ÉCU FILM FESTIVAL, 2025
Bobby B. GrubiC, Director
Miro Gavran, Writer,
Sven Jakir, Lead actor
lonley
Festival Screening
7 Parnassiens – Grande Salle
10, May 2025
Session 5 - 20:05
April, 18, 2025
Just as the sun is setting on his life filled with disappointment and regret, an old man finds hope in an unlikely friendship.
Hi Bobby, Miro, and Sven, thank you for talking with The New Current. Are you looking forward to screening Lonely at ÉCU this May?
BOBBY: We are all very excited about this European and French premiere in Paris, as we can’t wait to share with the world this very human and heart-wrenching story of loneliness brought to life by some outstanding performances by our actors. This emotional story reflects a sense of what matters in life.
SVEN: Thank you, ECU, for the invitation to screen our amazing short, which was made with love and dedication.
What does it mean to you to have your film Lonely in the dramatic European Short Category?
BOBBY: This is an excellent opportunity for our film to be seen by people who appreciate dramatic fiction and short-format independent filmmaking. Also, we are hoping that this festival will help our film with a great kick off festival tour and help us in our quest to reach as many people as possible in different countries for the audience to learn how we in Croatia experience and value life, and most importantly promote the final performance of late Duško Valentić, the legendary Croatian actor.
MIRO: This film is based on my short story, which has been translated into nine languages and published in several literary anthologies in Croatia and worldwide, and I hope this film will have an even greater reach than literature, and hopefully give this story new life and reach many viewers around the world by touching their hearts.
SVEN: I am happy that the collective effort brought to this movie is recognized and that this subtle human drama that many could relate to is being presented to your audience, especially that we are honoring the final work of our friend and colleague Duško Valentić.
How important are festivals like ÉCU championing and supporting independent films and filmmakers?
SVEN: Personally, I have been an independent artist since the beginning of my career, and without festivals, venues, and the efforts of people like you, it would be almost impossible to make independent art live and have it available to various audiences, so I am very thankful for that.
BOBBY: I agree with Sven and add that promoting a culture of going to the cinema and watching films on the big screen adds another aspect of importance in times when everything is watched on small digital devices or smartphones.
How did “Lonely” come about? What was it about Miro Gavran’s short story that connected with you as a director?
BOBBY: The story was very emotional and easily relatable. Miro’s writing is simple, yet very deep and layered, which attracted me to this story and our first joint project. Miro and I are working on an epic historical feature drama, “The Conspirators,” inspired by another of Miro’s early plays. It is in the domain of Croatian “Braveheart,” a story about two Croatian nobles, Zrinski and Frankopan, who in the 17th century conspired with the Hungarians to free their lands from the tyranny of the Austrian Emperor Leopold. So, this short film was a little test to see how well we can work together before getting into a much bigger film project.
How did you secure this short story and work with Miro to turn it into a short-form screenplay?
BOBBY: To continue my previous answer … after Miro and I met and “clicked,” and our friendship was born, the chemistry and love for storytelling that resonates with the audience is something that we both value, we were both looking for one of his works, either literary or a theatre play, to elevate our new friendship and try an artistic collaboration in adapting it to a screenplay. His short story “In the Embrace of the River” - “U zagrljaju rijeke” was just the right project to take on to see how well we work together. It took us a good 3 months in the summer of 2023 to finish it and make it ready to go into production at the end of that year. Working with Miro was a true pleasure; he loves what he does and is more than good at it. I did worry a bit before we started working on it how he would take me messing with and breaking his story apart and adapting it for the film, but very quickly he showed me that all he cares about is a great story and how we will make it even better than it was in its literary form.
Where did the inspiration for Lonely come from, and had you given much thought before meeting Bobby on turning this into a short film screenplay?
MIRO: I wrote the short story in the deep conviction that loneliness is the most important theme of our present time, especially for the so-called “Western man”. When I met Bobby and saw his films, I was delighted with his cinematic storytelling skills… He liked my novels and short stories… I can no longer remember who offered to collaborate with whom, he to me or I to him, I only remember that one day Bobby said to me: “Send me four of your short stories that you think are the best to be turned into a short film.” I sent him four short stories, and he decided on the story “In the Embrace of the River”, from which the two of us wrote the script for the film “LONELY”. We enjoyed writing the script, and since I was also on set, I could see how the actors enjoyed creating their characters and working with Bobby. It was a truly enjoyable experience.
How much does your background as a playwright inform how you approach adapting one of your stories into a screenplay?
MIRO: Since I have many premieres around the world every year, I have the opportunity to watch my plays and comedies come to life on stage, and that is also useful for me as a screenwriter, because a good screenplay, like a good play, must have a good story, interesting characters, and everything must be told in a contemporary language that is close to today's actors. Contemporary theatre is no longer as distant and different from film as it was fifty years ago.
Did you imagine GavranFest would become such a wildly loved and celebrated cultural event?
MIRO: When the first “GavranFest” festival was held in Slovakia 22 years ago, where plays based only on my plays and comedies were performed, I could not have dreamed that the festival would be held fifteen times so far, in four other countries: Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Serbia…the 16th GavranFest in Prague is being prepared for the fall of this year, and the 17th GavranFest in Munich will be held in the fall of 2026. Meeting numerous actors, directors, and translators who worked on my texts at a festival dedicated to me was a wonderful experience.
When working on this short, how close did you want to keep to the screenplay, and did you allow yourself/actors some flexibility once you started shooting?
BOBBY: In general, I am not the script police (even if I wrote it :-). I encourage fluidity and improvisation where it makes sense, but I also believe in fewer takes, a kind of Woody Allen style/philosophy of filmmaking. I do repetition in rehearsals before we get on the set, where we try different things, but on the set, we already know where we are going. I encourage my cast to immerse themselves in the roles and become the character I need them to be on screen, and if in the process they use words or phrases that were more natural to them, but convey the same meaning or message, it is perfectly fine with me.
Lonely was also Dusko Valentic’s, who plays Simon, last project. What was the experience working with him on this project?
SVEN: Duško Valentić was an incredible actor on so many levels. My generation of actors looked up to him as an inspiration, especially since I was growing up watching him on TV in many roles, especially the ones in children’s series, so it was truly an honour to work with him for the first time and unfortunately the last time. But I hope your audience will recognise the emotion and realism we delivered and captured in this short film.
SVEN: How soon after reading the screenplay did you realise you wanted to play Peter?
SVEN: Immediately! As soon as I read it, I knew there was something special in this story, and the emotions that would be challenging to portray without being too big or too small. But I also know Miro from theatre shows. We have collaborated on two theatre dramas in the past, so when he suggested me for a role to the director, I knew he had already cast me in his head. It was important to me that we do justice to the original story and execute the director's vision.
"Come to the set 100% prepared and know what you want, and your cast and crew will follow you and help you craft your vision." - Bobby B. GrubiC
What was the hardest scene for you to shoot?
SVEN: I would say the very last one, the farewell scene. Usually, it would ask for tears, but in this special bond, almost a partnership, between Simon and me, the mixture of feelings was the hardest thing to bring to the screen.
Have you always had a passion for filmmaking/acting/writing?
MIRO: I've been writing since I was sixteen, and there's no better job in the world than writing stories; whether it's a novel, drama, comedy, short story, or screenplay.
As an award-winning filmmaker, what have been some of the biggest changes you’ve noticed in how you approach film projects now?
BOBBY: Selecting the right story and topic that resonates with you is the key to better shaping that story in front of the camera, and hopefully, your passion about the subject will translate and ignite the audience who will be watching the story through your eyes.
Going back to your very first film, what was the most valuable lesson you took from this experience?
BOBBY: As director, for me, it is always the same thing: Come to the set 100% prepared and know what you want, and your cast and crew will follow you and help you craft your vision.
What does Lonely say about you and the way you see the world?
BOBBY: I am a very sensual person, and I value life, and I believe this aligns with my philosophy of life in that we can replace almost anything in our lives aside from lost time and loss of our human life, so we should always have that in mind as we go through life.
What has been the best advice you’ve been given by a fellow filmmaker/actor/writer?
BOBBY: Follow your dream and vision, and try to make films about things you want to watch in a unique way that represents your filmmaking and storytelling.
And finally, what message would you like your audiences to take from Lonely?
MIRO: I would like the audience to feel the touch of intense emotion, to cry, and understand that even in the most profound loneliness and despair, a person can meet someone and a bond of friendship can be formed, even when we think all hope is lost. We can find a son or see a father even in a complete stranger.
BOBBY: As I said before, life is precious, and aside from being moved by the story and performances of our cast, I hope the audience will give a thought about what is essential in their life after watching our short film.