Were from a very progressive family.
Our parents were professors, and our grandparents as well.
Our father was professor of Greek and Philosophy, and our mother, History of Arts.
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day4Film
So, we grew up in a bubble, a very protective bubble, says Juka.
But in our family, a very close and dear member was persecuted and tortured.
Even in the 80s, he had some incidents which we remember from our childhood.
We were aware that that being gay was really, really difficult.
Both of us adored him so much.
Unfortunately, he passed away.
This film is a love letter to him and his generation, she says.
I did a huge amount of research into stories from that period, says Juka.
Barren Island was a concentration camp until 1957, where prisoners were made to torture other prisoners.
When new prisoners came to the camp, the other prisoners were forced to beat them as a welcome.
If a person refused to beat them, they would be sent back into the welcoming line.
The aim was to break their humanity.
If someone went to that prison, their reputation was ruined.
People were pretty much aware that they would have been involved in torturing others.
I had huge conversations with some big Serbian stars who had a problem with the love scenes.
They were trying get me to cut them.
They were telling me, The script is so strong.
Its a beautiful story about freedom.
You dont need those scenes, recounts Juka.
I unapologetically said no.
Eros is the only place of freedom.
Thanatos is all around them.
They cannot buy the stuff they want.
People are spying on each other.
They dont have freedom of speech, or of working on the things they want to work on.
The only place of freedom is Eros.
Showing those scenes under the sheets, with a kiss and cuddle, would not be moving the needle.
Censoring those scenes would have been against this story.
Once weve seen five of those films, no-one will blink or find them shocking.
Lets get used to that and lets portray that sexuality in a beautiful way too.
It was very important for me to have very honest and direct conversations with them.
I told them, Guys I can watch gay porn but its not reality.
I asked them how it should it look.
I was a bit afraid about the rehearsals.
It was strange because we had lunch and then I never heard from them again.
He replied, Yes, thats it and Im playing the father of a gay partisan.
Its a beautiful film, you should watch it when it comes out.
She was shocked, says Anita Juka.
Its a blow, but weve moved on says Juka of the lack of CFC funding.
Our priority is to get the film seen.
