Screenwriters with original ideas who know how to tell intriguing and exciting stories are increasingly valued in the film business. One of them is the Croatian screenwriter and director Saša Podgorelec.  Although as a director he has made several documentaries, music videos, and TV commercials, in recent years he has dedicated himself to writing screenplays. The rights to the format of the series "Rest in Peace", on which he worked as the main writer in all three seasons, were bought by one of the largest film and television companies in the world, Lionsgate. He also wrote contemporary high-budget crime drama series, which was accepted by United Media and is currently under development, while the drama TV series "Branded On Court" is currently being shown in Serbia, in which Podgorelec also worked on the development of the story. Saša Podgorelec spoke to Nacional about his projects, plans, and successes, as well as the situation in the production of Croatian television series.

A new feature series "Branded On Court", currently being aired in Serbia, tells a story about two once inseparable friends and teammates in a famous basketball club that is on the verge of collapse today and where you were engaged in the story development sector. How would you describe in a few sentences what kind of story and series it is?

"Branded On Court" is a series about friendship, love, family, about life and sports successes and defeats, about human weaknesses and virtues, about the need for those who have slipped somewhere to get a chance to fix what they screwed up. The goal was to make a superbly produced feelgood series for family viewing, a series that encourages smiles and occasional tears. A handful of tears, bags of laughter, but not in the format of a popular song but a TV series.

How "conditionally" controversial is this story for Croatian viewers, given that the main characters are a Croatian and a Serbian basketball player who were once members of the last, golden generation of the Yugoslav basketball team?

The controversy is in the eye of the beholder, more precisely in the collective memory burdened by war, prejudice, and generalization. If we ignore nationality and focus on characters, if we replace "one Croatian basketball player" with "the loser is looking for a second chance to get his life back on track", and if "one Serbian basketball player" s "successful manager wants to atone for his sins" there is no controversy, only the story remains which respects the cultural and mental differences of the two nations. There's no escaping from those differences, they are useful for creating dynamics between the characters, dramatic and comic tension. But more than differences, the story deals with what unites us, what we have in common - and that is emotions. And when you deal with emotions, where somebody comes from falls into the background, because emotions are a universal language, independent of nationality.

The producer of the series is Dragan Bjelogrlić, an experienced Serbian producer, director, and actor, behind whom is a bunch of extremely successful TV series. Do you believe that there is a possibility that Croatian viewers will see this series on one of the televisions in Croatia?

Well, the Croats accepted Serbian turbo-folk music without much moaning. Interest in pop culture content "on the other side" obviously exists. I, therefore, believe that there is an opportunity to take a step forward and upward from the widely accepted low-quality music content and to give a chance to a well-produced series in which a significant number of top Croatian actors play. Bonus – there's no turbo-folk in the series. Bonus two - there are a lot of talented and eye-candy girls and boys.

For Dragan Bjelogrlić's previous TV series "Black Sun", there was a great interest of foreign companies for world rights to show the series, but not in Croatia. How do you comment on that?

I can only, like a goose in the fog, speculate about the reasons for the lack of interest. And I don't do speculating, it's a waste of time.

Encouraged by the great success of "Black Sun" season one, but also by the interest of foreign companies, Bjelogrlić started filming the second season of the mentioned series. Were you perhaps involved in the development of the story?

No.

How did you like "Black Sun"?

We live in the golden age of TV series format. The best among them mix and match genres, within that game they juggle genre conventions and create unique fictional worlds that, if convincing and inhabited by interesting characters, become more real than reality. "Black Sun" is one such series. It establishes its world, its rules of the game, its aesthetics, draws the viewer into the story, and forces him to binge.

You have also been credited as the main screenwriter of the highly praised TV series "Rest in Peace", whose three seasons were shown on Croatian television. The last, third season was often commented on the sidelines as an extremely realistic presentation of the current situation in Croatia. Did you and the producer of the series Dario Vince have any mentors or some "deep throat" writing the script for the third season 

We didn't. And even if we did, I would say we didn't. It is fair to protect your sources. I'm joking. A lot of people helped, all of them are listed in the thank-you section of the end credits. The mentor was, not only for the third but also for the first two seasons, life in Croatia. You follow politics, social dynamics, you know different people in different positions, you talk to them, you get information, gossip comes to you ... So you combine, compose from many sources, both the story and the characters.

Do you know what the continuation of the life of the series "Rest in Peace" was like after it was shown in Croatia? In which countries has the series been shown so far and with what success?

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Belgium, Great Britain, USA. Anyone from those markets that wrote about the series, I did not encounter any negative criticism.

How much does the fact that the series "Rest in Peace" was bought by a company like Lionsgate mean to you as a screenwriter for further work?

First, you're flattered. Happy, proud. Then you are washed away by peace because you have proved that you can throw beyond the boundaries within which you were born and work. Then you start writing something else, and the thought strikes you - uh, I can't screw it now. But you quickly remind yourself that you already threw beyond... So you're calm. And flattered. Very simple matrix.

Does this success mean anything to your home budget?

Every career success means something to the home budget. Sometimes less, sometimes more. But money is not always the most important thing. As for Lionsgate in particular, the purchase of the format secured the order for the second season, and then the third.

Is it true that after that series you managed to write and sell a crime series to United Media?

That's right. I applied for their competition and passed, the only one from Croatia.

What kind of series is it and when will we have the opportunity to watch it in Croatia?

The series is a contemporary high-budget crime drama, currently in the development phase, which I am working on with colleagues Jelena Paljan and Antonio Gabelić. We have done a lot of work, even more awaits us. Especially me, because I am engaged as the showrunner. As for the broadcast date, there are planned and desired deadlines but we are still in the process of polishing the script, and some variables like choosing the rest of the creative team and actors, their free dates, are currently unknown so any speculation on the broadcast date would be irresponsible. We believe in the story of the series, both the team from United Media and I, and we want to present it to the viewers, but we don't want to burn out and launch a product that could have been better if we had given ourselves a month or two more.

Can a screenwriter like you make a living from his job in Croatia today?

I do not complain.

And what happens when you write a screenplay, like for the crime TV series "I, Che Guevara" which is inspired by the true events of the early nineties in Croatia, but the series never gets aired?

You treat sportily - sometimes you play nonsense and win, and sometimes you do your best and inexplicably lose in referee compensation time. You curse a little and move on.

Why was that series never actually shown, even though it was entirely filmed by production company AVA and the broadcasting deal was made?

That is the question for the producer, Roman Majetić.

A couple of years ago, you started to make a documentary about the group Pips, Chips & Videoclips, but that film is still not wrapped. Where did it get stuck and how did you envision the story of the PC&VC group?

Nothing got stuck. We're filming and we're not in a hurry. This project was, in a way, conceived when I was a teenager and going to school with the band leader Dubravko Ivaniš, and when we were not quite sure where anyone would end up and where life would take us. That's when we both met Emil Tedeschi. We are not under pressure from any deadline, the only thing that possibly presses us is the desire of three friends, Dubravko, Emil as a producer and a member of the band, and me to make a doc that all three of us will be happy with. Both at the level of the story and the level of realization, as well as emotions. No compromise, doc about the band, but above all about the author-Dubravko who is significantly more important to our culture than it seems now. That's why it takes so long. And that's why we're in no hurry. We’ll release the film when we conclude that it’s - that.

You worked on the acclaimed documentary series "Sons of the Storm" produced by HRT (Croatian Radiotellevision), which was broadcast from 1995 to 1998. HRT is often criticized today for neglecting the production of documentaries and drama series. Why is it so?

Why they are criticized - I believe because viewers, for the money they give, would like to watch a higher quality program. Which is good, because it means interest exists. And why HRT ignores - I'm not a Jedi knight, I'm just an interested and relatively knowledgeable observer, so as such I notice that the strength of the force in the HRT cathedral has been alarmingly weak for some time. There are creative outbursts that prove that HRT can and does know, not only in the production of documentaries and drama series but are unfortunately becoming rarer. If HRT does not start and use their still existing production and human resources, and if they don't start to treat the money they're dealing with more responsibly, HRT will, which is disastrous for this society, sink into insignificance. Very expensive insignificance.

Feature TV series has taken over the popularity of film blockbusters in the world today, but in Croatia, investments in TV series are very rarely invested. How would you assess the current investment in the production of documentaries and drama series by HRT, but also in Croatia today in general?

In general, Croatia can do better. And HRT too.

Given the commendable results you have achieved as a screenwriter over the past few years working on numerous TV series in Croatia and the region, do you want to reach the producers of Hollywood films or are you satisfied with your current engagement on current TV series?

I am satisfied. And to get to the big players, to play on the big field... Lionsgate is an American company. United Media is part of a business system owned by the UK and US investors. It could be said that they reached me, after "Rest in Peace" landed in Britain and America.

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