05-07-2009

Karlovy Vary East of the West: Devil’s Town

    Devil's Town is a creative, independent first feature film, described by scriptwriter and director Vladimir Paskaljević as "a black comedy of contemporary Belgrade."

    After his graduation in film directing from the national University of Dramatic Arts in 2000 he wrote the novel BDSM (2003), the stage play Excessive Heritage (2005), the short stories collection The Optimists (2006) and served as creative consultant and co-scriptwriter to his acclaimed father Goran Paskalević for his award winning film of that book. His short film Dolphins Are Mammals (1997) was shown in Clermont-Ferrand, Oberhausen, St. Petersburg, and Montpellier, and brought him a FIPRESCI award.

    The film is a first feature for producer Milan Tomic and MT Images as well. Devil's Town was made with only 300,000 Euro and no national support. The only financial participation of the Serbian Ministry of Culture, 30,000 Euro, came after the festival selection of the film and covered the cost of the HD - 35 mm transfer. The rest of the budget was covered by MT Images with the help of Nova Film, private sources, and donations.

    The film was shot in four week on the streets of Belgrade and on the Danube shore. "No one believed that we could make such a complicated film, with so many characters and sets in four weeks and with such a low budget. But, I was sure to make it, because I knew what I wanted for every episode." said Vladimir. During the whole shooting he received unconditional support from producer Milan Tomic who "liked the script because all the stories in it were consensually dense and true."

    Paskalević said he was interested in making "a mosaic film with multiple story lines, a road movie through the distorted soul of the country." The various characters were taken "nearly as they are, just adding here and there." Strongly believing that a recovery from the moral crisis could be achieved with "shock and laughter," Paskalević looks forward to a national cleansing through art.

    After its participation in Karlovy Vary, Devil's Town will be shown in the Palić European FF competition and in the Focus on The World Cinema of the Montreal World Film Festival. The domestic distribution is scheduled for late autumn.

    MT Images

    Milan Tomic

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    Last modified on 30-10-2009