Join Little Star Rising and Be Reminded Why Life Is Valuable and Everything We Can Be

Slađana Lučić, a news editor at Al Jazeera in Sarajevo, at a certain point made a firm decision to direct her passion for documentary films into the making of her own. The shrewd journalist eye for detail, the ear that hears better than others and the emotion she felt when she was watching her fellow co-worker Nudžejma Softić during her awakening were extra motivation for Slađana to make a documentary film about her. By that point only colleagues, Slađana and Nudžejma embarked on an adventure that gathered other members of the team and enriched each and every one of them on a human level. Mrs Lučić, until Little Star Rising a complete filmmaking amateur, made a documentary film which after watching leaves audience in different moods, but in no way sad or indifferent.

How come you, as a complete amateur in directing, decided to make a documentary film about Nudžejma Softić? What motivated you?

I’ve been working in journalism over 20 years, but I’ve always found documentary film close to my heart and interesting, something you think about as a dream job. Daydreaming, luckily for me, became a reality because the story just happened. Nudžejma and I work together at Al Jazeera in Sarajevo – she is a proofreader and I’m a news editor. When you see a change in a person you know and who starts to make an impact on your life and the lives of acquaintances and complete strangers alike, making a decision to make a documentary film was not hard, but rather the only thing to do. Luckily, Nudžejma agreed to take part in this adventure of ours.

How long did it take to make the film and what did the process look like?

The first interviews, and then test shootings, were done in early 2017, so a little over two and a half years of work, shooting, editing and post-production is behind us. It was both an exciting and a difficult process, because this is my first documentary. Exciting because I could follow the story and express myself differently than in journalism; difficult because we had to launch the project straight away, since Nudžejma was already preparing for the first half-Ironman triathlon. Giving up was never an option and the entire team working on this film had this in common. This is not a documentary promising your crew big money, we experienced mutual recognition, we were connected by the wish to help this story find its way to the audience and this kept us together.

What guided you in choosing the team for the making of this film?

Honestly, it was emotion. Vjeran Hrpka, who is a director of photography, is someone I’ve known since I worked as a reporter in Osijek. He is a person who watches and listens to the interlocutor as he is standing behind the camera, and his shots immerse the viewers into the story. Together with cinematographer Mirsad Hodžić and sound designer Almir Kozić, he managed to capture Nudžejma’s fears, changes, growth. On the other hand, producer Tamara Babun was my mentor and psychologist (laughs). Our friendship developed from collaboration, and an equal role was played by editor Ana Štulina. They both taught me and put up with me in the process of making this documentary film. All the crew is from the film world, I was the only rookie. When the project was joined by Merima Ključo as a composer, this only confirmed that we have a good story on our hands. I called Merima, although we never met, I told her a few words about the film, I sent her the working materials and when she said yes, it all came together.

The soundtrack for the film was composed, as you said, by Merima Ključo. How did this collaboration come about and why her or all the Bosnian and Herzegovinian musicians?

I’ve been long in love with Merima’s work. Her rendition of Kraj potoka bistre vode with Miroslav Tadić and U predgrađu with Matija Dedić kept playing in my head since the early days of shooting. Simply, the emotions I wanted to portray in the film were something I identified in her music, they were there, in every note and then I simply gathered the courage to contact her. What surprised me was her openness and simplicity. While I was apologising for disturbing her, explaining who I was and what I was working on, she accepted my invitation as something completely normal and usual. She looked at the working materials and soon confirmed our collaboration. I don’t know what to say even today, thinking about this moment, except that I’m grateful to her for being first of all human and a great musician.

The protagonist is your colleague at work, you’re both employed by the same TV broadcaster in Sarajevo. Are you also friends? Who is Nudžejma to you and who is she to the people around you?

Mutual respect is what connects Nudžejma and me. Recognising the importance of mutual help, motivation, connection. We didn’t hang out, we were coworkers and sometimes barely spoke a few words throughout the day. I can’t explain how much Nudžejma changed over the course of a few years, she bravely worked on herself, and this change reflected in her smile, her look, the colour of her clothes, the people around her. It was something you simply had to notice. Interestingly, although at our office we have sports journalists many of whom are recreational athletes, no one else motivated people to move, to change their lifestyle like Nudžejma – first the people she knew and then unknown people in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. Her energy is contagious, just like her patience to answer all questions about running, swimming, fear of water. When she started preparing for the triathlon, she couldn’t swim. She even got on our nerves with this endless energy and persistence, but then you realise how you yourself started to think about running, half-marathon, living differently. She is a walking commercial for joie de vivre and growth through personal changes.

You are a reporter with extensive experience in Croatia and over the past six years you have been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina. How much is Nudžejma a heroine in her culture, i.e. how much does her ‘heroism’ cross the boundaries of geography, world view, religion and everything else?

I don’t see Nudžejma as a heroine, rather as an example of what each and every one of us can be if we invest time, effort, decide to work on our fears and flaws, regardless of the circumstances. It is enough to open the papers, check out the news to be aware of the gravity of the moment we live in. Nevertheless, I am an eternal optimist, I believe we all make decisions every day whether we will try to be better to ourselves and others that day or we will spend the day with excuses, nagging and accusing ill fate, parents, environment, politics, state. Nudžejma is an example of what an individual can do, the change they can make. The more of us are ready to do the same, the stronger the impact on the community and society, which is important in an age when we listen on a daily basis about intolerance, inequality, hate against the other and the different.

How did the filmmaking process effect you? Did you also change during the making of this documentary film?

Of course, it’s inevitable. I learned a lot about myself, I became aware of my own prejudices, and I was convinced I didn’t have them. I learned to love and appreciate life more than before. Do I have to tell you Nudžejma inspired me too to start running? I finally finished a half-marathon and a few shorter races. It is impossible to describe all the things you’re thinking about when you’re trying to conquer the 21 kilometres, from ‘why am I doing this to myself?’, to the immense joy of crossing the finish line. Experiencing something new, fun and crossing your own boundaries along the way, that’s what Nudžejma taught me and I’ll be eternally grateful to her.

As a director, could you tell us what Little Star Rising is actually about? What is the message, what is it that you want the audience to take home? What are your objectives? What would you like to achieve with this film?

To motivate as many people as possible, to show how an individual can often create a change more sincere, stronger and faster than any regime or politics. To illustrate how it’s possible to keep or find the joy of life regardless of where we’re from, what were our starting positions and the scars we got along the way. And I hope the spectators at the end of the film will not think about Nudžejma anymore as a veiled woman, but rather as an individual seeking and finding herself, while others, like most of us, tell her how to behave and think, what to be afraid of. Simply, to leave the cinema with a smile on their faces and perhaps make something beautiful for themselves and others that day.

Is documentary film a career direction you might take more seriously? Is there inspiration or a wish to direct a new creative project?

There is a wish and I hope to work on new projects. However, right now I’m focused on this film because we still have a long way ahead. Little Star Rising has only started its festival tour and I’m looking forward to this part of the road. I remember the first shooting day. Travelling to Belgrade, I was convinced I had everything under control. However, my plan turned into improvisation and headache. Documentary film is not like fiction, as the script you have at the beginning changes a thousand times. Life changes it and you cannot control that, which is both frightening and magnificent. It took me a really long time to feel safe. Finally it all came together and we witnessed the beauty of the unknown in documentary. Nudžejma has built a whole new big family – the Recreational Athletic Association ‘Trčanje i to’, and we also recorded a wedding. Primarily I want to make stories about inspiring individuals because I think we lack those. We lack optimism, motivation, curiosity, joy of life.

A crowdfunding campaign is behind you, and part of the funds to complete the film came from that source. How did you decide to make this step and how did it all go?

Over the project’s two years, funds proved to be the most challenging part, as expected. Now I realise why entrepreneurs, after they start a new business, say: “If we had known what to expect, we would never have launched the business.” Simply, you’re at the foot of a hill, you wish to climb on top and you don’t see all the things in your way. That was how we started. We couldn’t wait and first gather the money through film funds for development and production because Nudžejma was already preparing for her first half-Ironman. So we primarily relied on our own funds and we were soon joined by Al Jazeera Balkans as a co-producer. The planned six months turned into a year and a half of shooting and we simply ran out of money. I believe many filmmakers in the region opts for the same step because it is hard to ensure funds for a project that takes several years to make. The good side of crowdfunding is that you also get to build your way to the audience while still in the process of filmmaking. The bad side – a possible failure of you campaign. We succeeded in both: we gathered the funds for post-production and created a large family of supporters. Finally we got another partner – the Croatian Audiovisual Centre recognised the project and financially backed it.

What would you do differently if you could and what would you do again?

Of course we made mistakes and had fails, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned a lot, I laughed and was happy, I cried when things did not go the way we hoped, but such is life – all these new lines have a story to tell (laughs). Isn’t it amazing to do something new at the age of 45, something you thought about when you were 25 or 30?

How would you invite the audience to come and see your film?

If you want to be reminded why life is worthwhile and everything we can be – this is a film for you. I extremely look forward to every new smile this story will inspire upon leaving the cinema.