FILMOKAZ: I Even Met Happy Gypsies

[Filmokaz]

The first review of our edition of 'I Even Met Happy Gypsies': https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/I-Even-M ... 48/#Review

[Calvin]

Very happy to support this label. Caught most of the Yugoslav Black Wave programme at Il Cinema Ritrovato a few years ago and ever since I've been hoping that some of them would end up on disc. Particularly Živojin Pavlović's Zaseda, France Štiglic's The Ninth Circle, and Aleksandar Petrović's Tri

[swo17]

I'm interested. I'm also interested in whether more titles will be announced soon. Would it perhaps be worth waiting to be able to order multiple titles?

[Lowry_Sam]

I was thinking of waiting til a few more titles were released, but with only 1k copies who knows how long that would last. Will the limited edtion follow up with a standard? How long til the next release?

[denti alligator]

All good questions. I suspect the limited edition is it. There won't be a standard edition. But who knows. This, from the blog, is revealing:

All in all, when considering the importance and reputation of Yugoslav cinema, the selection of Blu-ray releases remains disappointingly modest. There is hope that this will change in time – both with changes in Croatian legislation that would allow for easier licensing of the Jadran film holdings, and with the greater openness of the Film Center towards physical releases. In the meantime, the Avala film catalog remains available for licensing and represents one of the greatest opportunities for future publishers. A dozen as-yet-unannounced titles have already been licensed for the North American market, while Filmokaz has around forty films on its shortlist. How many of them will ultimately be released will depend primarily on audience interest.

So by waiting to order we also potentially delay future releases, which will depend on sales? Plus, there are only 1,000 copies.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I’m curious to know this but can we expect any places like DiabolikDVD or Atomic to get any stock for this release for those of us who can’t afford the import fees?

[Filmokaz]

The shipping price to the US includes a 10% customs duty that we must pay in order for the delivery service to accept the package. Therefore, I believe there should be no additional costs on your end.

By the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan, we are planning one more release. All of our releases will be limited to 1,000 copies, and we will not be doing a standard reissue if and when the first one sells out.

[denti alligator]

The shipping price to the US includes a 10% customs duty that we must pay in order for the delivery service to accept the package. Therefore, I believe there should be no additional costs on your end.

By the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan, we are planning one more release. All of our releases will be limited to 1,000 copies, and we will not be doing a standard reissue if and when the first one sells out.

Thanks for this info. Is the bank IBAN provided after the order is placed? I need this number and the SWIFT/BIC code to determine the transfer and exchange rate with my bank before I place the order. This information would help immensely.

[nitin]

are any other payment options possible or planned in the future?

[vertovfan]

I'm excited to see so much interest in this, and hope it bodes well for future releases! My copy arrived in the USA last week, and I wholeheartedly agree with the praise in the blu-ray.com review. I would only add that the picture quality of the short films by Petrović is on par with the main feature (that is to say, quite good from what I can see), and the English subtitles are excellent (the ones on the old DVD released by Delta Video are pretty rough). The documentary "Zabranjeni bez zabrane" is quite interesting too, though the picture quality isn't as good as the rest of the disc (possibly due to limitations in the original). One small correction to the review: the English title of the documentary is "Censored without Censorship", not "Censored with Censorship".

[Filmokaz]

As for the purchase, you will receive all payment information via email once you place your order. We understand that this method can be complicated for international customers, and we will do our best to introduce other payment options in the future.

I would like to thank everyone who has already watched our release for their words of support. We put a lot of effort into making it on par with the best labels. The documentary "Zabranjeni bez zabrane" (Censored without Censorship) was shot on BETA SP. Unfortunately, the original tapes have been lost. We received the best possible copy from the director. We definitely wanted to include this film, as it also previews some titles we wish to focus on in the future.

[domino harvey]

In case anyone was curious, this did get a full consideration from Cahiers in the Conseil. The ratings are all over the place, so here's the full chart (ninth down):



Here's Sébastien Roulet's writeup from elsewhere in this issue:

It is certainly no accident that Petrovic chose to depict, within socialist Yugoslavia, the tragic, happy, yet above all "free" life of a community completely removed from the country’s political agenda. Nor is it an accident that he portrayed it the way he did: with those artistic soft-focus effects, that constant sentimental artifice, and those garish, overblown visuals (ah, those blood-soaked white feathers!). As is surely evident, both in its choice of themes and its stylistic exoticism, this film is deeply tainted by all the hallmarks of reactionary art.

[Raza987]

This looks like a really interesting first release. I’m especially glad they’re including Petrović’s two short documentaries and the Black Wave documentary. Do you know if FILMOKAZ has announced the release date or any details about the transfer/restoration yet?

[Matt]

This looks like a really interesting first release. I’m especially glad they’re including Petrović’s two short documentaries and the Black Wave documentary. Do you know if FILMOKAZ has announced the release date or any details about the transfer/restoration yet?

It’s available now. From the booklet, the restoration details say:

Restoration: Restored in 2019 by Jugoslovenska Kinoteka
from the original negative

Disc Authoring: LSP Medien

[Matt]

If your bank does not offer international transfers, Xoom (a service of PayPal) allows you to use your PayPal account.

I don't actually recommend this option now. Xoom apparently transferred my funds into Filmokaz's account without attaching any information identifying me as the sender. So Filmokaz had no way of connecting my order with that transaction. Big thanks to Goran at Fillmokaz for being responsive and understanding.

[swo17]

Huh. I tried going that route but it didn't work with my bank so I wired the funds instead. Glad you got it sorted out

[Lowry_Sam]

For anyone in the SF Bay area, the 2019 Restoration of Tri/Three will screen next Sunday at The Roxie.

[Lowry_Sam]

That's faster than I was expecting! I went to the Tri/Three restoration, so looking forward to getting this so soon!

[charal]

Tri is a brilliant example of the early Novi film movement. Unfortunately my Serbian DVD copy is from an appalling transfer and is even missing the opening credit sequence. I remember seeing a very good transfer with perfect subs on YouTube a few years ago.

I wonder if any Pavolovic films will be on the radar.

[Filmokaz]

Petrović's Three is definitely in our plans for a future release. Pavlović's films as well, although only one title is currently available to us. Centar Film is not interested in home video. I hope their attitude will change.

By the way, a review of our Blu-ray release of I Even Met Happy Gypsies will appear in the next issue of Sight and Sound.

[Peacock]

Ooh Farewell Until the Next War?

[Filmokaz]

Farewell Until the Next War was released on Blu-ray by the Slovenian Film Centre.

[Calvin]

Petrović's Three is definitely in our plans for a future release. Pavlović's films as well, although only one title is currently available to us. Centar Film is not interested in home video. I hope their attitude will change.

That's exciting - Three would definitely be top of my wishlist. I was blown away by it when I saw it at Il Cinema Ritrovato a few years ago.

The other highlights were Pavlović's Zaseda and Štiglic's The Ninth Circle but I gather they are with Centar and Jadran so are presumably not available at present?

Miroslav Antić's Breakfast with the Devil and Ante Babaja's The Birch Tree are others I'd like to see.

[Filmokaz]

Radiance tried to license The Ninth Circle. All the mentioned titles are problematic to license.

[Lowry_Sam]

Tri/Three has animal abuse that would probably have to be cut for the UK (not easy as it's a key scene).