1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,440 All right, everybody. Well, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:08,160 Today we have a very special guest, Katica Rakuljic. She was the first runner up of Miss 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:13,440 Universe Croatia in 2011. She represented Croatia at the Top Model of the World competition, 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,880 among other titles in her successful modeling career. She was also recently at the, and I 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:24,320 forgot I wanted to ask you how to pronounce this, Cannes Film Festival? 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,920 Cannes Film Festival. I used to say it incorrectly myself. 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:28,960 Really? 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:29,920 I used to say Cannes. 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,560 I think I'm pretty sure I just say Canes. I mean in the US, you know, you say everything. 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:35,840 Yeah, I think. Yeah. 11 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:41,280 Cannes, I'll try to pronounce that. If there's any of our French Croatian audience listening, 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,800 hopefully they don't get upset at me. Film Festival, but you covered the festival this year, 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:52,960 2023, as a TV presenter, as well as walking the red carpet as a model. Yeah, Katica, thanks for 14 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,680 coming on the podcast. I'm excited to delve into this a little bit. 15 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,480 Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,360 Of course. Yeah. You know, if you could just sort of introduce yourself to, you know, our viewers 17 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,320 who may not be familiar with you, tell us a little bit about, you know, where you were born and 18 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:09,360 you're growing up. 19 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:18,160 Okay. Yeah. So I was actually born in Split in Croatia. I lived there for three months and I 20 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:27,120 came to Sweden to Gothenburg at the age of three months and I grew up in Sweden. I did a few beauty 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,880 pageants, big pageants, as you mentioned, you know, Miss Universe, the model of the world. 22 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:39,040 I live in Gothenburg. I was also Miss Gothenburg and I have been modeling for the past 10 years, 23 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:45,040 living in a lot of cities around the world. I recently got into TV hosting, maybe two years 24 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:52,720 ago, probably. And I also have a degree in economy and public administration and have been working 25 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,440 six years in the Swedish government for the Swedish companies. 26 00:01:58,480 --> 00:01:59,920 Wow. So you're doing it all. 27 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:02,320 A lot. Yeah. 28 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,720 Well, you know, you mentioned, of course, you were born in Split, you know, you and your family 29 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:12,480 moved to Sweden. Is there a big, there is a big Croatian community, I believe in Sweden, right? 30 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:17,280 Is there one near you in Gothenburg? Yeah, we have the Croatian club, 31 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,840 Velebit, here in Gothenburg, actually in my city, like 15 minutes from here, really. 32 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,840 It's a Croatian club. They have their own like football team as well. And I used to dance there 33 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:35,200 when I was much younger, the Croatian traditional dance. So I used to hang out there a lot, not so 34 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:41,840 much now, but it is a very big community of Croatian people in Gothenburg, especially, I would say. 35 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,880 Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I read that you had, either I read or heard in another interview that you were 36 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:52,880 dancing, you know, kolo growing up at the church. I think it's funny because we do that too in LA. 37 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:58,080 Actually, I never did that. My dad did it and then I was, you know, the middle kid and they took my 38 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:03,200 older sister to the church for language things. But by the time they had me, they were too far 39 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:08,080 of a drive and everything. So I didn't do kolo, but a lot of my friends over there in the Croatian 40 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:13,280 community did kolo. And when I first came to Croatia, I expected, I thought everyone danced kolo 41 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:20,480 here, you know, and it turns out it's not like a modern, you know, popular dance, I guess, 42 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,520 for like, you know, young kids. Yeah, not at all. But I know they have competitions in it because 43 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:31,600 I read about it. And also here they have competitions about like, you know, the best group because they 44 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:38,400 dance in groups. So they do some tournament, I guess, or I mean, I'm seeing and reading about it online, 45 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:43,280 but I don't know too much about it. But it's not so modern, I would say. 46 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:48,480 Yeah, yeah, it's interesting to see what sort of traditions are kept alive in the diaspora and that 47 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,840 are, you know, maybe kind of being modernized in Croatia, or at least here in Zagreb, you know, 48 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,880 which is probably the most, I don't want to say most modern city in Croatia, but you know, the 49 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:04,640 biggest and most influenced by, you know, sort of other places. Yeah. But so do you ever do you 50 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,400 still remember all the steps and stuff if you go to a Croatian wedding or something? Do you? 51 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,880 Not at all. Not at all. Maybe, you know, one or two steps, but it was such a long time ago. 52 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:20,400 And I did it for a very short period of time, really. So yeah, not really. But I wore the 53 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:26,720 costume a lot of times for contests and stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. But I can't remember the steps. 54 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:34,000 So do you? No, I know the basic, but like, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, 55 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:40,000 and then it's like the same three or four steps. Yeah, I can do the three or four, any more than 56 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,360 four. That's too much. Too much. Yeah. But Katica, tell us a little bit about, you know, modeling, 57 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,600 you know, about Miss Universe Croatia, how you started modeling and then, you know, Miss Universe 58 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:56,720 and how all that happened. Well, I have always been like an entertainer since I was very little. 59 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:04,960 I remember my first memory of something similar to this was I saw this old man sitting outside on a 60 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:10,160 bench, like on his own. He was very old and I thought he looked sad. So I decided to go and 61 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:16,160 dance for him and sing for him. I was very, like maybe 10, nine years old and he got very happy. 62 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:24,000 And so I remember always being like an entertainer. And in school, I always used to sing on, you know, 63 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:31,920 graduations or Christmas gatherings and things like that, like perform. But when I was about 16, 64 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:39,600 my mom took me to a local agency, which I spoke about before for a casting to become a model. 65 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:45,360 And they chose me and this other girl. And from there, it kind of, you know, started, 66 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,080 but I was too young. They wanted to send me to Paris. I was still in school. My parents said, 67 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:55,600 you know, there's no way. So I had to wait and to pursue that career later on. 68 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,960 And for the Miss Universe contest, I remember I was on the beach one summer in Croatia, 69 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:07,600 because first they have this, you know, region contest. Like first I was in Miss 70 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:14,240 Dalmatia and then if you move on from there, you go to the big final. So somebody approached me and 71 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:21,440 was like, you know, you should go to this casting in Hotel Madrid 11, which is now my favorite hotel. 72 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:28,160 So I went there with my sister and they chose me to be in, I believe it was the top 12 or 15, 73 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:34,960 I'm not sure, to compete. And from there on, I went to the big final, Miss Universe Croatia. 74 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:41,920 And I also got my agent from there that recognized me from the contest. He is in Canada, 75 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,440 does movies and has their own agency. So he was like, you should come model for me. We want to 76 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:57,280 be your mother agents. And from there, he sent me to Mexico, China, US, all of the countries I've 77 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:04,400 been really on modeling contracts. So yeah, I mean, that's a long story short. 78 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,880 Yeah. So that sort of kicked off the Miss Universe sort of kicked off your modeling career. 79 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:15,440 You could say that. I mean, I was still interested in modeling before, but didn't really go that far. 80 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:21,600 Didn't pursue it like that. And after Miss Universe, I guess, you know, I got more confident and 81 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,920 I just kept going, really kept it rolling. 82 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:31,600 Mm hmm. Well, you mentioned modeling in some other countries, Mexico, China. I want to ask, 83 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,520 how does the Great Wall of China compare to the walls of Stone and Molly Stone? 84 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,080 To the walls of Stone? I didn't understand that. 85 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:43,440 And Molly Stone over in Pelyashtats. Have you ever been to the walls there? The big... 86 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,120 Oh, I have not. I have not. 87 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:47,040 Oh, really? You should go. It's... 88 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:48,640 Oh, okay. 89 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,800 Like, you know, the new bridge that they built? 90 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,000 Yeah, I know. 91 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,120 So you don't have to go through, you know, Neum, Dubrovnik. If you go on that bridge, 92 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:02,000 there's two little cities, Stone and Molly Stone. And it's the second longest 93 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,800 I think the second longest walls in the world, the first longest in Europe. 94 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,520 See, I didn't know that actually. Okay. 95 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:10,560 Ah, I thought for sure. 96 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,360 Then I definitely have to go. 97 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,120 Yeah, you should check it out. You can walk along the walls and it's a really beautiful 98 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:18,000 view over there. 99 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,520 Well, I'm actually sure it's better than the Great Wall of China. 100 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:28,160 Because I always, you know, Crescia is like number one for me. I am, I don't know, 101 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,720 some people even think it's too much. Like some people say, oh, you're like a nationalist, 102 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:38,240 you know, a little bit, but I'm proud of it because I'm proud of my roots. So yeah. 103 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,120 But the Great Wall of China, I've been there actually two times, one time to shoot for 104 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:49,120 a job and another time with the media actually for top model of the world. And I mean, it's 105 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:56,000 beautiful. It's one of the seven wonders of the world. But I'm not sure I'm going to be 106 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:01,600 there. But I mean, I would recommend anyone to go there if they want to see something. 107 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,920 Yeah, I'm sure that's, that's awesome that you've been able to travel. Where were you 108 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,400 in Mexico when you were working a shoot there? 109 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:15,120 So I lived in Mexico City for six months. I lived and worked in Mexico City on a motor 110 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:20,400 contract, but I also traveled to places for work. I was in Cancun. I love Cancun because 111 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:27,760 I love tropical places and the beach and the sun. So of course, in Acapulco, Guadalajara, 112 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:30,000 I don't know. Guadalajara? 113 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:36,640 Guadalajara, yeah. So that was for a beer commercials. I did two different commercials 114 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:42,080 there for Coarse Lights. So yeah, I've been in a lot of small cities. I don't remember 115 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:48,080 all of the names, but mainly in Mexico City, which was my base. 116 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:52,880 That's pretty cool. I've never been, always wanted to go. Sort of last questioning about 117 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,200 modeling. Is there anything about modeling that maybe people don't realize? 118 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:07,040 And yeah, I think that you, I mean, I guess it looks very glamorous and easy, easy life, 119 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:12,000 but it's definitely not. I would say if you don't have a strong mindset, you should not 120 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:19,040 get into modeling. You need to know who you are. You need to be true to your values, to your morals 121 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:25,440 and to your beliefs, because there's a dirty side of modeling for sure. And if somebody 122 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:32,240 tells you it's not, they probably didn't really model. So yeah, just that you have to have a 123 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:37,760 mental toughness. And even when it comes to the agency, you're going to get a lot of critique 124 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:42,640 about your looks and people are going to think different things about you. And you must be able 125 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:48,080 to take that and just have a very strong confidence, I would say. 126 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,400 Awesome. Yeah. So do people recognize you when you're, well, actually, let me ask first, 127 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,080 how often do you go back to Croatia? 128 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:04,080 A lot. I mean, every year for sure. I was just in Croatia. I'm just going back now in 10 days 129 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:10,480 for my cousin's wedding and finishing some projects I'm doing there. So I try to go at 130 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:16,400 least two times a year. I mean, it's not so far. It's about two hours by plane, really. 131 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:24,080 Yeah. With Ryanair Airlines, it can be super cheap to fly here in Europe. That's one thing 132 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:29,760 that I really don't miss from the US because a two-hour flight in the US can cost 250, $300. 133 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:36,640 And here at Ryanair, I'll get a 20 euro flight for a two-hour flight to Belgium or somewhere. 134 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:43,840 It's the same with my aunt in Australia. It's super far for them and apparently, 135 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:49,040 very expensive as well if you're going to travel a lot because it's probably super far. 136 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,200 So I guess I'm lucky it's close. 137 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:58,960 Yeah, definitely. I didn't realize it was only two hours from Gothenburg. Is that where you 138 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:05,200 fly from or is there a... There's a direct flight. So it's like two hours and 40 minutes, 139 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:10,240 I believe, from Gothenburg to Split. Wow, that's perfect. It's perfect to go down, 140 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:16,320 especially in the summer and go relax on the beach and everything. That's awesome. I'm assuming you 141 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:22,400 go in the summer at least if you can when you do only once a year. Yeah, I mean, I usually come 142 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:27,520 sometimes in the summer or before the summer, let's say like May, but I love to come this time of year. 143 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:34,240 I just came from there and at the end, I was there all of September because it's still summer and it's 144 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:40,080 super hot, at least by the coast. I don't know about Zagreb. It was still hot here, I think, 145 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,880 but less tourists down over by the coast this time of year, a little bit after the season ends. 146 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:50,960 So that's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Do you listen to any Croatian music? A lot of Croatian music, yeah. 147 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:57,760 What kinds? What sort of bands or genres? I mean, really everything. I mean, the klapek, 148 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:04,720 you know, Severina, Jelena Rozga, how can I say, Narodna, Narodna, Mozi, pop music, 149 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:09,760 like typical Dalmatian music. And also when I mentioned this, people don't like it, 150 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:14,400 I understand, but I also listen to Tzajke sometimes, you know. But you know, I mean, 151 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:20,640 I listen to what makes me happy and you have to feel the music. Yeah, yeah, that's true. In terms 152 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:26,080 of like modeling or anything that you do, do you ever use the music to either pump you up or calm 153 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:32,400 you down or get you ready for something? I don't know. Definitely. If I sit in hair and makeup and 154 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:39,280 I'm waiting to do a shoot, I usually listen to Croatian music. Sometimes I put it on loud if 155 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:45,040 it's okay for other people, you know, you never know. But definitely when I run, for instance, 156 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:51,520 I love to listen to you, you know, I really love football, Croatian football, I'm a big fan. So I 157 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,880 listen to all these songs. If I go running, it really pumps me up. I love to run every morning. 158 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:03,120 So yeah. So what, all the like Croatian football hype songs, like Igor and Moja, 159 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:08,960 Hrvatska and all those. Yes, for sure. For sure. Yeah, those two actually, if I, you know, 160 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:13,040 I'm working out or something, you know, those songs are great for pumping you up. 161 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:19,280 Yeah, I like the, you know, cheering song and it cheers you up. You know, you listen to them as well? 162 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:24,400 I do. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes I'll just, you know, be in my room and listening to them, 163 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:29,040 not doing anything special, but getting hyped up to cook dinner or something. 164 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,640 Exactly. Just dance around, you know, you're cleaning or something. 165 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,160 Exactly. Well, maybe not so much the dancing for me, but yeah, that type of thing. 166 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:44,080 But I know you're a football fan, a Croatian football fan. You messaged, when I messaged you, 167 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,760 you mentioned, you know, you were upset that they lost. They lost the other day, of course, 168 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:53,360 to Wales and the, before that, you know, to Turkey, a little disappointed, but. 169 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,400 A shocker actually. Yeah. Yeah. Where were you watching? 170 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:04,240 I was watching at home. But if I'm in Croatia, I always go outside to watch because they don't 171 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:09,200 really show the football game here in Sweden, obviously, you know, unless they're playing 172 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:14,560 against Sweden and then they show it. But I cannot go outside and cheer for Croatia when 173 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:23,040 Sweden are playing. I mean, I can, but not so popular. Yeah. Well, I mean, they have Rakitic. 174 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:28,720 Is he well liked over there in Sweden? I think it's, I'm not sure about it, but I mean, 175 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,760 of course it's more Luka Modrić. Everybody knows him, I guess internationally as well. 176 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:39,920 So that's the name I hear the most here in Sweden. Even my friends from, you know, different 177 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,920 countries, they're like, yeah, we're watching Croatia. They're like, look at Modrić fans. 178 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:50,320 So yeah, I don't know who else is really famous there, like internationally. I'm not, 179 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,960 I'm not really sure. Were you able to be in Croatia at all for this World Cup, 180 00:15:54,960 --> 00:16:00,960 this most recent one for any of those games? You know, I just came actually the same night 181 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:08,880 as the game. So I wanted to be able to attend the game, but I was not, unfortunately. 182 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,680 That would have been awesome. Have you been, or do you go to the games or? 183 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:18,560 I have been, I went to one game, which was not during the World Cup, but it was a qualifiers 184 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:24,560 against Russia at Poljub. Oh, right. When it was raining super hard and it was, I had to wear a 185 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,400 trash bag because they didn't have any, you know, ponchos or whatever. They were sold out. So we 186 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,480 found some trash bags, me and my friend and put them on to protect from the rain. Cause we were 187 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:37,680 at the only spot in Poljub that doesn't have the roof. Oh really? Oh, yeah. It's like the cheapest 188 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,520 tickets there in the stadium. It's the only uncovered part. So we were just getting soaked, 189 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,280 but that was an awesome game. And then other than that, you know, of course I go to the 190 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,000 Tadork or you know, wherever they show the game and you know, I watched that out with people. 191 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:56,320 And I guess the atmosphere is, you know, amazing. I mean, my first football game I ever saw, 192 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:01,840 I was, my grandma took me when I was like 12, it was Hydro Split playing. I remember that. 193 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:07,200 But I mean, I love the Croatia fans and you know, the support. I think it's hard, as they say, 194 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:12,640 it's hard to tell somebody else that's not from Croatia, the energy, the love, you know, the 195 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:18,560 feeling for the country and the game basically. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard to explain to other people, 196 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:24,400 but Croatians really have so much pride in their country and their people. Definitely. 197 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:30,080 Katica, let's talk a little bit about the CAN, did I say that right? Film festival. 198 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,880 Oh yeah. Yeah. The CAN film festival, right. 199 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,960 So tell us a little bit, you know, what were you doing there first of all, and 200 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:43,040 you know, what was sort of your role there? So I was hosting the festival, the whole film festival, 201 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:48,800 all the days. I think it was seven or eight days, something like that. So every day I was covering 202 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:54,560 with the team, you know, who's going to walk the red carpet today, what movie has the premiere today. 203 00:17:54,560 --> 00:18:01,440 We went to the press conferences, asked questions to the movie stars. So basically covering every 204 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:06,240 day because every day something happens. It was a new movie, a new premiere. That was the main 205 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:16,160 attraction of the day. So basically that and, you know, went to premieres and got to walk the red 206 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:22,480 carpet there. So yeah, we were very busy. And then at the end of the day, you were also invited to 207 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:31,920 all these after parties. So, you know, you are on it 24 seven, like you had to be there. But I mean, 208 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:37,600 it was great. It was work and it was fun. So it was really amazing experience, I would say. 209 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:43,280 I didn't think the carpet would be so little, to be honest. That surprised me the most. 210 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,720 I thought it would be much longer and bigger carpet. Yeah. 211 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,640 Marshall Sikorski And it's just a small little... 212 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,360 Janna Pichai It looks very huge, actually. 213 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:54,960 Marshall Sikorski On TV only? 214 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,800 Janna Pichai Yeah, yeah, definitely. 215 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,640 Marshall Sikorski Wow, they got us. 216 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:00,880 Janna Pichai Exactly. 217 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,880 Marshall Sikorski Did you meet any, you know, any celebrities that you were excited to meet there 218 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,360 or anyone, you know, you were excited to talk to over there? 219 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:13,120 Janna Pichai I mean, we asked some questions to Johnny Dapp. I really liked him very down to 220 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:20,560 earth, you know, and no filters speaks what's on his mind. And we went to Harrison Ford's after 221 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:29,840 party. He was there as well. And I got to talk to the producer of the Die Hard producer, the movies. 222 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,720 So yeah, there was a lot of producers that I got to know and still people, industry people, 223 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,120 because the celebrities, you only meet them for a short while and you ask some questions. 224 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:44,640 And that's it, you know, unless they come to the after parties and you can mingle and, you know, 225 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:50,800 but there's so much people and it's very hectic. People just come and grab you, introduce themselves, 226 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,080 they want to know who you are and it just goes very fast. 227 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,800 Marshall Sikorski Oh, yeah, that's, I mean, that's great networking too for you, 228 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,040 because I saw that you actually did shoot a movie. I don't know how long ago that was, but... 229 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,560 Janna Pichai It was about four or five years ago in New York. 230 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:11,920 I shot it, it's called Earl Griffin, it's called I Come Out. But I don't know if you know about it or 231 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:19,600 you read something about that, but I decided to stop shooting the movie and ended the deal, 232 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:25,120 because I could not agree with the producer of the movie. He added some scenes that I did not agree 233 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:32,480 on and so on. So, I decided it's best to, you know, end that collaboration. But that goes back to 234 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:37,040 actually what we talked about before, you have to be very firm in, you know, who you are and what 235 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:42,160 you want, what you don't want, set the boundaries and, you know, if you don't feel comfortable with 236 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:48,480 something, simply don't do it. But I also have an agent, as I said, that does movies, so my goal is 237 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:56,480 to be in one of his future projects. He's been asking me about it, but I always, you know, I, 238 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:04,320 we never got to it, but that's definitely something I'm looking more into and I love acting as well. 239 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:11,200 So, yeah, that's, maybe you're gonna see me someday soon in some movie, I hope. 240 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:15,440 I'm sure, yeah, I believe it. That would be awesome. Hopefully soon, sooner rather than later. 241 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:20,640 But it sounds like at some point for sure, you're gonna, you know, film another movie with, I mean, 242 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:26,640 talking about networking at the, you know, festival, I was wondering, how do you prepare for 243 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,200 the festival? Do you have to watch all the movies that are being presented there? 244 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:40,000 Yeah, I mean, actually it is preferred if I do that, but to be honest, I did not watch one single 245 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:47,440 movie before I got there. And it was the same with the Swedish Film Festival, where I was as well. 246 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:54,640 I needed to watch the movies, but I did not. However, I wrote all my own script for the movies. 247 00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:02,160 So I did some research, I looked up the movies, what, you know, what it was about, who produced them 248 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:07,920 and some background info about every single movie, which was a lot. So I still knew, you know, 249 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:14,080 the basics of, you know, the actors and the crew and the set and things like that. But 250 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,040 I did not watch any movie really. 251 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:22,640 Wow. I was wondering how many, if you did have to watch, if you did watch them all, how many is that? 252 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:24,960 Like, I don't even know how many they have at the festival. 253 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:32,560 I believe that I wrote about, maybe I'm wrong now, but I think it was around 30 or 40 movies that I 254 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,000 did like a script for, for Canfield Festival. 255 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:41,440 So it's not just go show up and ask some general questions. You really have to be prepared. 256 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,600 And ask some general questions. You really have to know what you're talking about. 257 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:52,480 Yes, definitely. And you know, you have to remember the names of people and you know, 258 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:57,920 when you're going to present them for the TV. And maybe you don't have to talk about all of 259 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,040 the movies, but you still have to know them in, you know, because you never know what we're going 260 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:08,560 to talk about. So I think it's a lot of work still. And to have to watch all the movies on top of that. 261 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:13,200 Yeah, that sounds like a lot of work. Definitely a cool opportunity though. 262 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,920 That's awesome that you were able to, you know, have that opportunity. 263 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,640 Kind of a fun question that I ask. I've been asking everyone lately who's come on the podcast. 264 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,680 What's your favorite thing to eat when you're in Croatia? 265 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:32,240 I am a seafood child. So I love seafood and clams. It's one of my favorites dishes actually. 266 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:40,640 I love to eat that. I know it's either like you love it or you hate it, I guess, like with sushi, 267 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:46,000 but that's their specialty. I really love. And of course, lobster and you know, 268 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,560 all kinds of seafood, really. 269 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:54,320 That's interesting. You know, I hear, especially in Dalmatia, of course, they're, you know, 270 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:58,880 for seafood, I hear a lot about oysters, but clams, I feel like I don't hear about too often. 271 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:04,640 I don't even know what's the difference between a clam and an oyster. I believe the clams are the 272 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:14,160 black, you know, the small black ones. Yeah. And the oysters are there, I guess they're rounder, 273 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:19,920 like the white rounder ones. I guess that's what you're eating, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, 274 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:25,200 do you eat them the same way? Is it like the same type of, how do you eat a clam? 275 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,040 Oh, no, I'm sorry. You said oyster. That's the ones, sorry, that's completely wrong. That's 276 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:35,920 the ones you eat raw actually. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. I tried that too, but it doesn't taste anything 277 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:43,920 just slimy. I think, but clams, you can cook them with wine, which is really yummy. 278 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:49,680 Nothing like oyster at all. So I definitely recommend it or with, you know, polenta, 279 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:56,480 polenta. You can do that or with pasta. I mean, sometimes I like to cook them, but yeah, 280 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:02,480 you should definitely try clams if you have not. Yeah, I will have to. I've tried oysters. Yeah, 281 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:08,080 they were a little slimy. You taste the seawater a little bit. I'm not a huge seafood guy, so that 282 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:13,520 wasn't my thing, but I'll have to try clams. Do you have like a favorite restaurant in Split or 283 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:22,320 anywhere that you go for that? I mean, not for seafood. No, I just, you know, try any place I 284 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:30,800 heard or think or got recommended and I compare them and see, you know, if it's good. Yeah, but 285 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:38,480 homemade is always the best, of course. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Do you cook or? I cook because I have 286 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:44,640 to because I live alone right now. So yeah, I'm forced to cook and I don't do anything fancy. 287 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:49,440 Actually, right now on the stove, I'm keeping an eye on it. I've got some meat sauce, you know, 288 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:54,560 for pasta, the ground beef and the tomato sauce and the onions. I've got that on low right now. 289 00:25:54,560 --> 00:26:02,400 So nothing fancy. A lot of pasta. Yeah. I like pasta a lot as well. So and crazy for desserts. 290 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,840 I mean, I love desserts. Yeah. Really? What kind of desserts? Ice cream for sure. I love to try 291 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:14,720 different ice creams wherever I go. I think Italy has one of the yummiest ice creams. Yeah. The 292 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:20,000 gelato over there. Yeah. So you get a different flavor every time or you have a couple that you 293 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:26,240 stick with that are your favorite? Well, I love the sea salt caramel flavor. Yeah, really love 294 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:32,240 that one. I don't like chocolate at all in ice cream, but yeah, I try to, I'm a person that loves 295 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:39,520 to try new things or new food or actually, you know, new everything like adventures or exhibitions 296 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:46,160 and stuff like that, you know? So yeah, a new ice cream flavor every time if I can find a new one. 297 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:53,200 That's awesome. I know in Split everywhere on, you know, the coast there of the Adriatic, there's 298 00:26:53,200 --> 00:27:00,000 every block, there's, you know, an ice cream stand to try in the summer at least. On the era. Yeah. 299 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:06,080 Yeah. I usually stick with vanilla. I'm pretty boring like that, but I've been asking some people 300 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:10,560 on the podcast and they've told me a couple of good recommendations. Someone said not too long 301 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:17,040 ago, like pistachio and something else, ice cream. Oh yeah, yeah, pistachio. Yeah, definitely. That's 302 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:24,480 good as well. Because here in Sweden, we have a different chocolate like, you know, dime. I think 303 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:30,880 it's Swedish or we have marabou, Swedish chocolate and they put it in the ice cream. So, I would 304 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:35,920 recommend you that, but it's only here. So, I try to find, you know, something that's unique for the 305 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:42,160 country. There is a flavor they put into it or, you know, something like that. But vanilla is nice 306 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:49,120 as well. It's nice, I guess, when there's nothing else. I read that you really like castles. Is that 307 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:58,480 true? Yes, I love castle. Why? I love history in general, I would say. So, I have a favorite castle 308 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:05,520 here in Sweden. I try to visit those that are close. I didn't visit any in Croatia yet, but I 309 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:11,440 had some in mind. I can't remember the name now, but it was like on the ocean, in the middle of the 310 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:17,440 ocean somewhere. But yeah, I just love to hear the history and, you know, about what happened there. 311 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:24,720 And if there's kings who live there or, you know, I like different timelines and also like period 312 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:29,760 movies, you know, like old older movies. I really like that. Yeah. And of course, horror. I don't 313 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,840 know if you read about that, but I'm a big fan. I did and I didn't want to ask because I hate, I get 314 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:39,840 so scared. Oh, really? Yeah. So, I was like, I'm not going to bring this up. I have a thing for 315 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:45,440 horror movies. It's like, I hate to be scared, but I still love to get scared. It's crazy thing. 316 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:50,960 Yeah, I've heard that from friends that that's sort of the, you know, they don't like it, but 317 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:58,160 they like the feeling of, or like once you are scared, then it's okay already. Yeah, the excitement, 318 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:04,000 I guess the adrenaline you get. Not me, that's I'll do without the adrenaline and the excitement. 319 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,560 Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. I don't know, just for whatever reason, I never really got into 320 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,920 horror, but that would actually be a cool, you know, genre of movie to be in as well. I'm sure 321 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:19,280 that's probably fun to shoot. Yeah, definitely. Or interesting at least. I mean, my favorite 322 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:24,880 is probably an interview with the vampire. I don't know if you have seen this one with the 323 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:32,880 compuze and the Brad Pitt. No, I don't know that one. Well, I can recommend it. It's or 324 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:39,840 confessions of a vampire. Yeah. That sounds more familiar, although I still can't picture it, but 325 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,640 yeah, I'm sure I stay away from the whole genre, so I probably don't know most of those movies that 326 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:49,840 you would say, but for people listening, I'm sure they're familiar with it or if they're not, 327 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:55,440 maybe they want to check that one out. Got a few minutes left here and I guess I'll save this 328 00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:00,560 question for last, but I'll ask you then the second to last question. What other sort of 329 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:07,440 future plans do you have or goals that you're setting for yourself? You know, I don't, I always 330 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:13,600 like to show my goals. I never like to see them. I've always been like that, but I could just say 331 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:19,760 that, you know, just reaching my full potential as always and being the best that I can be, 332 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:26,320 improve in my work that I already do. And I guess, you know, show you what the future holds. You'll 333 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:30,560 have to wait and see. Awesome. Yeah. Looking forward to it. Yeah. Sometimes that's the best 334 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:36,160 way to not give things away until they're actually done and you've completed them. 335 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,840 But sort of last question here, Katica, and I want to thank you again, you know, so much for 336 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:44,080 your time here and for coming on the All Things Croatia podcast. And do you have any, you know, 337 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:49,200 social medias? Where can people find you? You can find me on Instagram at Katica.prokuric. 338 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,440 I'm most active there. Awesome. This is something that I've asked everyone. 339 00:30:54,160 --> 00:31:00,720 What to you makes Croatia so special? I think it's the culture, the history and, 340 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:06,640 you know, the people, I would say the warmth of the people. When you come to Croatia, you feel like 341 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:15,120 home. I mean, at least I do. And they have their own ways, their own mentality for sure. And just, 342 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,760 you know, the love for their country. You know, some people say it's, you know, their belief, 343 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:26,480 like their religion and the love for just the country. I would say it's hard to explain. 344 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:31,360 Yeah, definitely. You did a great job. That's an awesome answer. And I agree completely. 345 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,400 Katica, thank you again so much for coming on the podcast. 346 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:56,400 Thank you so much.