THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pavo Marinkovic, no delegate of this edition of International Film Festival of Kerala can easily forget the name of this Croatian filmmaker whose film 'Ministry of Love' has got a thumping response at IFFK. The director, who is surprised at the huge turnout, says “There in my country, it was hard to get more than 6 -10 people for the screening of my film.” Pavo was active in drama before entering film industry. So was it an easy job for him to come into the tinsel town?
“No way. Before starting my career as a director, I was working with Broadcasting TV (Channel) there in my native place as the script supervisor. I was there from 1996 till 2005. During that period I was supposed to check the screenplays which come there for the production. It was after I resigned I started the pre-production of my debut venture 'Tressette: A Story of an Island'. Since I had worked there, I approached Broadcasting TV with the script. They liked the subject, and agreed to produce the film if I am okay with some of their conditions," Pavo said.
Here's the condition. They will appoint a person to share the director credit with me. "I said yes as I desperately wanted to do the film. Drazen Zarkovic, who was my ex-colleague, was appointed as my co-director,” says the director who calls it as his ‘halfth’ venture instead of ‘debut’ film. But the real struggle for him was to come up with him next film – his first solo project -- 'Love Life of a Gentle Coward'. He had to wait for around three years for this film. “Post Tressette, I moved to Prague, where my wife got a job. In the meantime, I had completed the script of 'Love Life of a Gentle Coward'. But unfortunately I did not find any producers. It was after waiting for more than two years, that I could find a funder – a private producer,” he recollects.
