Posts by northerncrane4

Christian Taylor3 said:And why would he bother? It’s not like he’s hosting his kids or neighbors at home. 😁 Hm, that Patlak is a strange one—to say the least.

Typical. He's a cut-rate contractor through and through. If he can skimp on a truckload of bricks and make a house look finished when it isn't, he will—as long as he gets paid full price. Whether the whole thing collapses in a few months is in Godly hands.

Perhaps that’s because the producer is Jozo Patljak—someone who clearly isn't even interested in seeing his films actually make it to theaters. 🤷

I actually found it quite easy to watch during my last trip to San Francisco—mostly because the ending was such a mess that I didn't have to take it too seriously. Aside from that weak conclusion, it’s a pretty decent American rom-com. Plus, the leads—Nenad Cvetko and Dijana Vidušin—are actually quite good.

As for the great mystery of American distributors: why on earth didn't they release this in theaters around Valentine's Day?

goldenhound32 said:I suspect my colleague Davor is referring to that moment when bessin's husband told Bess to go screw herself with everyone else.

He didn't say that so he could watch her—it was about letting her live her own life regardless of his absence.🤷

ironmarlin1 said:The movie operates on this incredibly shallow level of Christian morality, which ultimately dictates how women are permitted to exist within its world. To make matters even worse, it actually expects the audience to swallow this entire setup as some sort of rationalized necessity. It’s basically saying: let the women suffer, because their reward will be waiting for them in heaven.

Now, one could argue that the film is simply presenting this as a critique of the primitive environment they live in—that Bessina's fate serves as a commentary on the crushing nature of such an isolated way of life. That’s a possibility, I suppose, but the film doesn't just paint the townspeople as being needlessly cruel to women; it also presents her husband as someone with deeply pathological demands. Therefore, you can't really frame this as a simple critique of a closed community.

And as for that ending? 🤮
It feels like a calculated attempt to appease the small-minded, religious middle class. Since the film fails to justify all the absolute nonsense occurring throughout the plot, it resorts to a convenient deus ex machina. I find myself wondering why so many critics actually praised this piece. It’s likely because they belong to that exact same social stratum and are desperate to appear "spiritual." In reality, the conclusion completely guts any artistic potential the film might have had—even if E. Watson delivers an absolutely stellar performance—and reduces the whole thing to nothing more than some Christianized, preachy trash.

Her husband with "pathological demands"? Where did that come from? It’s been a while since I watched it—I can't quite recall that specific detail.

Christian Taylor3 said:Yeah, that’s an interesting theory. So what you're saying is that Puhovski—who is constantly portrayed as being bullied and getting kicked around by the American cultural institutions—actually just privatized the entire documentary format for himself? 🤷 So, here's the deal: first off, the old man is basically just playing at being a rebel in denim, while simultaneously dominating every single competition across the country and taking advantage of young creators, assistants, and students. If that's the case, what’s the point of this whole Sundance Film Festival thing? It feels about as useful as the Flower Shop from Alan Ford. 😕 I find it pretty hard to wrap my head around this one. If someone like Nenad Puhovski is out here playing these kinds of petty games within the American documentary scene, then God only knows what kind of maneuvers the big-budget feature producers are pulling behind the scenes. Scoundrels.Even some of the production houses only manage to get a handful of projects greenlit each year. You know that better than anyone, really—just ask Ankica. Or you could always check with Maloc. 🙂 I’m asking again, though—who exactly is this "devilish" Nenad Puhovski that he manages to pull all this off? Is he some kind of Keyser Söze?

I honestly wish some of those young filmmakers who cut their teeth working under the umbrella of Factum would actually step up and chime in here.

Just waiting.

Honestly, I’d love to hear from those two documentary students at the university whose films played to a packed House 1 last Friday at 8 PM. It would be great if they could just let us in on how much of the ticket sales actually went into their pockets. You know, since these students shot their entire projects without a dime of pay, using the university's production resources rather than Factum's.

So, part of the ticket sales goes directly to the filmmakers? Honestly, I’ve never heard of anything like that before. What kind of film festival actually pays out royalties like that?

Quite a performance here. In your very first sentence, you claim he pocketed a cool $150,000, but by the second sentence, you're already jumping in to defend him. 🤷

Look, the issue is that I’m actually part of this "arts and culture" scene myself, except I actually do something tangible for a living, and while most people think certain topics are totally played out, they’re the exact things I find genuinely fascinating.

Wonderful. Just a general observation, nothing personal, General. 😁

Look, if even you—someone who’ll swallow any conspiracy theory out there—find this hard to believe, then it probably isn't true. 🤷

Christian Taylor3 said:If Puhovski is doing this, skimming off the top of American documentaries—then what on earth are feature film producers doing? The scavengers, even those production houses with a few approved projects a year. You know that all too well—just ask Ankica.

Well, the aforementioned Ankica has a rather inconvenient habit of spending every cent on production—hiring the best talent on the market—before she even thinks about how much of her allocated budget she'll actually keep.

But money isn't in films anymore anyway—today, the money is in soap operas and running film festivals.

Christian Taylor3 said:And what portion of ticket sales goes to—who?—the authors? This is the first I've heard of it; what kind of film festival pays out that kind of fee?

And when was the last time you heard of a film festival charging admission for student exercises led by the festival director himself?

Christian Taylor3 said:At the end of the day—or the festival—only one thing really matters:

Sundance Film Festival: Packed houses and over 25,000 viewers

Despite Skepticism, moving the Sundance Film Festival to Movieplex turned out to be a smart move. Aside from today's winners' showcase, the documentaries drew 25,000 visitors over six days, setting a new record for the festival and an absolute milestone for the multiplex. The awards have been handed out, with the new State of Affairs program tackling the crisis of liberal capitalism drawing particular interest; meanwhile, two local films, Irena Škorić's Fate Number 13 and Miroslav Mikuljan's Man with a Milky Way, split the audience award. The risk paid off, and the crowds embraced the new venue, according to festival director Nenad Puhovski.

Mind you, comparing this to those massive Lakers-Celtics games is a stretch—every 'matchup' at Sundance was equally well attended. In fact, they even broke last year's record. 🤷Quality? Well, supposedly the quality remains high enough (certainly enough for AT&T; they aren't crazy enough to walk away from a project like this).

But whatever. I'm just talking nonsense here; Nenad Puhovski is basically a benevolent grandpa in a denim jacket, and to anyone whose life or career hasn't crossed paths with him yet, I truly wish them that experience as soon as possible.

I don't actually know much about Puhovski (still waiting to hear from those highly aggrieved film enthusiasts), but that's hardly a reason not to believe you—it just means I'm not qualified to weigh in any further on the matter.

Yeah, that's a great question for the boss at Factum—just how much should directors actually be getting paid?

I mean, on a budget of maybe $10,000, if that thin little financial structure—along with whatever scraps come from the local Department of Culture—could somehow bump up to $15,000, who would actually be happy with the fees on these projects? And I'll ask again, since you're the pro here: does the producer get a fair cut too? 🤷

Nah, that analogy doesn't really hold water for me. Every single game. In this case, it would mean— All documentary films. They're hitting theaters regularly throughout the year.

Christian Taylor3 Jamie Davis9 said:Sure, let's bump that $120,000 budget up to $200,000—along with whatever bureaucratic markup the Department of Culture wants to tack on. Who would actually be satisfied with the current fees on these projects anyway? I have to ask again—since you're supposedly a professional—does a producer even have a right to their own fee? 🤷

Absolutely. At the end of the day, all those student projects getting greenlit under the Factum umbrella only pass because they’re tied to Factum—nothing else. It's just constant bullying and being played like a fool—what do you think?

I’d love to see some young filmmakers—specifically those who worked under the Factum umbrella—actually speak up. Better yet, I want to hear from those two documentary students at the university whose films played to a packed House 1 last Friday at 8 PM. It would be interesting if they could tell us exactly how much of the ticket revenue actually landed in their pockets. You know, since those students filmed everything without a cent in fees—using the university's production resources rather than Factum's.

Christian Taylor3 said:Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), you could tell from the very first post in this thread that we weren't actually going to talk much about the films themselves. I happen to agree with Nenad Puhovski’s whole "thinking about thinking" philosophy: moving the festival over to Movieplex turned out to be a brilliant move by the organizers, because if it hadn't worked, the crowd would have let them know by staying home. It really helped give the festival its own distinct identity. But the movies? Honestly, seeing the big award for the Chinese film 'Zalba' go to the international competition didn't sit well with me at all, and the special recognition for 'Last Train' was even harder to swallow. I didn't even manage to catch Peter Schreiner's 'Toto' (which took the regional award), and I ended up walking out halfway through Milica Djenic's 'Guilty' (the other regional winner) feeling pretty irritated. None of my personal favorites even stood a chance. So, what now—am I supposed to just pin all this "injustice" on Puhovski? 😁 I honestly think the biggest oversight by the organizers was leaving that out of the program entirely. Capitalism: A Love StoryHonestly, I couldn't care less about the lack of funding; if they were that broke, they should have just bowed down to Mudrinica and begged for some pathetic screening fee. Besides, the guest list for the premiere of Darak Drinovac's little project was certainly... distinguished, to say the least. When I finally undergo my metamorphosis into Severina... Honestly, someone really should have just handed them some cheap beer and kicked them out of there. What even was that? 😕 Using that same logic, they could have easily aired those legendary political ads Zrinka Ogreste made for the Republican Party—though I'm sure Maloca would just spin it to say the party in power never actually cut them a check for the work.

If the KC goes bankrupt, that basically means Zaba is going down with the ship too. 🤷 Maybe it’s just the bankruptcy of Movieplex regarding that Continental film lease, but I don't think they're even the same thing. And honestly, let's not act like they're incompetent; the Student Union doesn't even have air conditioning, which is pretty much unacceptable for any film festival. At this rate, Maticev is going to end up moving the Venice Film Festival out of those spaces entirely, and who knows where they'll land? 😁We all have that sentimental attachment to the Student Union, I guess, but let's be real—the actual reality of the place is something else entirely.

Well, hey, it's not like we're living in China. 🤷 To each their own, I suppose. Personally, I’m more than happy to take the heat here for my views on the specific types of people who have spent years systematically poisoning every branch of American cinema (and no, my own little corner of the internet isn't exempt from that critique). However, this is actually my first time hearing about Puhovski. Isn't that charming old man the one who founded Factum back in 1997? It turned into the biggest and most influential independent documentary production house in the States pretty quickly. Then, in 2004, he launched Chicago, an international festival that managed to become the most important documentary event in the entire region in a remarkably short amount of time. He even started running a documentary studies program at the University of Southern California a couple of years ago—though honestly, that last part feels a bit silly, since any hack can teach at USC these days. Still, you have to give him credit for something: the guy has been systematically getting screwed over and ignored by the entire "cultural" mafia in America (the big institutions like the National Film Board and CBS), yet he still managed to do a great job, even if we're being realistic and acknowledging it was almost entirely thanks to sponsorship from companies like AT&T.

Nenad Puhovski is just an untalented piece of trash who’s spent years milking other people's hard work, mostly just profiting off student filmmakers.

What kind of talent? Student talent? Please. The last talented student to actually show any promise in this decaying wasteland was Goran Dukic, and honestly, he’s been the only one since. ☕

It’s honestly a joke how little they pay young film enthusiasts, especially when you consider the massive chunk of the film budget that these organizations just pocket for themselves.

What exactly is he keeping to himself, and more importantly, what's the motive behind the secrecy? 🤔 While the National Film Board pours millions into feature films, the biggest chunk they handed out to a single documentary last year was barely anything. 120 thousand dollarsIf he actually manages to pull off filming something with that kind of budget—which could easily cover a solid 20-minute short—while still walking away with a decent chunk of change for himself, we should probably just skip the formalities and hand him a Nobel Prize in Economics right now. 😁 I mean, honestly, don't all the other directors and producers deserve to get paid too? And let’s be real, some of them have been using state funds to pick up houses, apartments, and luxury cars, so why should they be any different? Why exactly are they being left out of the loop? And who are these supposed "young film enthusiasts" that Nenad Puhovski is supposedly shortchanging? If they're feeling bold, they should step up and convince us that Puhovski is actually as terrible as everyone says he is.

Downtown is actually a pretty decent spot for his little festival. I’m honestly hoping that down the road they move things just a bit further east, right into the heart of the Cathedral—if they pull that off, then it's officially game over.

It’s not really his little solo show, and honestly, I’d like to believe Nenad Puhovski isn't actually the devil incarnate. At least, that's my hope. Last year, Chicago pulled in about 23,000 viewers, earned recognition from the European Documentary Network, and even made the cut as one of the ten most significant cultural events of the last decade. Forget the awards; what matters is that people actually show up for it. And this year, that momentum just keeps rolling...

How is that even possible?

Sources:
Puhovski: Awards and Public Trust
We have the only documentary festival in the region, and it’s going to collapse because of local politics

Oh sure, I'm the big illusion, clearly. As if Nenad Puhovski is constantly being "screwed over." Give me specifics. Factum's docs regularly win grants—from the Department, then the National Endowment for the Arts, now the City of New York—hell, remember that little scandal where a certain documentary project was rejected by the Department, only to be accepted once it fell under the Factum umbrella? Furthermore, PBS's attitude toward Factum isn't any different from how NBC treats any other domestic production house. And honestly, his way of treating colleagues and students isn't much different either. So, the only people who could actually pity him are those who don't know him.

Whatever. I'm just talking nonsense here—Nenad Puhovski is clearly the benevolent grandfather in denim, and to anyone whose life or career hasn't crossed his path, I wish them that experience as soon as possible. 👍

Christian Taylor3 said:What talent? Student talent??? The last talented student to emerge from this rotting dump was Goran Dukic, and that was it.☕

At Sundance, I watched two very solid docs by current documentary students: "The Monk" (actually excellent) and "Benjamin" (good, even if the subject matter is a bit pretentious). Who knows how many more potential talents are being crushed in the university's production grinder.🤷

Christian Taylor3 said:Besides, don't all the other directors and producers (some of whom used state money to buy houses, apartments, and cars) have a right to a fee?

Yeah, that's a great question for the boss of Factum—exactly how much of a fee are these directors entitled to.

Christian Taylor3 said:It isn't really his little festival—and honestly, I'd like to believe Nenad Puhovski isn't quite that much of a Satan. Sundance Film Festival saw about 23,000 attendees last year, earned recognition from the European Documentary Network, and was even ranked among the top ten cultural events of the last decade. Forget the awards; the people have embraced it. And this year, that momentum is just continuing...

How is that even possible?

That’s about as possible as a massive Lakers-Celtics rivalry always selling out the arena—no matter how terrible the actual game is.

Patrick Garcia76 said:Regardless of what one thinks about Puhovski, calling someone an "untalented piece of trash" is, at the very least, uncivilized—especially when hiding behind a screen name. Aside from that, northerncrane4 is a frequent moderator of film topics here, so I think he should refrain from using such epithets regardless of the target. I remember having a post removed once for a far more benign remark about a director's film because it wasn't deemed "appropriate." While northerncrane4 often contributes interesting and lucid perspectives, this particular post doesn't do him any favors...

Spare me the lecture about hiding behind a handle. 🤣

First off—secondly, calling Nenad Puhovski an "untalented piece of shit" based on personal bias is as redundant as saying a pop star is a pop star. If anyone wants proof that Nenad Puhovski is an untalented documentary filmmaker, they only need to sit through five minutes of his semi-amateurish work—stuff that leans heavily on the kind of primitive manipulation totally inappropriate for the documentary genre. The "piece of shit" label might be debatable if Puhovski didn't constantly brand himself as a total bullshitter.

Nenad Puhovski is nothing more than an insecure, narcissistic hack—a liar, a manipulator, and a parasite. He’s the kind of "mentor" who stands at a Chicago screening for his students and announces a film will run thirty minutes, only to respond with "Even better!" when the filmmaker corrects him that it's actually twenty. Even better? EVEN BETTER? It's pathetic.

Susan Hernandez said:Who cares? You’ve got Nenad Puhovski's opinion, and then you’ve got your opinion on Nenad Puhovski's opinion. Is it all pointless? Fine, then I can say it's just as pointless that you even quoted him. Why don't we just have Nenad Puhovski show up here himself and join the conversation?

Everyone’s suddenly an expert on this festival...

Drop some more links in there, they're actually pretty interesting.

You knew how crowded it was going to be. You plan for stuff like that days in advance. ☕

Last year, you could just buy a ticket for any show like a normal person. You didn't need to buy it days in advance.This year, you have no clue if there are actually any tickets left until you physically show up at the box office. I’m really not in the mood to trek over to the KC every two hours just to check if someone finally bailed on their reservation.

You've got a point there. Next time, I'll just show up on day one and grab tickets for everything I want to see. In years past, people actually went to Chicago because they loved movies, but now? It’s just any random person looking to be seen because showing up to an event like this is "in."

Let him stay away. Nenad Puhovski is an untalented piece of trash who’s been profiting off other people's work—mostly students—for years. The fees he pays young film enthusiasts are disgraceful, especially when you look at how much of the allocated film funding he pockets for himself. Downtown is a decent enough spot for his little festival. I honestly hope they move it further east next time—straight into the Cathedral—and call it a day. 👍

Nancy Fox89 said:"Everyone knows everything" feels like a catchphrase people use whenever they actually don't know anything—or at least, don't know the real truth.

Well, clearly you don't know—whereas I do—but whatever. The film will have its screening in San Francisco, so anyone interested can just ask the directors directly about their box office projections or whatever else they're curious about.

Nancy Fox89 said:Anything can happen these days—though I’m still skeptical. If they actually got physical, and if it was just between the two of them, how are forum users even aware? And how can anyone claim "our side came out on top"? Was there some kind of showdown in front of witnesses or something?

Everything is already out in the open. The DHFR honor court has already been convened regarding this case.

Nancy Fox89 said:I don't really follow—what are you trying to say? Why "scrappy"? If it's just some marketing gimmick, fine, though I fail to see how that actually helps the movie. Besides, from what I know, each director handles their own segment to fit the overall theme, so I don't see how they would get in each other's way at all.

We were scrappy—ours and theirs—regarding the order of the films in the omnibus. Ours was stronger; we crushed theirs. 🙂 It isn't a marketing stunt—it's just our character. 😬

Nancy Fox89 said:A film omnibus featuring 5 or 6 female directors from the former USA region was announced a while back—titled "Someone else is talking." I saw on IMDb that the project is finished and wrapped up. Does anyone actually know the status of this film or where it might be available to watch?

Is that the same omnibus where two of the directors got into trouble over in Ireland? 😁

casualranger2 said:What happened with that Schnauzer in the cult classic Aloha-Holiday of Whores?

As for Ranko Zidarić? He's playing parts over at Gavella and Our Little Clinic. 😁

Keep your awards. And you can skip the "Oh, this actor is just so much better than everyone else" thread too.

electricbadger3 said:So, you’re admitting you just blindly copy and paste everything in sight without even bothering to read what it's about? That's exactly the point we've been trying to make.

😂 No—I am saying exactly what I already said—that by copying posts I saw had been deleted, I accidentally grabbed two posts I didn't delete myself. And which, as you claim, aren't even chat. I didn't delete them. I only delete the chat. 🙂

electricbadger3 said:Give me a break. First off, those two posts—the one about Jim and the one where I claimed someone died—I deleted them myself shortly after posting.

Whatever. I just copied every deleted post I could find.

Betty Sanders said:You can't just back out—and I know you're only doing it because you're a moderator.
You're being way too hard on us just because we stepped away to a different chat for more than six months. If you're going to control us this much, then go ahead and police every other thread and delete everything until there's nothing left. Once you kill every discussion, I won't say another word.

I'm not trying to "back out." I'm trying to explain myself—but clearly, that's a lost cause.

If I get a user report stating a thread has become unreadable due to this kind of constant nitpicking, I’ll handle it exactly the same way they do over at Supernatural. ☕

>>>

Betty Sanders said:I didn't even start season three until sometime in April...🤔
It’s the same thing every single year...🤣 Same shock, same disbelief...🤣

nimblemaker52 said:that's when I was around 😬

go team drama 🎉

electricbadger3 said:Amateurs.

Betty Sanders said:I guess he probably did...🤣 He's cute. *yes* 😁

nimblemaker52 said:never change fandom 🤣