LJUBICA JANKOVIC LAZARIC

Ljubica is a bundle of energy... always full of ideas and enthusiasm. She loves all forms of visual media - obviously film, but also painting, script-writing and producing. She was the original driving force, encouraging me to make "Champa Mera Sathi.". I'd never done something like this before. Her encouragement and wealth of knowledge gave me the confidence to just dive in. 

Ljubica studied film at the University of Zagrab, the Academy of Film, TV and Theater and ADU in Zagreb. She never tires of learning, recently taking classes at the University of Delhi for Painting and Visual Art.

Ms Jankovic-Lazaric has a long record of experience. She's worked for Croatian National TV since 1980, and has shot, produced and directed more 250 documentary films, and serials in places like Germany, the United States, Italy, and Albania. 

Ljuba spent 10 years living in Tehran, Iran, directing and producing documentaries about Iranian life and culture. During that same time period, she produced a ten-part serial about Southeast Asia. Since 2001 she has produced various programs about life in various parts of India, made the documentary film "Singing Problem. She was a guest lecturer at the Asian Academy of Film in Noida, India.

In 2010, Ljuba won two separate awards, the first for the documentary, “Why” in the category “Movies that Matter” at the International film festival, Dox in Zagreb. More recently she won for “Bronze Olive” at the International Film festival in Bar, Montenegro.

I consider Ljubica a good and mentor friend... and what a pleasure for Pradeep and me to get the opportunity to work with her! On "Champa Mera Sathi," Ljubica Jankovic Lazaric assisted with direction, story and production. 

Time Lapse

Filming a documentary winds up being filled with choices. Some are good. Some are inevitably bad. Fortunately most proved to be pretty fun to actually make.. at least for me. Perhaps it's because I'm new to the process... Everything still seems fresh and exciting. Pradeep and I generally had a good time, despite the chaos of urban India. And the curiosity of what were often scores of on-lookers.

Deep and I spent parts of several days filming experimental footage in various parts of the city. The stuff was to be used for cut-aways, and to give the viewer a sense of what Delhi looked like to us. We wandered the streets of old Delhi. Some of this was used in the opening sequences of Champa Mera Sathi. Then early one misty February morning we made a time-lapse sequence at a major "clover-leaf" highway intersection on the Ring Road. It's a familiar place to Delhi-ites, not far from the famous INA market.

The footage was used in the first version of our film (27 minute cut) but later wound up on the proverbial cutting room floor. It was great footage, and a blast for me to help make (Deep - always the creative one - made his camera-box using an old shoe box and duct tape for the timed exposures.)

First Day on Location in New Delhi

10 December, 2011

This was the only day our Croatian friend and producer, Ljubica was able to be on location with the crew. Because of her extensive documentary film-making experience, our original plan was to have her direct and edit the short film. Alas, Ljuba had to return back to Europe. She kept in touch and continued to help guide the process as producer from afar. Direction fell to me, and editing was passed on to my good friend, Pradeep. All of the "bathing" shots, that "painting" shots and one of our extensive interview sessions were completed on this first day of filming.

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Day One on Location

The Wedding Shoot

16 December, 2011.

Day Two of location filming for Champa Mera Sathi was certainly the most exciting, colorful and challenging. It was night shoot. We had to use natural lighting, and a mixture of handheld and mounted shots. We filmed in the almost constant presence of noise from three live bands, fireworks and over a thousand excited, arriving guests. Unfortunately none of this footage wound up in the current version of our short documentary. It was a difficult decision, but because neither Champa, or Akram were present at this particular wedding, we choose to omit all of the footage.  (Sigh).

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The Big Fat Indian Wedding...

Filming Becomes Farming

16 February, 2012

Day three on location was filmed almost entirely in a Sugar Cane field by the western edge of the Yamuna River. My wife, Lesa was on hand as part of our crew that day. Although, it was a long shoot in the bright February sunshine, it turned out to be more than we expected... Lesa became friends with a local farming couple. She wound up helping to plant a field of Lentils. On this day we shot the scenes covering foot care and a second extensive interview with Akram. Of course we also filmed all of the sugar cane sequence.

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Filming Becomes Farming

Final Day on Location with Champa

28 February, 2012.

The final day of shooting took place at the Shanti Stupa just off of New Delhi's Ring Road. Akram Khan, and Champa were, of course present, as well as children and their parents representing Japan, the United States, India, Nepal and the UK. Pradeep's son, Siddhi, was our expert "clapper" for the day. We filmed some traffic footage and conducted all of the filmed interviews with the kids.

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Final day on location.