INTERVIEW Vuk Čelebić: I would like to make a strong first impression in Montenegro

Vuk Celebic is a Czech actor of Montenegrin origin or an actor from Montenegro who lives and works in the Czech Republic...

He was born, grew up and matured often feeling like a stranger, but that was the path chosen for him, and he did not remain silent in the face of violence, he says. In the Czech Republic, he gained a sense of home with his family and daughters, while he wishes with all his heart to introduce himself to the Montenegrin audience, he says in an interview with Vijesti.

He would like, Čelebić adds, for that "prime minister" to bring something great and be a kind of gift to the country he loves and which has given him so much. He believes that it would be achievable through film, although the theater is more and more like a free island away from the artificial intelligence that is beginning to dominate the world.

Commenting on his development path, he says that the Czech environment, despite all its virtues, is still very closed, while the Montenegrin environment is such that it makes things difficult and complicated for itself...

"I believe that our internal quarrels in the Balkans create an excessive handicap, at least as far as language is concerned, and then also culture in all aspects, except for art. Let's be clear: I'm talking about language, not politics. In a world where everyone learns English and Spanish, so that they can ideally understand each other and share their culture, we argue about which language: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian or Montenegrin is 'the right one'. I apologize to the readers, but in my subjective opinion, we are talking about dialects. In short, I believe that politics and nationalism spoil the culture in the Balkans and its world potential. "Language should unite and not divide," Čelebić says.

Vuk Čelebić graduated in acting in Prague, and in addition to film and television productions, he is also engaged in theaters throughout the country, while in an interview with Vijesti he reveals that he himself is working on a dramatic text that he called "Divine Comedy 2"...

For Vijesti, he summarizes his life path so far, talks about the Czech Republic and Montenegro in the context of himself, art, society and politics...

Although you are partly of Montenegrin origin, you are successfully building your life and career in the Czech Republic. Did you choose that path deliberately and why?

You could say that this path was chosen for me. My mother is Czech, although after so many years and living in Montenegro, she was accepted as a Montenegrin, and my father studied in Prague, so all my childhood everyone took it for granted that I would study in Prague. My grandfather, grandmother, mother, and even father.

As for the acting specifically, opinions differed. My grandfather gave me the greatest support Jaromir, who believed without a doubt that this was exactly my path. Father, on the contrary, knowing the difficulties of this trade, hoped that I would study languages ​​or something with greater certainty.

You once said in an interview with Vijesti that you first tried your hand at acting in Kotor with Petar Pejaković... You also revealed then that you were brought up in the Montenegrin, Czech, Yugoslav and Spanish literary, theater and film traditions. How much did it affect your professional commitment, but also your personality?

It has its bright and dark sides. As a child I moved around a lot and got to know different countries and cultures. The good thing is that I gained an insight into all these cultures and languages, as the child of a writer and a historical scholar, I was in close contact with the theater, literature and history of these cultures and those similar to them. It gave me a certain world view that is useful to me even now, in the Czech environment, which is very closed with its language but also with the thinking of the Czechs, despite all their virtues.

The dark side, which I experienced a lot growing up, was a kind of alienation, not belonging and the absence of a home. I was a stranger to the Montenegrins, the same to the Czechs and naturally to the Argentinians, and I grew up as a very scared and closed child. Despite this, I could not stand being bullied, and with my hero complex I entered, not by my own decision, into arguments and fights. When I finally made friends, we moved again to a different, foreign environment.

I only found home through my children, Ester i Buckskin, in the Czech Republic.

What are Montenegrin and Czech practices and scenes in literature, theater and film today, and is it still relevant to refer to the Yugoslav heritage in those areas?

I don't want to sound arrogant, but from my international perspective I think we are making it very difficult for ourselves. I'm not a politician or a social analyst, a scientist (although through acting, and its constant search for understanding human psychology, maybe I am in some way), but I think that our internal quarrels in the Balkans create an additional handicap, at least as far as language is concerned, and then also culture in all but the artistic aspects.

Let's be clear: I'm talking about language, not politics. In a world where everyone learns English and Spanish, so that ideally everyone can understand each other and share their culture, we argue about which language: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian or Montenegrin is "the right one". I apologize to the readers, but in my subjective opinion, we are talking about dialects.

In short, I believe that politics and nationalism spoil the culture in the Balkans and its world potential. Language should unite and not divide. The Czech Republic has a huge potential and is struggling with great difficulty to offer it to the world, because "only" ten million people in the world can understand their poetry, and only half can understand it.

Do you follow the situation on the Montenegrin creative and acting scene, be it theater or cinematography, and what do you think about the current situation?

I try, but unfortunately a small part reaches my ear. In the short moments when I'm in Montenegro, I try to pick up as much as possible, but I don't dare to make any judgments with my incomplete insight.

I can only say so much: during my stay I saw a lot of interesting stimuli from the so-called "hard culture" and pop culture. I believe that the mutual meeting of these two is a good path, because the old will not survive without new incentives, and the young is transitory without the knowledge of the old craft. I have seen many talented actors, directors and performances themselves with great fervor and love for the dramatic path.

Would you like to be represented in Montenegro and what would you like it to be, a role in a film or theater?

With all my heart! Since I have been away for a long time, I would like to bring something big, as a gift to the country that I love so much and that has given me so much. I realistically see the realization of those ambitions through film, but the theater is a very strong thing for me, because it is possible that the theater will remain our only island with the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in the film industry. It is one of the themes that I would like to rework for the theater, and on which we are already working with a colleague from the Czech Republic.

Is there any sense of cooperation, have you received any invitations and how open is the Montenegrin framework for that, in your opinion?

In August 2023, I was invited to join my baptismal godfather, prof. Ph.D Jovan Mirković I am teaching at the summer symposium on acting, in front of an audience of very talented young scientists and in the company of great Montenegrin scientists and lecturers. I was a little nervous, because I felt that in the company of such personalities (which includes young students), I had nothing to contribute. I prepared a lecture in the style of stand-up comedy, on the interpretation of dramatic text and subtext, and to my pleasant surprise, the reception was full of enthusiasm. I stayed much longer than planned and listened to lectures by fellow scientists, and even participated in poetry recitations. Incredible hospitality and an invitation for years to come.

So it's safe. We are preparing several projects with the intention of eliminating the language barrier as much as possible. As for the offer from Montenegrin film or theater production, unfortunately there is none for now. But that's also the path I chose. I must first introduce myself and show my desire and will.

It's a big responsibility for me. As my seventeen years of activity in the Czech Republic had its successes and failures, I would like to make a great first impression in Montenegro.

Do the name and work of your father (Gojko Čelebić) in the field of Montenegrin culture somehow make your own role more difficult, given that children, especially in the world of public figures, are often linked and compared to their parents?

Of course, it has an impact, in a broader perspective. My father is a great personality, an artist and writer at heart, but endlessly loyal to his country, despite his great worldly education. I built my art in a different environment, and our "territories" did not meet.

But it's not quite like that. We collaborated together on the theater play "Marriage of Maksim Crnojević" where a fiddler also participated Bojana Peković and an actor Zoran Trojanovic, as well as in the film "Katalog Balšići", filmed in Heb.

It often seems that father has taken the role of artist in our family for himself, and I have yet to prove my artistic worth. But I might not be able to bear the sacrifices he made.

Can you compare the state of art, at least when it comes to theater and film, in Montenegro and the Czech Republic, the attitude of the audience, the relationship between competent institutions, ministries...?

I don't fully know what the state of art is in Montenegro, but I hope it is somehow easier. There is a great tradition of art in the Czech Republic, there are many more "professional" theaters (about thirty theater stages in Prague alone) and the public is used to visiting them. But the financing system left over from communism often creates obstacles for them. Theaters are either private (dependent on ticket sales with weak dramaturgy and staged by well-known actors), city (dependent on grants from certain areas but with great legislative restrictions in the case of receiving sponsorships) or state (relying on state support, of which there are three in Since the prices are rising but the money remains the same, and the quality must remain, actors and directors are often left with "short sleeves".

As for the film, the situation is somewhat better, but uncertain. Foreign film productions often come to shoot in the Czech Republic not only because of the beautiful and well-preserved exteriors, but precisely because the labor force is cheap in the Czech Republic, and even in film.

Recently, the Czechs have been making very simple and stupid family films for the masses and every now and then an interesting art project. Of course, there are many better, more interesting projects and artists, but they are risky for productions, and they do not have a voice in the commissions that arrange grants.

How often do you come to Montenegro and is there anything that binds you the most or evokes special memories?

I come to Montenegro less often than I would like and should. I feel great strength and energy here, but also sadness. I happen to meet people who say that I don't belong here, OK for a while, but I wouldn't have to survive permanently. Despite such comments, I feel better here. I love people and their friendly nature, temperament, heartiness. Montenegrin nature. Maybe I'm just one of those Montenegrins who, even abroad, have never really left Montenegro. I mention her constantly in society, I identify as a Montenegrin, even though I have Czech citizenship, and I often mention her in my art.

Are you currently working on something, either privately or by engagement?

We are currently preparing the play "Landscape with warehouses" (Krajina se sklady), with the theater group Tiger in trouble (Tygr v tísni), with whom I collaborated on the large immersive project "Master and Margarita". In addition, we prepare with David Bosch (David Bosh) the play "Love in Masks" about Comedie dell Arte (Comedie dell arte), we are preparing the play "Three" about the meeting of three actors with artificial intelligence and the play is an engagement in the traditional Prague puppet theater "Spejbl a Hurvínek".

In addition, from March 2023 I am writing a new drama, initially under the name "Divine Comedy 2". As the name suggests, it is a meeting of heavenly beings with our present world. I'm very cautious about this idea, so I can't say too much about the plot, but it's a situational comedy. I haven't decided yet whether it's a series, movie or theater format. For now, it is written for the theater and in Czech. I think the idea has great potential on the world stage. In addition to all that, I am the author of several completely original, unused jokes in the drama industry. Which is quite a feat today.

What would you say marked the previous year in the field of culture, how will you remember it (either personally or professionally) and do you have any special traditions during the holidays?

I will answer personally, because I have said enough about my work. This has been a difficult year. Right now, in this holiday season, I feel a great void. As baptized in the Orthodox Church, we should celebrate Orthodox Christmas, but in the Czech Republic it is not too much of a tradition, and except for my brother Brand, since my father is officially abroad, I have no one to be with. My mother observes Jewish tradition, but apart from a great respect for Jewish tradition and my Jewish origin, I don't have too much of a relationship with Jewish holidays.

And as for Czech traditions, I spent at least a day or two of Christmas every year with my daughters. This Christmas was without them, I didn't see or hear from them for half a year and I just hoped that they would pass as quickly as possible. I hope and believe that 2024 will be much better in terms of family, work and security.

Criticism is sometimes more important than reward

You have won numerous awards and acted in various renowned theaters... How encouraging are the awards, how binding and are you currently working on anything?

The awards were very stimulating for me, for a child who grew up hungry for praise. I considered it a kind of praise for my work, mental and often physical investment. And I was sorry and felt like a failure when it slipped away. But then I realized that the awards are again only given by people, albeit professional ones. And since then, "my ear hurts". A bigger reward for me is a sincere laugh, applause or personal praise from every single viewer, colleague or friend. But even criticism is very stimulating, if it is objective and constructive it has a higher price. If I've learned something, it's that the work doesn't end with the premiere, but just begins.

Of course, a monetary reward is an incentive, because it obliges you to work on yourself.

The dark side, which I experienced a lot growing up, was a kind of alienation, not belonging and the absence of a home. I was a stranger to the Montenegrins, the same to the Czechs and naturally to the Argentinians, and I grew up as a very scared and closed child. Despite this, I could not stand being bullied, and with my hero complex I entered, not by my own decision, into arguments and fights. When I finally made friends, we moved again to a different, foreign environment. I only found a home through my children, Ester and Isabelle, in the Czech Republic.