You are what your memory tells you. For centuries and millennia, the history of philosophy and art has been using and emphasizing the importance of memory. Winners would use a similar method to their advantage. Religious winners would erase past religious holidays and establish new ones; warlords would destroy monuments and symbols of their predecessors until someone would destroy their monuments as well; and, as was the case in Slovenia for the past decades - the authorities would try to eliminate the monuments of past struggles and achievements, to erase and alter our collective memory.
The film similarly tackles memory. Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott) warned us that all our memories could be just a lie, an illusion, an electronic implant in our replicant robot framework where robots dream they are human. Memento (2000, dir Christopher Nolan) warned us how dangerous memory loss is and how anyone who loses or is in the process of losing memory can be manipulated by anyone, especially by people with malicious intentions. They are metaphors for human history: we don't know who we are if we can't rely on our memory. Without it, we are merely puppets in the hands of manipulative people.
Wake Me continues the tradition of pointing out the importance of memory using a micro-story of an individual. However, it gives us a broader understanding, a warning to the community, the nation or even the continent: a warning against the many dark hidden parts of our memory, many of which would be more convenient to forget. Without memory and the awareness of who we used to be and what we have done, we cannot tackle the future. We will continue to repeat old mistakes, which will lead us to horrifying realizations of who we were but will also help us decide what and who we want to be. By memory, we can recall our past, define our present, and help us step into the future.
The instrument for remembering the past is crucial in creating a (better) future. Wake me up from the past in order to move towards the future.
Dr. Marko Milosavljevic, professor of jurnalism and social sciences
The film similarly tackles memory. Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott) warned us that all our memories could be just a lie, an illusion, an electronic implant in our replicant robot framework where robots dream they are human. Memento (2000, dir Christopher Nolan) warned us how dangerous memory loss is and how anyone who loses or is in the process of losing memory can be manipulated by anyone, especially by people with malicious intentions. They are metaphors for human history: we don't know who we are if we can't rely on our memory. Without it, we are merely puppets in the hands of manipulative people.
Wake Me continues the tradition of pointing out the importance of memory using a micro-story of an individual. However, it gives us a broader understanding, a warning to the community, the nation or even the continent: a warning against the many dark hidden parts of our memory, many of which would be more convenient to forget. Without memory and the awareness of who we used to be and what we have done, we cannot tackle the future. We will continue to repeat old mistakes, which will lead us to horrifying realizations of who we were but will also help us decide what and who we want to be. By memory, we can recall our past, define our present, and help us step into the future.
The instrument for remembering the past is crucial in creating a (better) future. Wake me up from the past in order to move towards the future.
Dr. Marko Milosavljevic, professor of jurnalism and social sciences
Marko Santic is a Croatian-born, and Slovenian-based film director and screenwriter. His short feature film Good Luck Nedim (2006) received several international awards, among others Heart of Sarajevo for the Best short film, Tribeca FF Student Visionary Award and EFA nomination in the short film category.
Vertigo is a Ljubljana (Slovenia)-based production company with a distinctive track record and extensive working experience on international co-productions and narrow budget films.
They produced more than 40 feature films, as well as more than 20 documentaries and 50 short films and TV productions, incl. the award-wining films such as The Happiest Man In The World by Teona Mitevska (2022, La Biennale Orizonti competition, Toronto IFF Competition), Disappearance by Andrina Mracnikar (2022, Graz Diagonale FF 2022: Audience Award), Small Body by Laura Samani (2021, Cannes World Premiere - Critics' Week in Competition, TIFF - Contemporary World Cinema, BFI London Film Festival - Special Commendation), Reconciliation by Marija Zidar (2021, CPH:DOX, Sarajevo FF, IDFA), Otac / Father (2020, Berlinale Panorama: Audience Award and Ecumenical Prize) and Circles (2013, Sundance FF World Cinema Competition's Jury Prize), both directed by Srdan Golubovic, God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya (2019, Berlinale Competition: Ecumenical Award and Guild Prize) by Teona Mitevska, Half-Sister (2019, Karlovy Vary IFF Main Competition), Nightlife (2016, Karlovy Vary IFF's Best Director Award), Slovenian Girl (2009, Toronto IFF) and Spare Parts (2003, Berlinale Competition), all directed by Damjan Kozole, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (2013, 2 Berlinale Silver Bears) by Danis Tanovic, Alexandrians (2011, Trieste Film Festival Best Documentary) by Metod Pevec and Bread and Milk (2001, Venice FF's Lion of the Future Award) by Jan Cvitkovic.
They produced more than 40 feature films, as well as more than 20 documentaries and 50 short films and TV productions, incl. the award-wining films such as The Happiest Man In The World by Teona Mitevska (2022, La Biennale Orizonti competition, Toronto IFF Competition), Disappearance by Andrina Mracnikar (2022, Graz Diagonale FF 2022: Audience Award), Small Body by Laura Samani (2021, Cannes World Premiere - Critics' Week in Competition, TIFF - Contemporary World Cinema, BFI London Film Festival - Special Commendation), Reconciliation by Marija Zidar (2021, CPH:DOX, Sarajevo FF, IDFA), Otac / Father (2020, Berlinale Panorama: Audience Award and Ecumenical Prize) and Circles (2013, Sundance FF World Cinema Competition's Jury Prize), both directed by Srdan Golubovic, God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya (2019, Berlinale Competition: Ecumenical Award and Guild Prize) by Teona Mitevska, Half-Sister (2019, Karlovy Vary IFF Main Competition), Nightlife (2016, Karlovy Vary IFF's Best Director Award), Slovenian Girl (2009, Toronto IFF) and Spare Parts (2003, Berlinale Competition), all directed by Damjan Kozole, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (2013, 2 Berlinale Silver Bears) by Danis Tanovic, Alexandrians (2011, Trieste Film Festival Best Documentary) by Metod Pevec and Bread and Milk (2001, Venice FF's Lion of the Future Award) by Jan Cvitkovic.
In recent years, the world has witnessed historical revisionism - the reinterpretation of history. Younger generations are spending much more time on the Internet, where they acquire incorrect historical facts. It seems that, influenced by this, the image of history that they're creating is completely different from what it once used to be.
Due to memory loss, the film's main character, Rok, doesn't remember his problematic past - and, upon returning to his hometown, he begins uncovering his old "demons". His amnesia caused by a head injury represents today's contemporary individuals who generally know nothing about sharing a common past and who are more easily pushed into hostility towards other cultures and fellow citizens.
This general ignorance of history is something that's affecting us all, and it's exactly what my fourth film is about.
-Marko Santic