A stranger arrives in Sarajevo and barges into Damir's reclusive world. Little by little she takes over his life, even absorbing his dreams, until finally she threatens his very existence.

Interview with Writer/Director Emma Rozanski

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

To take you on a strange ride into a world that won't follow the rules.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The main theme I explore in ‘Papagajka’ is apathy. In a way it’s a cautionary tale about indifference, yet the layers of story allow for individual interpretation and imagination. I’m interested in exploring how people (and cultures) transform under psychological conflict, and how the mind adapts to survive in different environments. Being at the crossroads of time and culture in so many ways, Bosnia was the perfect place to do this

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

The film really is very close to the shooting script, which is surprising given the short amount of time and money we had.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

A great many people at film festival screenings have had very interesting questions to ask me after they've watched the film, showing that there is a lot of engagement with the various levels of meaning in the film - which is great. People often come up to me and want to tell me what they thought the film was saying to them, so I'm very pleased that it has been making people think and ponder the spaces and themes and actions within.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Sometimes a complete stranger will see a meaning of allegory in the film that I hadn't thought of, which is always fascinating, because every one of these interpretations I've heard can absolutely be applied. So hopefully that means I've created a film with room for an audience to use their imagination and individual experiences to build additional stories within my story.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Being a very independent film, I'm hoping wearemovingstories will open it up to a wider variety of people from around the world, hopefully so that they can seek it out some day soon to watch (it will later this year be available on VOD).

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Although it's been screening at festivals throughout 2016 (and 2017 thus far), I'd still love PAPAGAJKA to keep traveling film festivals around the globe.

What are you developing or working on now?

I have written my next feature film, ALGEBRA, which will have a few of the crew on board with me again. It's a UK dark comedy about cognitive dissonance - again with a good dose of magic realism.

Interview: February 2017

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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Papagajka (The Parrot)

Take hold of life, before it takes hold of you.

Length:
2min

Director:
Emma Rozanski

Producer:
Louise McElhatto

Writer:
Emma Rozanski

About the writer, director:

Emma is an Australian writer/director who recently completed her MFA in film directing under the mentorship of acclaimed filmmaker Béla Tarr at his Film Factory in Sarajevo. She is currently developing a slate of film and installation projects, including her second feature ALGEBRA (a black comedy) with UK Producer Nicola Clayton (Sodalitefilms).

Key cast:
Adnan Omerovic, Susanna Cappellaro, Tina Keserovi

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

Funders:
IndieGoG

Made in association with:

KitBat Productions

Where can I see it in the next month?

The San Francisco Independent Film Festiva