Trapula - Zagreb premiere

Official movie poster by diverzant.org

Last night at 8 o'clock in Tuškanac movie theater in Zagreb premiere screening of new Ramljak&Škobalj short film Trapula was held. Far from red carpets and usual movie-style shenanigans this was an intimate, friends-and-family celebration, that was so utterly satisfying it is not hard to imagine many authors would wish they could have.

I haven't been to Tuškanac for a decade or two and I was wondering about the condition of the venue itself but I was pleasantly surprised by functional and comfortable interior of the place. It has everything avid moviegoer would need and it was nicely cool from deep three shade surrounding the theater. I feel that it wouldn't take much to restore this place to complete beauty this building already has and I hope community consciousness will only grow in future decades and make sure we keep investing into community and this kind of places that we would surely love to preserve for our children.

After short settling in, the authors; Ivan Ramljak and Marko Škobalj got out and greeted us and told us a few words of the feature itself. They told us of their work, of timelines they had and scarcity of funds. They wished us happy watching and us eager observers were engulfed in pleasant darkness of suspense.


The movie started.


From the first few moments it was apparent that this feature is something special. It has everything; the tempo, the sound, stunning and captivating visuals, ambiance - e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g - utilized in a purpose of engaging the watcher. This is a movie that cannot be watched as a side show to smart phone indulgence, to ego-porn of social interaction, it leaves no space for shallowness and napping. Openness of the scenes engages the watcher in so many levels; you can clearly smell bitter saltiness of the sea, feel the warmth of the blistering heat, taste the mouthful of hollowness and despair, get aroused by beauty of the unshroud-ness. It is a great feature and a great tool of accessing your own inner world, by interpreting the seen and the unspoken through a fine (or coarse) mesh of your own referential frame sieve.

It went on for minutes and I was sorely shocked seeing it finish - I wanted more, and more and more! If only a scene more... but it was over and it was wonderful.

I clapped my hands as hard as I could (we all did!) and authors and cast and crew - whoever was there last night - came out and took a bow for us and we clapped and it was wonderful.

Later on we went for a drink and we chatted, exchanged opinions and we listened to makers and the actors and the crew. There was laughter and admiration and it was exceedingly enjoyable to be there as this is such a brilliant group of people, unpretentious and sociable and smart and beautiful and humble. To say I was impressed would be to underrate greatly.


Trapula is a movie made from creativity, persistence and love and it was funded exclusively by authors, cast and crew. Go and see it wherever and whenever you get the chance!