveals Todorović, adding that there is a section dedicated to Brnović, which talked about the title of champion from Djerba in 2002. He does not hide that he planned for "The Road of the Empty Fist" to have more sequels, but the lack of finances is to blame for the fact that this idea was not fulfilled.
Through Brnović, he got to know karate as a sport, but he especially fell in love with it through his daughter Đurđa, who is also a member of KK Budućnost and won numerous medals during her career.
Đurđa has been in that club for four years, she already goes to serious competitions and is currently the champion of Montenegro in her category. Through her and her engagement, I also fell in love with karate as a sport and a club. I got in touch with the people from Buducnosti and that's how I came up with the idea of dedicating my first film to this sport," he reveals.
"Karate is a serious story. All those legends of the city trained in karate. Although it may seem like a small sport compared to football and basketball, where a lot of money is involved, very few funds are invested in karate, that's why it is not used much", believes Todorović, who through his work tried to show the beginnings of karate, the establishment of karate of the Budućnost club, Titograd from that period, as well as life in the old Yugoslavia...
"One of the interlocutors is doctor Ilija Jorga, the biggest living name in the world in karate. This is a very interesting story, and my goal was to show everything that used to be through the film and somehow preserve it so that the younger generations can see it. We showed how karate players used to be independent, how they socialized, how they managed their finances and didn't have a kimono, but that didn't stop them from achieving results in competitions", said the interlocutor of the Magazine.
The part that talks about the emergence of movies with Bruce Lee as the main actor is especially interesting to viewers.
"When our parents, grandmothers and grandfathers watched movies with Bruce Lee in cinemas, they couldn't believe what he could do, while today's generations find it funny. That's why it's good for younger people to see this film, because we all know what kind of times we live in, and yet a nice message was sent through this film," Todorović believes.
Although it is the most trophy-winning sport in Montenegro, karate does not enjoy great popularity either in our country or in the world.
"Karate is the most popular sport in the world, I think it is even more popular than football in terms of the number of those who train it. However, why it is not popular both in the world and in our country is already a question of politics, sports organizations and federations because in karate you have about five or six federations that cannot agree and karate is suffering because of that. As I recommend to my child, I also recommend all kids to go to karate and train. People who have completed DIF, athletes, know that karate is the first and basic basic sport, and only after it is gymnastics, and then other sports. Karate often leads to other sports, and it also has a great message because it is about Eastern wisdom, which we know how long it has survived and how it has survived. It's about the harmony of mind and body. The advantage of karate is that those who practice this sport have great self-confidence, control, patience, not to mention physical abilities", notes Todorović, who discovered a lot about karate during the filming, but also met many people.
"Karate is a sport for smart people because you have to react in a fraction of a second. That's why karate fighters are educated people, there are them in all spheres. As Beli Selhanović says in the movie, 'Karate is not a fight with hands and feet, but with minds and characters'. I am very happy that I presented all of that myself through this film," claims Todorović, who delayed the filming of the documentary, not only because of finances, but also because of the still current pandemic.
"It was not easy to fit so many interlocutors in 60 minutes, so it was a great compliment to me at that festival in Zlatibor when they told me that the film was very dynamic and interesting," boasted Todorović.
The aforementioned Jorga, Dragan Kopitović, Milojica Dakić, Milorad Terzić, Puniša Vojičić, Duško Smonović are just some of the interlocutors in Miloš's film.
"I'm only sorry that I didn't manage to do one thing. Namely, during the corona period, I had the time, but not the finances, to have the famous actor Jean-Claude van Damme as one of my interlocutors. Podgorica was a miracle in this sport a few decades ago. The Liberation Cup was held here, which brought together many karateka from the world. Among them was Van Dam, who was 16 or 17 years old at the time. That's why I'm sorry that I don't have him in the movie, because it would have taken him to a higher level. I also had the idea that the now-deceased Croatian kickboxer Branko Cikotić, who started his amateur career as a karate fighter, would appear in the film," reveals the interviewer of the magazine.
In addition to Bruce Lee and Van Damme, thanks to whom many people fell in love with this sport, Miloš reminds that we in Montenegro also had and still have great karate players who could match them on the tatami mat.
"Our karate player, who is now the coach of Buducnosti Dragan Kopitović, was declared the fastest white man in the world sometime in the 70s or 80s by the Italians. The late Samir Usanagić was twice European champion, Peđa Stojadinović world champion, Vesko Mićović was twice world vice-champion... There is also Rajko Vujošević, one of the best trainers in the world and also one of Jorga's best students. There are many who have left their mark in this sport. In the film, it is also said that if you become the champion of Montenegro, you automatically become the champion of Yugoslavia, because Budućnost had a serious dominance in the SFRY for 15 years, that's how many good karate players we had", notes Todorović.
Thanks to the trailer he published on his YouTube channel, the organizers of the sports film festival in Zlatibor found out about his film.
"I didn't even know about that festival, because I'm guided by our story and the attitude of the institutions towards what I do, I didn't even think about participating in similar events. However, they called me and I went to Zlatibor without high expectations. It was also important to me that my film would be in such competition, and it turned out that I did a good job. However, the winners from all those groups go on to the sports film festival in Milan. Culture and sports are the healthiest parts of society and usually artists and athletes are the best ambassadors of a country, so I hope that I will at least have support for going to Italy", believes Todorović.
For now, the film cannot be watched, but Miloš hopes that it will be shown on some local television soon.
"I received several offers from the festival, so I would use that before I officially put it on some platform," promises Todorović.
Bonus video:
