InPraiseofNothing(SlatkoodNišta)Documentary•Serbia/Croatia/France•dir.BorisMitić•78min•1,85:1•DCP

LOGLINE

AwhistleblowingdocumentaryparableaboutNothing,narrated- insimplechildishverse -byIggyPop.

SYNOPSIS

Oneday,Nothingrunsawayfromhome,tiredofbeingmisunderstood.

FollowsanepicadventureinwhichNothingroamstheworldlikeafallenprophet,denouncingourdelusionsandadmittingitsown,allthewhiletryingtopersuadeusofitsnatural,necessaryandultimatelyconstructiverole.

Eachshot,sound,cutorlineinthefilmrepresentsaconnotation,manifestationorquirkypointofviewofNothing;eachtwistintheplot-amirroredsliceofourownlives.

Suspensionofdisbeliefguaranteed.

PRODUCEDBY

BorisMiticforDribblingPictures(Serbia)&Anti-Absurd(Croatia)andFabrizioPolpettiniforLaBête(France),withsupportfromFilmCenterSerbia,CroatianAudiovisualCenter,Centre national de l'image animee, Procirep-L'Angoa, CreativeEuropeTVProgramming,IDFABerthaFund, theGenevaCenterforContemporaryArt and Faena Art,inassociationwithARTEFrance,RTS-SSR,SVT,YLE,TVC,RTVS,MKTV,RTRS,RTV

WRITTEN&DIRECTEDBYBorisMitić

NARRATEDBYIggyPop

MUSICBYPascalComelade&TheTigerLillies

CINEMATOGRAPHERS

Sebastian Alfie, David Batty, Nedzad Begovic, Attila Boa, Roman Bondarchuk, Dusan Brkovic, Alicia Cano, Rodolfo Castillo-Morales, Sorin Dragoi, Amlan Dutta, Aleksandr Elkan, Eleftherios Fylaktos, Eduard Georgadze, Michael Glawogger, Sinisa Glogoski, Ed Godsell, Marino Grgurev, Mohammed Hashem, Milos Jacimovic, Olivier Jourdain, Goran Jovic, Jessica Kingdon, Justin Kramer, Niklas Kullstrom, Edmond Laccon, Branko Lazic, Petr Lom, Vitaly Mansky, Zoran Marinovic, Jovana Milanko, Boris Mitic, Lucian Muntean, Chingiz Narynov, Boris Poljak, Maja Rasic, Ranajit Ray, Francesco Scarel, Rui Silveira, Aleksey Solodunov, Andrijana Stojkovic, Dmitriy Stoykov, Katia Suvorova, Oleksandr Techinski, Riho Vastrik, Ana Maria Vijdea, Anna Zaboeva, Teco Wong

FILMINGLOCATION

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirghizstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Scotland, Serbia, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA

SCRENEERhttps://vimeo.com/227525487

(ask for password)

EXTRAINFO

how-to-film-nothingnothing-scriptnothing-1pnothing-info

NEWSLETTER:http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/home/?u=1f8bc740942a946b9f149cba9&id=f4db2f9bdf

BorisMitic–director/writer/producer

Bornin1977insouthernSerbia.

Livedonafewcontinents,workedforafewyearsforthemostprestigiousglobalmedia,understoodafewthingsanddedicatedtherestofhislifetocreativeparenting,creativefootballandcreativedocumentaries:aGypsyMadMaxrecyclingsaga,aclaustrophobictragicomedyoftheabsurd,asatiricaldocumentaryfairytale,afeelgoodparableaboutNothing.

3mid-lengthdocs,150+festivals(IDFA,Edinburgh,AbuDhabi,TIDF,Silverdocs,MardelPlata,Jerusalem...),20broadcasters(ARTE,MDR,SVT,YLE,RAI,AlJazeera...),18awards(Sarajevo,Madrid,Rome,Mexico,Montevideo,Novosibirsk...),‘mostpirateddocmakerintheBalkans',‘inverted-véritéspecialist’.

Playsblitz-chess,writessatiricalcolumnsforPlayboyandlecturesworldwideaboutatypicaldocumentary filmmaking (Edinburgh, Beirut, Doha, Kolkata, Copenhagen, Moscow,Geneva,Sofia,Sarajevo,Florence, Zagreb, St.Louis, Dhaka...)

Filmography:PrettyDyana(2003),UnmikTitanik(2004),Goodbye,HowAreYou?(2009)

www.dribblingpictures.com|www.dribblingpictures.com/academia

DirectorStatement

Contemporarydocumentarieshavebecometrappedinthewebofgoodintentions,reducedtoeitherhyperbolizedandoftenmanipulatedlifebites,ortopatronizingmoralizationinthenameofsomehigheroridealvaluesthatdon’treallyexist,oratleastnotinsustainablequantities.

Therearenoappropriatediscourseseither,betheyconservative,liberal,catastrophicoridealistic,whichcouldprovidemuchneededepistemologicalcomfort.HencethisquestintoNothing,majestuousandscary,imminentanddistant,everybody’sorphan.

Nothingasapermanentpossibilityofnewbeginnings,Nothingaspost-ideologicaldeflation,Nothingasacinematicresponsetotheeverythingandtheanythingthatwearesoconfusinglyrunningafter.

Ipersonallydon’tfeelanyemptinessinlife,quitethecontrary.IremembermybestfootballmoveswaybacktotheearlyEighties;I’vepaidduerespecttomyparents,tomycountry,tomostfriendsandtomypersonalreligion;Ihaveadorablekids,aresilientbodyandaplayfulmind.

Yet,itistheveryconscienceofNothingnessthatmakesourlivesevenmorefulfilled,andprovidesthemosthonestgroundforassessingourattitudesandachievements,bothpersonalandprofessional–andonereallydoesn’tneedtobeaguru,aphysicistoraphilosophertogetthat.

ThegoalofthisfilmistomakeeachviewerexperiencethispositivepotentialofNothinginhisorherownindividualway,throughpurecinematicpleasure.Ifthislittlesmileonthecornerofyourmouthremainsuntiltheendofthescreening,themissionwillbemorethanaccomplished.

Iwouldbemosthappytodevelopthisfilmforanother30yearsandcompleteitatthefineageof69,butIstilldon’tthinkthattheoverallideawouldchange.

WhatIwantistodoistomakeavisualequivalenttothebestsatiricalbookever,Erasmus’s1513classic“InPraiseofFolly”,inwhichFollygoesaroundtheworldconvincingpeoplethatitistosmartertobemadthantobesmart.Iwanttodothesame,500yearslater,inthesenewDarkAges,withNothinginthemainrole.

ProductionNotes

ThePremise

ThisisadocumentaryaboutNothing.Notaboutnothingatallornothinginparticular,butaboutaveryparticularsubject,whichis-Nothing.

You’veallbeenthroughmomentswhenyoufeelthatthere’sjusttoomuchofeverything,inbothlifeandcinema,andthisideajumpedrightoutofoneofthosemoments.

Itstartedasjoke,aprovocation,anintellectualgame,butIquicklyrealizedthatNothingisactuallyaverymeaningful,legitimateandimportantdocumentaryfilmtopic.

Nothing is so present in every aspect of our lives; it quantifies, qualifies and modifieseverysinglethingthatwethinkanddotosuchanextentthatIthoughtitdeservestobegivenavoiceandachancetodefenditself.

Everytaxi driver and every grandmotherIhavetalkedtoeversince havepassionatelyagreedwithmeonthis;theyurgedandentitledmetodothisfilm,sohereitis.

Anonymousbrainstorming

Nothing'snarrationisillustratedby'documentaryfootageofNothing',shotbydozensofcinematographersfromaroundtheworld,bothCannes/Sundance/Venice/Berlinale/Camerimagewinners,seasonedfilmmakersandabsolutebeginners,basicallybyanyonewhofeltliketakingupthechallengeoffilmingNothinginadocumentaryway.

Theyworkedtogetheronthisinaprogressivecollaborativeeffort,whichstartedwithabasicchallenge:Sendin10documentaryshotsofNothing,period.WhateverisNothingforthem–personally,culturally,aesthetically.

This custom-made brainstormingplatformiscurrently restrictedtoparticipatingcinematographers,butwillbeopenedtothepublicafterthereleaseofthefilmintheformofan ongoing and keyword-searchableMuseumofNothings.

Sneakpreview:www.dribblingpictures.com/nothing-platformUSER:999PASS:000Participatingcinemagraphers:www.dribblingpictures.com/nothing-cinematographers.pdf

After they sent us their virgin shots, we gave them access to our online brainstorming platform, where they could see and comment on the footage of the others. But the catch is - both the clips and the comments were unsigned, so the discussion was very open, egalitarian and uninhibited. Over time, cinematographers would getting increasingly specific instructions, both collective and personal, as per the needs of the rough cut.

WORKFLOW

bibliography original footage

ideas illustrations

illustrated ideas

test editing

test narration

new instructions

WORKFLOW

CreationoutofNothing

Thedecisiontowritethescriptaboutthemostelusivesubjectinthehistoryofmankindinsimplechildishversewasutterlyunexpected.Thedirectorneverwroteanythinglyricalinhislife until facedwithascripwritingdeadline,when hespewedoutthewholetextinonebreath,bypassing(orsubliminating)5yearsofmeticulousresearchacross20.000pagesofwhat'sprobablythemosteclecticbibliographyeverusedinadocumentaryfilm.Bedtimechildrenbooksprobablybearashareoftheblame,too.

Thesame'acceleration'happenedinediting.TheteamwassocurioustoseewhethertherecordingsessionwithIggyPopworkedout,thattheyeditedtheentireroughcutinonenon-stop4-daysession,transcendingyearsofanalyzingandkeywordingthefootage.

TheFinanciersofNothing

"InPraiseofNothing"receivedthehighestgrantevergiventoadocumentaryfilminbankruptSerbia-whichwasalreadyaclearsign.

Theproductionstretchedover5years,asifitwaswaitingforthepoliticalmomentwhenthecountrywouldfinallybeallowedtoapplyforEuropeanaudiovisual funds,whichhappenedinthespringof2016.TheapplicationwassuccessfulandNothinggot bonus monies from CreativeEuropeTVProgramming,thefirsttimeafilmfromtheex-Yugoslavregiongetssuchagrant.

TheprojectisalsosupportedbytheFrench CNC, the CroatianAudiovisualCenter,theIDFABerthaFund,theGenevaCenterforContemporaryArt, Faena Artand10Europeanbroadcasters.

Adoc'n'rollpoem

When asked for impressions after narrating the script, Iggy Pop inspiringly stated: "This was like... something from the Renaissance or something. Like Dante or something... Pretty cool."