"If someone comes to Sarajevo and doesn't 'manage', then something is wrong with that person", says with a smile the nice and positive actor Moamer Kasumović, better known as Damir from the series "Crazy, confused, normal".
He came to this "city with a heart", as he calls his second hometown, right after the war, when he was only 14 years old, from his native Bijelo Polje. And not with parents, but only in the company of Mirha, a year older sister. A great adventure thus began...
"Yes, it was the biggest adventure of my life! Rarely does a 14-year-old get the chance to be independent. In the beginning, it took me a little more time to adapt to the mentality and way of life. My sister and I somehow managed together. Of course it was difficult at times. Dealing with problems that parents would normally solve in half a minute, small but difficult situations that seem so big at the time. But, you learn to deal with almost any challenge and that there is no problem that cannot be solved. Also, we had great support from relatives living in Sarajevo who looked after us," Kasumović recalls and then describes the happy childhood spent in Bijela Polje.
"If you are a good person, people recognize it and accept you"
"I honestly don't know where to start. My family really appreciates nature. Summers spent in a cottage in Bistrica, where my parents live today, hiking in the hills around Bijelo Polje, playing along the shores of Lim, various children's "pasjalukas", trips... Everything in all, a very active and happy childhood," explains the actor with a smile and tells the reasons for going to war-torn Sarajevo.
"Unfortunately, the events of the 90s affected all of us, in different ways. At that time, my family experienced a personal tragedy, so those events were also decisive in a way. Also, from a young age I have been attached to Sarajevo and the family that lives here. And Sarajevo is really a city with a big heart. It is open to all people. We have never had any bad experience. If you are a good person, people recognize it and accept you. This rule does not only apply to Sarajevo, I think it's a general case," explains Kasumović, who comes to Montenegro quite often. He says that he is most tied to her by his parents.
"I come whenever I can. I travel a lot and I don't have fixed working hours, so I'm in Bijelo Polje as soon as I have some free time. Sometimes it can only be for a day, so I can see my wonderful parents. Mevludin and Vesna are my great support Honestly, I don't know what I would do without them," 31-year-old Kasumović reveals with a smile, for whom the role in the series "Crazy, Confused, Normal" meant a lot. Because of the role of Damir, people love him today. We ask him why.
"When they watch a movie, TV series or theater play, people always, consciously or unconsciously, identify with one of the protagonists. And the series LZN itself is a big hit. It does not pander to the audience and does not sell cheap fashions. Damir as someone who is sober and firm on earth, he perfectly matches the "craziness" of the grandfather and the "confusion" of the father. He is a good counterbalance to the two of them", thinks Moamer.
One of Moamer's unfulfilled professional wishes is to play in Montenegro
One of his unfulfilled professional wishes is to play in Montenegro, although he hopes that this will change over time, and privately, he says, he can't think of what he wants and didn't get.
"I have everything I need," he comments shortly.
It draws energy from the sun
He reveals that he has been getting energy from the sky for years.
"More precisely, I draw it from the sun. Ever since I was a child, I've loved hiking in the hills, so I often go up to the fortress of Bijela Tabija and wait for the sun to rise. This was a zen variant. Also, I'm always moved by young, creative, enthusiastic people, who don't wait for something to fall from the sky, but take matters into their own hands and fight," says Moamer, who nevertheless singles out one ugly characteristic of Sarajevo for Vijesti.
"I would close the city center to traffic! I don't understand people and this fetish for cars. It always seems absurd to me when I see how they drive to work less than a kilometer away. Although, I think this is a problem for the entire region. Here, people just love that they have status symbols, even though they don't live up to them," says Kasumović.
A movie, then a well-deserved rest
Moamer Kasumović is currently busy working in the small theater "Magacin Cabaret". That takes away from him, he points out, most of his concentration, to his joy.
"In the theater with Zana Marijanović, I gather young and established artists and we all create our shows together. Although we only exist for a few days, we managed to produce more than 13 cabaret and stand-up shows, to shoot videos, to be socially active, to start the "Mali magacin cabaret ”, where we educate primarily the future theater audience, and only then some future actors, directors, scenographers...", says Kasumović, who is expected to shoot the film "Chefuri Raus" by the Slovenian director Goran Vojnović this month.
"Then I'm going on vacation, and a well-deserved one," concludes the employed actor.
It's like he won an Oscar
The opportunity to act alongside the legendary Mustafa Nadarević and his acting teacher Senad Bašić was a great honor for him, he adds.
"That was equal to Oscar (laughs). For the first few days, I wasn't allowed to say anything beyond the text from the script. I didn't want to say something stupid. However, after a few days it was much more relaxed and now I can only thank Mustafa and Senad for primarily wonderful friendship, as well as the fact that I learned a lot more about acting from them. Because an actor learns while he's alive," says Kasumović.
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