What inspired the idea for the film?

I lived in this area affected by war and Party is my first film about it. I waited for many years to shoot a film dealing with the war. But I wanted it to be a reflection, rather than dealing with the war directly. I wanted to show the side effects of war and in this particular case, it is broken youth. I saw it a lot. I imagined how different it would be if this horror did not happen. The best place to shoot the film was in Vukovar, which is a symbol of this war in Croatia. I visited the city and found that it had the best atmosphere. It’s a city of shadows, because of everything that happened there. I wanted to do a film about young people and mix reality and fiction.

When was it shot?

We shot it a year and a half ago actually. But there was a long period of postproduction, because we were on a small budget and wanted to do 16mm prints.

So these bombed-out buildings that we see in the film are still there?

Yes, it is the visual identity of the town. I wanted to make a film where you do not see the actual war, but rather the aftermath of it. I was always more curious about people stories rather than historical events.

The film changes when the main character says: “I wish it was always like this.”

Yes. It’s a brutal awakening.

What is the significance of the ferry?

It’s a metaphor of a life passing by. I knew people who lived in this area before the war. It was a very wealthy place and everyone really enjoyed life here. The luxurious ferry is a symbol of a life that has passed by these people and abandoned them. I visited Vukovar one year before the shooting and that’s when I saw the ferry. I thought it be a great visual for the film.

You have made quite a few feature films in your career.

My sixth feature premiered this past summer. Three features have shown in America. My first feature was shown at the prestigious New Directors, New Films Festival at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was a great experience. I got great reviews in the New York Times, among other reputable publications.

The actors seem so unaware of the camera. How do you achieve that?

I always try to let them be as natural as possible to achieve a documentary style in my films. I do not burden my actors with technical stuff. I do not tell them where to stand or where to look. I give them the maximum freedom to get the maximum performance from them.

Every time I watch the film, I liked it more and more and see more things in it.

That’s a good thing. I felt the same way. And I actually had the same feeling with other important films. I liked them more the second time around.

The music works perfectly in the film.

It goes in circles. And it gets darker and darker. Yes, we even got several awards for the musical score. I like that it’s short, but precise.

There is one scene where the young kid is sitting in the back of a truck with that look on his face and that gave me the same feeling I had when I watched The Graduate. Do you know what I mean?

Yes, it’s a good compliment. I think it has something to do with trying to capture this freedom that youth has. I guess you can call it the atmosphere of young days. And it could be reminiscent of this great film you mentioned, The Graduate, as it deals with the same kind of freedom.

How old are you?

I am 35.

What advice would you give to a filmmaker who is about to make a first short film?

I am an exception in short filmmaking. Usually, people start with a short film to make their way into features. I did the opposite. I started with a few feature films and then made a short. Then again, I did a few features and made another short film. But it is very important for filmmakers to do a short film to become aware of film timing. And I think that it’s much harder to make a good short than a feature because it is extremely challenging to achieve precision in the limited time you have with a short film. I am very glad that big film festivals like Cannes, for example, treat short films almost on the same level as features. People in the cinema world are becoming more and more aware of how important short films are. In Croatia, many people said that Party was the best film about the war that happened there. So that proves that a short film can be equal to a feature in its power of impact. And my advice to young filmmakers is to be aware of timing and just shoot. Don’t wait around. Don’t think about a short format as a minor expression and only a jump to a feature. It’s a unique form of art all its own.

What are the qualities that make a great short film?

I don’t care much for films that do not provoke emotions and that leave you cold and dry. If a director manages to portray an emotional atmosphere in a short film, he succeeds in my book. A film can be very well shot and very well acted but in order to become a great film, it also has to have an emotional impact. It needs to have a soul.

What’s do you want the world audience to take away from Party?

Any person regardless what country they come from has a right to a normal beautiful life, especially while they are young. It’s not always possible, of course, yet you still have a right to want it to happen. So, I would say, just close your eyes and feel it. I hope the film touches you.