These No Film School Listeners Won Slamdance and Then Some The No Film School Podcast

Nina Ognjanovic is the director of the film, Where the Road Leads, which won Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance 2023. Nina and her passionate team prove you can successfully market a foreign, indie film on a limited budget and still win at major festivals in the US and worldwide.

In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with Nina Ognjanovic, David Jovanovic, and Jana Bjelica to discuss: 

Their experience traveling from Serbia to the United States for Slamdance

Marketing the film using scrappy, creative methods

Their approach to casting and shooting

What it was like to act on multiple projects at the same time

How they handled shooting in an isolated location without cell service

Building trust with the cast, crew, and locals

The Slamdance experience and the reaction of the audience

The first shot of the film - finding a unique solution to a challenge

Setting the production schedule based on the weather conditions 

The magic they experienced during production

Why you need to fail and experiment before doing a feature 



Memorable Quotes

“It’s hard, but when you love your job, everything is possible” [9:23]

“I was freaking out day after day…my hair started falling off.” [21:35]

“Manage your expectations. Don’t write something you know you can’t deliver.” [30:58]



Mentioned:
Where the Road Leads on TikTok 

Where the Road Leads on Instagram 

Pointless Films Production House


Find No Film School everywhere:

On the Web
https://nofilmschool.com/

Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool

Twitter 
https://twitter.com/nofilmschool

YouTube 
https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool

Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices