Interview with Danis Tanovic about the 11’ 09” 01 - SEPTEMBER 11 project

Where were you on September 11 2001? What did you feel when you learnt about these events? - I was on a plane between Paris and Bordeaux . I was shocked and saddened, somewhere between the two - or rather both. First shocked and then deeply saddened. You are a very busy film-director. Yet you did not hesitate to answer this invitation: joining in a collective work based around the September 11 events in New York by making one of the 11 shorts. Why? - There are many reasons. Firstly, I believe that all artists should respond to the questions of their times, and that what happened in New York was very serious; I think that, in some way, it's their duty. Secondly, I remember that when I was in Sarajevo, every time I heard someone talking about what had happened there, I felt passionately obliged to see that they weren't forgotten. It's around this that I built the idea for my film, this forgetfulness of people, because I find that we forget too often and too quickly what happens in the world - I'm talking about Bosnia, about Chechnya, about Rwanda - about all these events which are front page news for a few days and then forgotten. Had you thought of expressing yourself around the events of September 11 before being asked to participate in '11’09’’01'? - I expressed my feelings in interviews certainly, but, as an artist, you need distance in your relationship to things; distance is vital. When you're too close, you can't see things clearly, and even if I thought about these events I didn't consider representing them in a film. What events or personal experiences did you want to bring to light through your short? What personal echo to the events of September 11? - I don't know whether it's through personal experience, but anyway, what I wanted to convey was a deep feeling of sorrow, almost a cry, that events like this should cease, that we should all stop, in order to consider our world and what we are doing to it, because if it is like this, it's because we made it like this. It didn't happen by accident... How did the idea of your film come to you? Immediately or after long consideration? - Not immediately. I thought for a long time about how I would do it, and I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do something which spoke about Bosnia; I wanted to show that someone who has lived through something terrible might perhaps understand better than others what really happened to those people. For me, the greatest tragedy of Bosnia was what happened in Srebrnica, on 11 July 1995. Since that date, on the 11th of every month, all the women of Srebrnica have demonstrated in the streets. That was my starting point. Has the time constraint of 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame, imposed on every short, caused difficulties when constructing your story. How did you deal with it? - It didn't pose too many problems for the writing. I tried to imagine a story which would fit into this symbolic time, and from the beginning I thought it was a good idea. I still think so, even today, except that, of course, I believe that the story itself has its own time and its own rhythm, which can be lengthened or shortened a little, but not too much. In fact, the hardest thing was the editing itself, where I was a little bit short of time, but in the end I think I succeeded. That's also why I made an atmospheric film: it allowed me to cut a little, to play with time a little, without destroying the drama of the story. Each director has built up his or her film without having the slightest inkling of what the others would do. Has this been a problem for you? How have you experienced or 'lived' this collective work? - Firstly, I was proud to have been chosen for this group, which includes directors I have admired since I was young, like Imamura, particularly 'The Ballad Of Narayama', which is one of my favourite films. Certainly I was proud, but I thought more about the story, about what was important in the story. I believe that we - film makers - are not important. What matters is the film. In your view, can the film bring new perspectives to a reflection on our contemporary world? Can cinema function as an instrument for peace? - As always, it's a double game: personally, I consider myself both an idealist and a cynic. When I say that I am an idealist, it's because I believe that you can still change the world: if I didn't I would not make the films I do, I'm sure of that. On the other hand I am sufficiently cynical to know that it doesn't always happen as you'd like, that it's difficult. But I always say: if you change a few opinions, it's a start. Do you think that the events of September 11 will influence your future films? - I believe profoundly that everything that happens in our lives affects us in one way or another: every book I read affects me, all the songs I hear affect me, every event affects us. The world changes constantly, as we do ourselves, and without doubt an event as serious as that which happened in New York affects our lives whether we like it or not. Do you think there exists a 'before' and an 'after' September 11, such events constituting a rupture in contemporary history? - Yes, but in this case, why? Tragedies of such magnitude don't occur every day, and what is different is that it happened in the most powerful country on the planet, and that the methods employed have altered the face of the world. In this sense, yes, a lot has changed. Travel by plane and you'll notice the difference… You see it in small, everyday things. I wouldn't go as far as 'rupture', because even greater tragedies have occurred - the First and Second World Wars, for example - then after a while, the world carries on turning, the cycle of Hell recommences, things are calm for a while and then it begins again - unfortunately.

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