Issue 001 – Sabina Vajraca
Mesmerizingly haunting, Sabina is unafraid to dive into dark and unknown territory, leaving you scared to be alone in the dark. Seriously. A former war refugee from Bosnia, Vajraca has created hair-raising work that immediately commands a viewer’s utmost attention, and rightly so. Be it through documentary or short film, music video or teaser, her intense pieces leave lasting fingerprints that cause us to press play over and over again.
The Interview:
How did you get started?
I wanted to be a film director since I was very little, but I navigated towards the written word first. I wrote short stories and poetry throughout elementary and middle school. Then, while living in Croatia as a refugee from the Bosnian War, I discovered theatre and became a wholehearted devotee to that art form. After immigrating to the USA in 1994, I followed my new passion through college and all the way to NYC. But it wasn’t until 2003, when I set off to make my first film, that my inner artist finally matured to her full potential.
That film was a feature documentary titled “Back to Bosnia,” following my family’s return to our hometown in Northern Bosnia. We went to reclaim the property we were forced to leave behind, and face up to the ghosts of war.
It premiered at the 2005 AFI Fest in LA, and went on to screen at over 30 festivals worldwide. I travelled with it for that whole year, and by the end of it I knew this was what I was born to do. I have not looked back since.
Back to Bosnia Trailer from Sabina Vajraca on Vimeo.
What are you doing now?
My main project right now is a feature film called “Lost Children,” which I am set to direct early next year. My producers are currently raising funds, and we’re attaching lead actors, with Lili Taylor being the first. It’s a drama with a trace of mystery, written by Erin K.L.G.. It’s about a little girl that goes missing in the woods of New Jersey in 1987, and the repercussions that has on her community. I am very excited about it, and can’t wait to start shooting!
In the meantime, I’m also looking into directing a short, dark comedy about mindfulness entitled “Max Wakes Up”, which I wrote this past year.
More info on those can be found on my website.
What inspires you?
I’m mostly inspired by life and the full extent of the human condition. I aim to live my own life to the fullest, and take everything it offers me, good or bad. I channel all of it into my work, in order to process it and give an example to others of how to follow suit.
These days I am also deeply influenced by philosophy, neuroscience, mindfulness, and the search for the bigger-picture answers.
And finally, I find an incredible amount of inspiration in nature and natural phenomenons, like sunsets, thunderstorms, clouds, trees, and the likes.
Future plans: what are you doing next?
In film, the future is very often entangled in the present, for it takes a long time for projects to materialize. So “Lost Children” is both my present and also my next project.
After that, I plan on shooting two of my own scripts. “Summer Abroad” is a supernatural thriller about two American girls who end up in a haunted hotel in Bosnia, and “Qualia” is a science drama about two neuroscientists attempting to make a compassion machine.
What does art mean to you? In other words, define art for us.
Art is a device for capturing and transmitting human emotions and imagination.
Thoughts and feelings are so fleeting they change like clouds in the sky, and most of the time we don’t even have time to “see” them before they’re gone.
Artists capture these clouds, if you will, and through their art they give you a second chance to experience them, and hopefully understand them better.
Tell us about your most favorite piece of work that you have done. Why is it meaningful to you?
Oh, that’s like asking a parent to choose a favorite child! But I would have to say that my black & white video, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”, is aesthetically, visually, and emotionally the closest to my true artistic self. It marries my love of modern dance with film, and is just a bit odd and creepy… just how I like it.
Bela Lugosi’s Dead from Sabina Vajraca on Vimeo.
The Outlyers:
Tell us a deep dark secret.
You wouldn’t know this looking at my Facebook page, but I’m completely uncool. I’ve never done any drugs, avoid loud wild parties at all costs, and am usually in bed and asleep by 10:30pm.
Finish this sentence……
I’m the happiest when…I’m on the set, surrounded by people who inspire and energize me, and I’d just called “cut” on a moment that made us all buzz with excitement.
I feel most fulfilled…after a day of directing.
If I had it my way…fairness, kindness, honesty, and joy would be the norm in the world.
It’s happy hour, what are you ordering?
Jameson or Talisker (depending on how rich I feel), either neat or with just one ice cube.
Sabina is based in New York City.
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