Vid

13. 11. 2009.

The big day of traveling to magical Sweden started with an early morning wake up and rush to the airport. After briefly stopping at Munich airport I finally arrived to the Arlanda in Sweden. The landscape looked wonderful from the sky, surrounded by Baltic sea, gray clouds and filled with forests of winter trees. Arlanda airport is neat and tidy like the rest of this land, with English-speaking staff and touch-screen machines. Having taken the underground train to the city centre, I started walking around and siteseeing. A couple of fine Sirian phone operators helped me buy a Swedish number because my phone was out of credit (for a funny reason which I will leave to your imagination). The Medborgarsplatzen was my favourite square, with ice skating place, pretty looking buildings and children playground. Although cold for Serbian standards, the climate’s not freezing. There are no icebergs or hills of snow as I childishly imagened before. Only the night comes earlier than I’m used to, around four o’clock in the afternoon. After strolling around and finding a ‘Pljeskavica’ sign, I heard from my host and an old friend Karl Olsson, fellow Youth Committee member from International Youth Media Summit, who took me to his apartment in a lovely neighbourhood a bit outside the center. We met Karl’s cousin, the owner of the apartment, who was just going out. We prepared a tasty chicken meal Kalle (nickname for Karl) learned to make from one of the cooking tv shows he worked on. Birgitta Olsson, his mother responsible for my absolutely incredible staying in Sweden, called to check if we’re all right and wished me warm welcome. In the evening, being too tired from the trip and all day work, we played ‘GTA4’ on X-Box and watched our last Summit PSAs and documentaries which Karl never saw before.

14. 11. 2009.

We woke up early since we slept early in the previous evening. After eating eggs, salams and fruit yoghurt for breakfast, we took the train to the old part of the Stockholm. There we saw Tintin shop and captivating sculpture of Saint Michael slaying the imaginatively depicted Dragon. Since I forgot my camera, I will probably search for it on Internet. Karl showed me the exbition inside the Swedish king’s former palace, filled with medieval armors, weapons, heraldics, coaches, paintings as well as those from later periods and present day. Karl saw military history as being a failure for a country, and I agree. Sweden hasn’t participated in a war for around 200 years now, which unfortunately can’t be said for Serbia. Next we went to NK mall (large and expensive place, like from ‘Home Alone 2’ movie) not to shop but to meet Karl’s aunt who took us to Modern Arts museum. Instantly it came to my mind how lucky Swedish people are to keep such important works of art: there were paintings of Dali, Picasso, Chirico, Duchamp, Pollock, Magritte, Malevich, Munch, Braque, Ernst… The night began to fall and we were feeling hungry, so the two of them took me to ‘Kungshalarna’ complex of restaurants with food from many different countries: Greek, Japanese, Italian, Thai, Turkish…  The initial idea was to come there to taste Serbian food and compare it with the food back home, but Karl mixed it with another restaurant and I wanted to taste traditional Swedish food. So we ordered a meal with cow meat, salad, onions and onion cream, prosciutto, french fries… We were full and happy afterwards. Karl’s aunt gave him presents from home since on Monday it’s his birthday, and he’s still tempted to open them before. We parted with her although I might meet her in Gothemburg during the next week. Then the two of us went to Karl’s colleague who lives in a fine neighbourhood to pick some things Karl will need tomorrow for work. He’ll be working during Sunday because a friend of his won’t be able to come. I must give kudos to lots of things about the lifestyle here: it is organised, the health care is free as well as the education, the traffic with underground trains is working perfectly and to the minute accurately, it is expensive but in accordance with the salaries. It may be uncomfortable only to some short haired dogs who are shivering when the weather becomes colder. In the evening we visited Karl’s colleague David who threw a party at his apartment, so I enjoyed my time listening to interesting Swedish stories. Later all of us went to a club, ate in McDonalds and then returned to our homes satisfied.

15. 11. 2009.

This Sunday started with a feeling of relaxation. I woke up, greeted Karl who went to work and played X-Box while he was away. During the loading time between the mission levels in GTA4 I reflected on the lifestyle in Stockholm and Swedish in general. It’s hard not to admire and almost envy these people, for I know I’d enjoy living under such circumstances. There are demands for almost constant work, of course, and there lies a valuable lesson to be learned about the importance of being diligent. In the evening we prepared pasta (first boiled in water and then milk) with meatballs. The rest of the night we spent watching ‘Futurama’ feature film and episodes, MSN chating with our fellow Youth Committee member Kirsty Harris, and anticipating midnight for Karl’s birthday.

16. 11. 2009.

In the early morning Karl and I woke up to a cloudy weather and fun atmosphere of opening his birthday presents. I left him a jar of sweet desert and wrote a note which he hung on his fridge door. After a quick breakfast we parted (I couldn’t believe it was over so soon, although a strange feeling tells me I will come back here someday) as I continued my little odyssey. The journey from Stockholm to Gothemberg and from there to Falkenberg made me think of all the joys Sweden has to offer. Their trains are comfy and the landscape is, again, awe-inspiring. The leafless trees covered in mist flew around me as the fast train drove at different angles through the hills. The sun only peeked twice, and looked like a full moon through the heavy clouds. At Falkenberg I met Thomas Moller, a teacher in Katrinebergs Folkhogskola (a film school for students preparing to go to university: www.katrineberg.fhsk.se). He welcomed and drove me to this fabulous place in the western Sweden’s countryside. It is a complex of several buildings where the students can live, eat, produce and present films, attend screenings, even play football. As soon as I got a classy room just for me, I got a chance to mingle with the students of the first as well as the second year. Their program is to learn filmmaking even if they never tried it, and it’s voluntarily so everybody who came truly wanted to come. I instantly fell in love with the organisation, environment and the students. The schedule is based around eating, so the time is organised according to meals and two coffee brakes. Students are given much freedom as they plan the project themselves with the help of teachers. It makes me feel this is the right way to educate, and makes me even more sad to think many educational systems don’t go for such a fine solution. As the coffee break ended, I was given quite some time to formally introduce myself. I talked in front of a group of around twenty students who listened to me in a pleasant silence broken only by occasional laughs. I spoke about MEC and IYMS, as well as various other projects I’m involved in such as DVC. After an hour and a half we went to dinner where I continued mingling with this lovely bunch of young creators. Another good news was that Birgitta sent me a message saying Swedish Mediaproducing program wants to meet me tomorrow morning at the Halmstad university, where I will present my work once more. Everything here makes me feel like an important person and a human being with dignity, the proper way people should be treated all around the world.

17. 11. 2009.

The morning started with a quick early breakfast and excitement in heart. I finally met Birgitta again with a warm hug and greeted my dear students before driving towards Halmstad. It took us some time to get there so Birgitta and I talked about our recent and future projects as well as personal lifes. At Halmstad University, which is a big skyscraper in the middle of small houses, I met nice Mediaproduction teachers and staff. We found many common subjects such as animating in Adobe After Effects and Premiere programs. Once more, I found out how lucky these students are, because they have these cool mentors and assistants that are really interested in computer programs and all the possibilities of digital technology. The methodology is similar to Media Education Centre’s: instead of boring people with constant lectures, they give them assignments and freedom to make their own filmmaking choices. Then the students came in, around twenty of them, and Birgitta introduced me to the audience. We were in a studio with big screen for my presentation, for which I’m immencely grateful, it made me feel like someone significant. The students were lovely and silent, they laughed at my in-jokes and applauded after each film presented. I used this blog www.vidrajin.tumblr.com to explain all the projects and show animations. After quite some time of screening in a cinema-like atmosphere, I answered the audience’s questions and Birgitta said a few closing words in Swedish on various festivals and workshops. In the end it was hard to leave such an interesting and creative crowd with many work-related similarities to me. Birgitta and I went back to Katrinebergs happily, stopping at one of her favourite gas stations for typical Swedish sausages with mashed potatoes in sandwitch. At the Folkschool I grabbed a quick snack and proceded to another presentation, similar to the previous one. I used the blog page as well as youtube channel, including occasional funny tv show videos. Birgitta went back to her office until our next meeting on Friday, when I will have yet another presentation at a highschool. Everybody’s being so good and nice to me, it seems as a beautiful dream. Beatrice Martinez, another fellow Youth Committee member, called today and said I will spend the weekend at her place in Gothemberg. In the evening after dinner some of the students showed me their work so far, and I was amazed by their knowledge and will to learn to use various computer programs. Tomorrow I will start the workshop with teaching them how to make animations in a quick and easy way. I went to warm bed early in the evening. It was another good day.

18. 11. 2009.

The rainy morning started with a breakfast and chat with the lovely students of Katrinebergs. Afterwards I started to show them the basics of drawing and illustrating with Wacom Bamboo pen tablet in Adobe Photoshop, until the coffee break. Then we attended the all-school presentation at the big screening room: there was a funny slideshow of the theatre students and a great film by one of the former Katrinebergs students titled ‘I am gay’. Next I held a lecture as part of my workshop on animation basics using programs to simulate motion and some cool effects to spice up the future projects. Having finished quite a few meals, we watched theatre group perform a show of in old Swedish style. In the evening we celebrated Neil’s birthday with two birthday cakes and a song. Franna (nickname for student Anna who is half French) took me to a Bandy match with sport students; Bandy is a hokey-like game they played indoors with a ball similar to ping-pong and clubs. There were also several screenings today, one involved Thomas explaining the ideas behind famous films such as ‘Ben-Hur’ and ‘Children Of Men’. I’m starting to really enjoy teaching others how I work, so tomorrow I will probably give them assignment to animate their own logos. It was a brilliant suggestion for a task by one of the students.

19. 11. 2009.

Another rainy day started with a smile in my face and excitement in my heart. After breakfast and a coffee break I explained to the second year students how to use Adobe After Effects’s 3D tecniques. We spoke about their projects and I gave them suggestions on how to combine their films with animation in the easiest and most efficient way. They were lovely, writing down notes and thanking me when we finished. I saved some of the lesson materials produced here so I can use it in the future. It pleases me that we share the same interest in discovering new program features and adding special effects to our works. In the evening the theatre group held their special program when the students prepare very personal shows without any advisors or rules. The whole evening was neat and sweet, with candles, cakes and romantic atmosphere. All the student´s shows were innovative and creative. Even though some used a bit of Swedish language, I managed to catch the concept of the whole. In the end everyone attended several parties at different places and homes in Katrinebergs. I even got a chance to speak Serbian after a week of hiatus due to meeting Zdravka, Karl´s Croatian friend. It was hard to leave a party with the same feeling that haunts me since I came to Sweden: wherever I go, I feel I haven´t spent enough time there.

20. 11. 2009.

The last day of my official workshop and presentations started with early morning packing, quick breakfast and rush to meet Birgitta. Like yesterday, I took a bunch of photos with students and Thomas so these fine moments stay in my memory. Birgitta showed me the inspiring view of sunrise over Katrinebergs Folkskola. The weather was more sunny then the previous days, to the delight of Swedish people who tend to talk about it more often then Serbs. Next we drove by Åsa (Osa), a village where Birgitta was born. In the small, rich town of Kungbacka she showed me the Ljud&Bild Highschool which is absolutely fantastic. I couldn´t resist comparing it to Serbian highschools and I constantly repeated how lucky these people are. Their teachers are young and very cool, with diverse subjects including game design, film, photography classes as well as traditional ones such as history and maths. Instead of chalkboards they use projectors and internet during class, all the equipment looks like it comes from a professional studio and there are computers everywhere. It seemed to me like a school from future, although I know it is actually present and that our country has a lot of work to do. Every hill has a slope, of course. One truth many people here cling to is that sometimes Swedish are spoiled because of their lack of basic problems, so they tend to find themselves without purpose or goals. That´s the reason they should have as much contact with people living elsewhere as possible. At the Kungsbacka Highschool we reunited with Sanjin, our Bosnian friend and colleague from the Summit and Jajce workshops. He ordered me hot chocolate and showed me around. On my way to the screening room I had a warm greeting from Natalie and Elinor, our Summit friends, who rushed from their classroom to see me. I also met several young teachers, and they helped me organise the computers for presentation. Like always, I used my blog and youtube channel to quickly jump from link to link. The audience was amazing and the biggest I had so far, divided in two groups of around 80 in whole. They listened to me in silence, laughed at my jokes and gave me rounds of loud applauses when each video was finished. In the end of both presentations I had to take a photo of the audience. I felt truly grateful to be there with the big screen and a large audience, it made me feel so important. There was even a reporter from Kungsbacka Posten who interviewed me, so I´ll definately buy tomorrow´s newspapers. Afterwards I was chatting with a young game designer teacher who showed me the impressive game portfolio they have. All these contacts are extremely important to me too, because the people are friendly and interested in the same fields as I am. After lunch and a break Birgitta took me to Kungsbacka Culture house where she works. It is a big place open to public which they also call the Lighthouse because of it´s round architecture. It has library, exhibitions, screening and theatre rooms, as well as offices for staff. I saw Birgitta´s wonderful and quite personal office that has many photos of her previous projects, workshops, family and friends. There I even found pictures of my friend Erene Morcos (Youth Committee leader) and me. Beatrice Martinez, my fellow Youth Committee member and friend from Summit, called me to arrange a meeting at town. We greeted each other with hugs and then she took me to her art school in a beautiful, colorful basement. Then Birgitta and her husband took us to Bea´s lovely house, followed by a Greek restaurant in Gothenburg where I met my Bosnian friends Sanjin and famous animator Midhat Ajanovic. We spoke on various subjects and Ajan shared his wisdom with me, which was inspiring to hear. Later Sanjin, Bea and me went to another pub, and afterwards Bea took me to her home. Her parents are lovely and welcomed me to their house with smiles.

21. 11. 2009.

This exciting fun-filled day started with eating delicious breakfast and driving to the train stop. The weather was warmer than before, with blue sky and pretty sun. We gathered our group of some old and new friends, including Ellinor, Natalie and Albin from previous Summits, and Lidya. They took me to the famous Gothenburg museum of sailors, ships and underwater life. We even climbed the tall tower from which this beautiful cityscape can be seen. Since the old town was a port, the worker community can still be seen in some parts, although upper classes are taking over the area around the river. Then we travelled to the art museum where Bea´s friend (and actress in her film ´My Perfect Body´) Sofia showed us around. The works were very stunning and it impressed me how many famous artists they had: Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Braque, Kandinsky, Delacroix, Monet, Cezanne, Derrain… Again, I commented on how lucky they are to possess such extraordinary works of art. Afterwards Bea and Natalie took me to Liseberg, the most famous Gothenburg theme park, oriented towards Christmas during this time of the year. It felt magical and like a place from another world, filled with raindeers and big green bunnies. I saw a 180 degrees screen which you could watch only by turning your head left-right all the time, and the handprints of famous people such as Tom Jones, ABBA and the Rolling Stones on the Hollywood-like stars. We played fun games such as hit the hole or control the electronic hand for wood transfer. After hot chocolate, eating kebab and ice cream, we met Sofia again and proceded to a tall building where classy people go out. At the top floor we watched the city at night, and there I found the separated smoking room that were said to exist throughout many European countries. Then they took me to a new culture house which was opening, and there we made a Bollywood video, sang karaoke and met cheerful Equadorians. In the end we were really tired but having missed one of the trains we just walked around the city center, met a hotdog saler who also advertises safe sex, and even stopped a fight between two drunk men. The whole day was filled with excitement, fun and amazing impressions, so we proposed to relax tomorrow.

22. 11. 2009.

The last day of my travel started with a lazy, late wake up and a combined breakfast-lunch: brunch. Bea and I used the morning to watch Swedish MTV shows and chit-chat. Her lovely parents wanted me to show them one of my animations so I did, and they gave me compliments. I admire Bea’s family, how young, enthusiastic and excited they are. Her mother Nora called me her adopted son since the last Summit. Her father Ali is working at another place throughout the week, so they only get to see him during weekends, which is kind of sad but in the same way amplifies the family values. Bea asked me if I’m in the mood for movies, so we watched ‘Dreamgirls’, although she fell asleep at one point and suddenly woke up in a hurry. Birgitta called and suggested we watch Laleh, young Iranian-Swedish singer tonight. As the evening fell Bea prepared Mexican tacos in a Swedish way, and I helped by cutting vegetables slowly (because we were talking all the while). Her father drove us to the theatre in the cultural centre of Gothenburg, near museum which we saw yesterday. Birgitta and her husband welcomed us there and we enjoyed listening to inspiring Laleh and gave her rounds of applause (find her single ‘Big City Love’ and other songs on Internet). It was a fascinating closure to my visit. Birgitta and Bea gave me big hugs and wished we see each other again soon. I got used to being surrounded by my Swedish friends so much that going back home will be a culture shock. Just hearing Serbian again at the Munich airport felt strange, like echo from a time much longer than magical 10 days.