Positive examples from the past and personalities who chose to be a light in dark times contribute to closeness and reconciliation, forgiveness and overcoming the horrors that (still) exist in the past. The film "Dnevnik Diana Budisavljević" by Dana Budisavljević, which opened the "Jasenovac topic" in a different and less expected way, shows that in every time there is a hand that will provide help.
She presented to a wider audience the true story of a noble Austrian woman who saved more than ten thousand imprisoned children from the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) camp during the Second World War, and her film was recently screened again as part of the online program of the Sarajevo Film Festival "Facing the the past". Her story and example, the director claims, deserves to be "mainstream".
Director Budisavljević told "Vijesta" that the trip through the countries of the former Yugoslavia "where people who are descendants of saved children live, and for whom all this means a lot" was the most memorable. The successful launch of the film was stopped by the corona virus pandemic and moved to the online space. But nothing prevented her film and the story of her almost namesake, Diana, from continuing to live on, as that heroine deserves.
"I'm glad because I see that the film is still current, attractive, attracts attention, and this topic is still alive. It was interesting to me how the film "Dara from Jasenovac" awakened the desire of people to (again) watch "Dnevnik Diana Budisavljević". And yet, we are here and we face the past every day...", says the director at the beginning of the interview.
The character of Diana Budisavljević and her work were shown in "Dara iz Jasenovac" directed by Predrag Antonijević and screenwriter Nataša Drakulić, a book was previously written about the heroine, but the movie about her brought her to life in the right way and started a dialogue and only positive impressions and comments, which is not surprising. Also, "Dnevnik Diana Budisavljević" received official approval from the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia for inclusion in the curriculum.
"Certainly, with my film, Diana got closer to a wider audience, we can say that. "Dnevnik Diana Budisavljević" existed as a book long before, but it was not known to the general public. That story about the rescue of children from the NDH camp really deserves it, and thanks to this film, it has become, shall I say, mainstream. One particular pleasure was to bring such a forgotten and silenced story and topic back to the public. I found it inspiring. Of course it is (was) a tragic time, but I wanted to shine a light on those who behaved differently in those times compared to what was expected of them. I also wanted to thank those people who saved children and people. It is a magnificent story, although the whole context is little and unexplored. In my film, the emphasis and what I drew strength and inspiration from are the stories of rescued children, their fate, the light that this woman represented in the darkness... Now, in the film 'Dara from Jasenovac', the emphasis is on suffering. Diana appears in that film, briefly, as a character who organizes a rescue, but based on that, few would know anything about her. What that film deals with is primarily all possible ways of suffering in that camp. It's the same topic, but the focus is so different," Budisavljević explains.
When asked whether it is more "effective" to point out positive and healing examples or to evoke suffering and crimes, which some directors and screenwriters resort to in the film industry, she clearly answers by reminding her of "Schindler's List"...
"I wouldn't be able to assess it in general, but I know that for me it is the only way to deal with scary topics and terrible times. Wars exist, they happen, and the Second World War was not only in our country, but in the whole world. For example, Schindler is also a similar figure and when you look - in the end it turned out to be the most famous film about the Holocaust, despite hundreds of thousands of other films on the subject but with a different focus... My intention was not to copy 'Schindler's List', but I created this film myself because I think it is ennobling for you as an author when you are working on something to be inspired by something that is positive and bright, that is good and that you think can send a positive message and be an inspiration to others... We need such things today because, after all, we don't know when a difficult time will come, the fight against fascism and crimes never ends, the evil spirits of the Second World War are around us... I just wanted to save the heroine of that time who was a true civil activist and humanitarian. Her fight was unarmed and I think that makes her particularly inspiring for today. The history of this area remembers long after and long before the Second World War, many religious and inter-national conflicts, but it also remembers great cooperation between nations and religions. The question is what we pay attention to, that's a choice that everyone has", says Budisavljević.
When asked what kind of film can be expected from her, she reveals that she would like it to be different, but admits that similar themes occupy her.
"I would like to do a completely different film. This was indeed a beautiful journey, there were many, many tears, as an author and artist, I wanted people to smile and be happy and grateful at the end of the film, but also to cry at the same time. The period between the two world wars, the emergence of socialist Yugoslavia and the like - I'm particularly attracted to it, it's very interesting and I can't get rid of it easily... You know, all the topics that are current today also existed then, and Yugoslavia was an idea that provided very advanced concept, modern, but unfortunately we all know how it ended... For us, historical topics and the past are important, and we know too little about the history of the 20th century. The system teaches us a little about the past, little is known about NDH and other similar topics, so it is very possible that I will deal with such a topic again", concludes Budisavljević with a smile.
Not everyone deals with the past in the same way
When it comes to dealing with the past, Dana Budisavljević says that it is necessary to talk, but above all to listen to the stories of the survivors, the living and their families. For the film "Dara from Jasenovac" he claims that domestic cinema needs it.
"I could never make a film like 'Dara from Jasenovac', but I am very glad that it was made. I know a lot about the subject from a historical perspective, so I think there are a few inconsistencies, but basically, that's it - it was a death camp, nothing was exaggerated in that sense. Not everyone faces the past in the same way, but I hope that we all have in common that we want a better future, reconciliation, not forgetting, but certainly forgiveness. We can't go anywhere from this skin and from this space, and that's why we have to find a way of mutual cooperation and reconciliation.
Jasenovac is a huge topic and it was terribly important for me to find a way to tell real experiences, and the film 'Dnevnik Diana Budisavljević' really brings that... Everyone talks about Jasenovac, sends some messages, and we hear a little about all this from people who survivors...", concludes the director.
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