Interview with Nikola Racan for The Sleeping Horse
I would like to Introduce to you Nikola Racan of Fažana, Croatia, who is helping keep the Underground lit, by organising an International Skateboard film festival for the past three years. We spoke with the event’s creator, Nikola to learn a little more about it’s history and its future. Enjoy!
-The Horse
Q: What is your name and where are you from?
A: Hello, my name is Nikola Racan I am 25 years old and I come form the sunniest place in Croatia called Fažana. Fažana is small town of 3500 inhabitants and it is located in Istrian peninsula (close to the Slovenian and Italian border).
Q: Where did the idea to have an international skateboard film festival come from?
A: The idea for the festival came up spontaneously in summer of 2011. We got an idea to make a small party and screen skate videos in a local beach bar. One of my good friend Marko Zubak got an extra idea to make it more officially and he got into contact with Filmmaker Phil Evans who was at that time just finishing his new Film Format Perspective and along with two more Films, Z Movie by Antiz Skateboards and Bloodshed by Rick Charnoski and Coan Nichols and the Vladimir Film Festival was born!
Q: How many years have you been doing the festival?
A: This was third edition year of the festival. We screened five skateboard movies during two days on different locations in our small town with following photo exhibition. On the first day we screened Magenta’s new film, Soleil Levant and after that we showed the Pushed documentary by Florian Schneider.
On the second day we held an International skate exhibition on the walls of a former Liquor Factory by the following photographers: Isaac McKay-randozzi, John Lindsay, James Whineray, Tomaž Šantl, Aymeric Nocus, Yoan Taillandier, Sergej Vutuc, Kristijan Smok, Andy Kuljiš and along with three Films: Tengu: God of Mischief by Colin Read, Grey Area by Kaczmarczyk & Pawel Piotr Przybyl and The Mandalay Express by Patrik Wallner.
Vladimir Film Festival is a 3- year old independent Child (our little baby) and we skaters, friends who share the same views-philosophy need to make Him stronger and bigger so he can be on the right way as he is getting older. A festival is good ground to show people Skateboarding culture in bright light, totally independent with natural freedom (second day of the fest exhibition and screenings were held in illegal and abandoned DIY area). We are trying to make it every year more international and connect with people world-wide who share the same vision in skateboarding.
The festival is getting recognized by more people and we are proud of that. Especially this year we got skaters coming form all over Europe. Countries like France, Slovenia, Germany, Czech Republic…
The atmosphere was pretty amazing during the festival, you could here the buzzing of skateboard wheels all across my hometown and skaters on every corner sharing different experience meeting new faces. It was really an family skateboarding festival.
Each night we had around 100 people sitting and waiting for the Films to show up with following non-official local and international in between movies clips and little skate videos. The overall response was better than we could expect. Some of the Films like Tengu, (the first European premiere) was so sick, people could not move of the positive shock after the film. Also, Magenta’s new film Soleil Levant (Sold out all DVD’s in ten minutes) was unique and brilliant in its own way. Can not forget Gray Area and Pushed along with the very interesting, The Mandalay Express by Patrik Wallner for closing down the festival.
Q: Any final words?
A: I would like to thank all the people for coming to Fažna this past three years along with Photographers who did participate in skate exhibitions all the Skaters, Artists and Filmmakers.
Big love to Skateboarding and Vladimir Film Festival.
We are one big family!
The original interview from The Sleeping Horse