Otava

Otava is a poetic, countryside, almost-no-dialogue film, dealing with the loss of a loved one. In the film we have Loti in her early adolescent years and her grandmother. With 50 years in between, their link is missing - Loti’s mother. She is always in the thoughts of both and plays a special role in the film as Loti sees her in a meadow field, almost like a present third character.
I chose to write this story because I am particularly intrigued by loss. It has been a subject in my previous films and this story interested me whether it is better to mourn alone or in
company. Everyone grieves differently and I chose to investigate the relationship of the two foreigners, linked by their mutual loss.
While creating this film, I wanted the viewer to experience the loss and the love that remains, the freshness and remoteness of location, the bond development through pain and later their
mutual joy. I am proud of Tara, who has been on the set for the first time and did a marvelous job with creating the character of Loti. I knew she was special from the moment she made a
bouquet of meadow flowers like Loti would in the film. She had a wonderful connection with Draga, who plays her grandmother in the film. After we wrapped, I was in my head thinking
Loti and grandmother would bake cookies the next winter if we made a sequel, that’s how strong their connection on set was.
Also, the whole experience of making this film was unpredictable, quite like the grieving. Everyday we woke up and did not know what stage we would be in, because of the virus. The film will always be special to me because it was shot during a worldwide epidemic. But thanks to the remote filming location, the whole set was like a special paradise which the hectic outside world would not reach, so we could make the film.
And we did. Our short rounds up the narrative with a tractor which is turning the mowed meadow. Otava (Slovenian name for the second grass mowing) is dried and it is time for new growing - the third. Symbolically for me, this is the time for Loti and her new beginning.
I hope the finished work communicates with the viewer that humans process emotion very differently, especially the loss of a loved one. I think Loti and grandma are both really receptive, but only after realizing their (mutual) loss, they are able to reunite and live/grieve on. They found their language without the unnecessary words.