MasterClass｜Danis Tanovic: Good Movies Can Have a Great Impact on Society

In many movie websites and movie rankings, as long as war films are mentioned, Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land" will basically be on the list, which is also the most familiar Tanovic's work among Chinese fans. In the competition for the best foreign language film at the 74th Academy Awards, "No Man's Land" defeated the French film "Amelie", which had won a lot of attention. It tells the story of a Bosnian soldier and a Serbian soldier who got into trouble due to a series of accidents during the Bosnian War and had to join hands to request assistance. Tanovic himself was the witness and recorder of this war.

After the outbreak of the Bosnian war in 1992, Tanovic, who had experience in film studies, naturally picked up a camera and became a war photographer until the end of the war in 1995. Because of this unique personal experience, "war" has become the most important keyword in Tanovic's works. After graduating from the film school in 1997, Tanovic began to brew his first film, and war films were his best choice.

For a fledgling young filmmaker, it is obviously unrealistic to shoot big scenes and large-scale war films, so Tanovic wanted to shoot real war stories at a relatively low cost. Tanovic recalled that this story had been in his mind for more than a year, and when he was confident, it took only about a week to actually write it.

After the script was completed, the progress of "No Man's Land" was very smooth: Tanovic first introduced the story to a famous filmmaker, but was euphemistically rejected. He then printed three copies of the script and sent to three production companies. As a result, one of them called him ten minutes later expressing a strong interest in the story and asked in detail about the creation. Three days later, Tanovic received a confirmation call.

Tanovic said that it took only 36 days to film it. Excluding the 9 raining days in a row, the actual shooting days were only 27. However, because he was fully prepared before shooting, knew the script well, and the artistic conception was very mature, so at the shooting site, Tanovic, who made a feature film for the first time, was already able to lead the team to follow his own ideas. “I don’t talk to the performers very much. After reading the script, I let the them think about how to perform. Sometimes there are some good effects. If I like their effects, then I will keep them when editing; if their performance cannot satisfy me, I will ask them to change it."

Tanovic pays special attention to the cooperation between team members and gives enough respect to the staff in each position. "The reason why everyone is there is a reasonable reason for his existence. Therefore, if you allow them to contribute, they can give you a lot. I regard the filming process as a way to live with other people."

In war films, Tanovic is particularly good at showing the real life of little man in the war era in an objective and delicate way. He gave an example. For example, a mother felt that her family wanted clean water, so she risked her life and walked 5 kilometers every day to fetch water for her family. Such a mother is a hero. "We have watched war movies since we were young, but I think a good war movie must convey a message of peace. Because everyone who has experienced war knows that in a war, everyone can become a hero. Not only soldiers, even a civilian can become a hero."

When asked which war films have had an impact on him, Tanovic cited a film that Chinese fans are very familiar with-"Walter Defends Sarajevo". In addition, the films "Ivan's Childhood" and "The Deer Hunter" all left a deep impression on him. Tanovic specifically pointed out that each director has his own style of handling when shooting war films, but in general, there will be wars, there will be sacrifices, and families will fall apart. "So, a good war film, in fact, is an anti-war film".

Tanovic said that it is precisely based on the common desire for "peace" and "anti-war" that his films, reflecting the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reflecting the country and its own people, will won so many audiences from all over the world. "Some viewers will give me feedback after watching my movie in other countries. I have received emails from viewers from Brazil, China, Japan, South Africa and other countries telling me that after watching my movie, how moved they are."

Not only war films, in Tanovic's view, any film with a "good story" can actually resonate with audiences from different countries and nationalities, because this is the commonality of all mankind. "I think a good story is beautiful in itself. This can also be called 'the common place in difference'. I just saw a news report yesterday that it took 20 years for scientists to finally complete human DNA99. 9% sequencing, which is very remarkable. In other words, 99.9% of the DNA in our human body is the same, but the remaining 0.1% difference makes each of us different, and even for brothers and sisters from the same family, it’s not the same either. Movies are the same as DNA, mostly in common, and slightly different."

When many young filmmakers are just starting their journey, they will regard “making a movie” and “finding investment” as very difficult. Tanovic's career as a director went very smoothly. His advice to young people is: First, tell the story well. Because whether it is a film company, director or actor, they are all looking forward to a good story and a good script. "If you have a good story, sooner or later, it will become a movie. Although the production cost of this movie is small or large, we cannot know in advance. But what I want to say is that everyone in the industry is looking forward to finding a good story. Everyone is thinking about how to find a good script."

But Tanovic also bluntly said that he had trouble in shooting war films, so if young filmmakers want to shoot some serious themes, apart from telling good stories, they must also work hard on research and investigation. "I think that the power of film to change society may be greater than that of other art categories. If we find a good idea and make a good film, we can have a great impact on the society. So, I think every filmmaker has the responsibility to tell good stories and use his stories to change the world. Although the world may not change because of our movies, it can slightly push the society forward."

On the premise of having a good story, a good director must also learn to find the best perspective to tell the story. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, every time Tanovic’s new films released will bring new ideas and surprises to the audience. For example, in "An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker" released in 2013, amateur actors were used and it is filmed in the style of a documentary. Tanovic said that the film’s budget is very limited, with only 7 crew members, and the photographic equipment is not very advanced. "I always feel that we must try and make mistakes, because only by making mistakes can we learn new things. If we don't try and dare not make mistakes, then we will fall into a herd mentality. As an artist, it’s hard to make progress in artistic expression subsequently."

Speaking of this, Tanovic changed the topic, “Everyone now has a phone now which is thousands of times more powerful than when I was shooting that war movie on the battlefield, so why don’t you hold it, go out and shoot?"

When asked what he thinks of short videos that are popular among young people nowadays, and the competition between movies and short videos, Tanovic bluntly said: Short videos are like baby food and useful, but their usefulness is limited to "having fun." "But making a movie is a very serious matter. You have to research a subject deeply, you have to develop your characters, and you have to design your scenes. So, I understand why some young people like these short videos. But I think if you want to be a director, you should watch more of the films of great directors. You know that the films made by directors are much more complicated than making a short video."