Crossroads Catalogue 2009

SLOVENIAPasquaCreditsProduced by: A AtalantaDirector: Ivan MarinovicScriptwriter: Ivan MarinovicCo-Producers: FAMU (Czech Republic),UFSCG (Montenegro)Budget: 1.000.000 EurosSecured Financing: 40 %Ivan MarinovicDirectorContactAddress: Kolinska 9, 13000 Prague,Czech RepublicM: +420 776 462 690ivan.marinovic@ymail.comSelected FilmographyA Football Story (short), 2009The Confession (short), 2008SynopsisCaptain Niko gets in trouble when his fishing business becomes unsustainable. Pasqua, the boat on whichhe spent thirty years and which a local gangster owns, is about to be sold to the mafia that smuggles Albanianpeople to Italy. He takes desperate measures to pay Pasqua off by accepting to smuggle cigarettes from Montenegro(cigarette trafficking center in the ’90, while under economical embargo) to Italy. Along the journeyhe and his ridiculous, eccentric crew go through misadventures involving other smugglers, Carabinieriand a mysterious castaway from one of the smuggling speedboats, beautiful Marina, who will create greatdisturbance among the crew. Her connection to the smuggler boss Marcello will cause many twists and turnsin the story. The Captain overcomes all difficulties and manages to keep his boat, but the involvement withthe mafia pushes him to finally make the biggest possible sacrifice for him; that is, to sink the boat.Director’s StatementDespite the heist plot pattern, the story, is character-based, offering a combination of cinematic and storytellingvalues. The dynamic plot makes it interesting for a broader audience while keeping the authenticqualities of an auteur confession. Splendour of nature in coastal Montenegro calls for meditative passagesas a relief between the tense and absurd situations. The story is taking place at sea, which sets it in a wideangled format in order to exploit compositions involving the boats and the horizon. The architecture ofthe boat pushes the mise-en-scene to be precisely designed expressing the dynamic relations betweenthe characters. The main relationship of the story is between the captain and his boat, reflecting his ego,status, freedom and the integrity that he fights for throughout situations that build up towards the catharsisand his inner conflict. It is a tragedy filled with humanism and humour that prevails even in the darkestof moments in the Balkans and the Mediterranean.28