Safe Place, Croatia’s Oscar Entry directed by Juraj Lerotić is about a traumatic event—a suicide attempt—creates a rift in the family’s everyday life. Their lives fundamentally change, as if they are waging a war invisible to everyone else. The source of the story is autobiographical, it is addressed in the film and highlighted by the fact that the author/director plays himself.
The following is our interview with Juraj Lerotić about making of Safe Place:
Juraj Lerotić was born in 1978, in Kiel, Germany. He studied early childhood education and theology and later graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, the Department of Film and TV Directing.
He is the director, screenwriter and lead actor in his debut feature film A Safe Place, premiered at the 75th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in the Concorso Cineasti del presente program, where he won the award for best director and best debut feature film of the festival. The film also won two Hearts of Sarajevo – for the best film in the feature film category and for the best male role, for which Juraj Lerotić was awarded.