1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,520
What's up everybody, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast.
2
00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:09,640
I'm your host, Stanko Zovak, and I'm bringing you the best of Croatia from around the globe.
3
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,600
This episode is brought to you by Adriatic Tours, the best place since 1974 to book
4
00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:19,120
your cruises, tours, flights, and simply All Things Croatia.
5
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,520
Use the personalized code, allthingscroachia, to get a special discount and book your trip
6
00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,080
to Croatia today.
7
00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:31,800
For more information, go to www.adriatictours.com or click the link in the description.
8
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,600
Now eat a modalia and let's get started.
9
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,920
Alright, welcome back to the podcast everyone.
10
00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,080
On this episode we have special guest, Ana Alic.
11
00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:47,360
Ana is a Canadian Croatian and a writer, actress, and stylist.
12
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,980
Having written and acted in short and feature films, Ana continues to expand her industry
13
00:00:51,980 --> 00:00:55,180
skills into costume designing as well.
14
00:00:55,180 --> 00:00:58,540
And in this episode we're going to learn about her Croatian heritage and hear about
15
00:00:58,540 --> 00:01:00,060
the project she's working on.
16
00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:02,780
Ana, thanks for coming on the podcast.
17
00:01:02,780 --> 00:01:04,300
Thank you so much for having me.
18
00:01:04,300 --> 00:01:05,300
This is going to be really fun.
19
00:01:05,300 --> 00:01:06,300
I'm excited.
20
00:01:06,300 --> 00:01:07,300
Yes, me too.
21
00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:10,880
Well, first tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, about yourself, about your Croatian
22
00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:11,880
heritage.
23
00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,840
Yeah, so let's start with the Croatian heritage.
24
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,300
So both of my parents were born in Croatia.
25
00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:22,760
I was born here in Canada, so I'm first generation.
26
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,400
My dad came over when he was around 22.
27
00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,680
So he was still fairly young, but a little bit older.
28
00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,720
So and then my mom came when she was about three.
29
00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:42,440
So my mom's parents came a lot earlier, obviously, and my grandfather worked in the mines in
30
00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,120
Timans in this like northern Ontario area.
31
00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,320
And it was just for like a better life, like a lot of the Croatian stories are of coming
32
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:56,920
over to different countries just to get more work and have the opportunity to grow a better
33
00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,840
life for their family.
34
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:04,880
But it's so funny because like every time, I mean, I grew up in the Croatian community,
35
00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,280
it's very much a part of our lives.
36
00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,200
And for so many Croatians here in Canada, I'm sure in other places in the world, it's
37
00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,480
like you want to keep that heritage going.
38
00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:21,040
And it's so ingrained in us is like we were little kids and our families and just bringing
39
00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:27,360
us and bringing us up in that culture and, you know, joining Kovale and going to the
40
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,600
Croatian church and all of these amazing things that really like keep that spirit of
41
00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:32,840
the culture going.
42
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,760
And that's a big part of it.
43
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,440
Yeah, and my dad came over when he was a little bit older.
44
00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,600
So you know, my mom doesn't really have an accent.
45
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:48,240
My dad still does have a little bit of an accent and they met at a Croatian soccer tournament
46
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:54,680
dance like you would if you're in that culture.
47
00:02:54,680 --> 00:03:01,160
And yeah, and then we just grew up in this small town called Oakville here.
48
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,080
I eventually moved to Toronto.
49
00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:10,440
But yeah, so my dad is from a small village outside of Zada called Pulacik.
50
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,240
It's called Pulacik.
51
00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,400
Really cute, quite little village.
52
00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:16,800
I love going to Zada.
53
00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,120
It's really amazing city.
54
00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,120
One of my favorites, obviously.
55
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,000
And I mean, all over Croatia is so beautiful.
56
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,040
And then my mom is from Lika.
57
00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,160
So I'm part Dalmatinka, partly Czanka.
58
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:36,200
And yeah, I've spent many summers there and actually recently my parents after retiring
59
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:37,680
moved back to Croatia.
60
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,560
We just kind of like what you did, right?
61
00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,560
Like you moved back to Croatia.
62
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:49,760
And I feel like there has been in the past couple years, this, you know, moved to Croatia.
63
00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:51,800
Like a lot of people are moving back.
64
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:57,760
They're seeing the value of that pace of life of the, just the values of the country.
65
00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:59,920
And it's really amazing to see.
66
00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:05,960
And there's more opportunities now to really do interesting things there and build there.
67
00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,360
Right now my parents bought an investment property, which they're going to turn into
68
00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:10,840
a rental.
69
00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,960
And it's in Posadaria, which is like close by about 20 minutes away from their home
70
00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:17,960
in the village my dad grew up in.
71
00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:23,640
So they actually built a home on the actual land where my dad grew up, which is really
72
00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:24,640
amazing.
73
00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:30,080
And everyone in the village is like our family, which is like very similar to a lot of other
74
00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,040
people's stories when it comes to Croatia.
75
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,040
So they're really building this beautiful life there.
76
00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:44,680
And, and yeah, it's really amazing to be a part of it and to learn more about these different
77
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:52,440
regions and to go back, you know, as much as we can to really like soak into the culture
78
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:57,360
and be with our family because all of my dad's family is still over there in Croatia.
79
00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,360
Some of my moms is here in Canada.
80
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,800
And so yeah, so that's kind of a little bit of where my family's from.
81
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,640
And so now do you have any feelings to move to Croatia?
82
00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,520
I mean, do you have siblings?
83
00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:10,520
They're alone now.
84
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,520
So my parents would love that.
85
00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:19,840
And they can say like, you have houses here now, you can definitely come back.
86
00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:23,200
For me, like, I love the beauty of the country.
87
00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:24,960
I love visiting there.
88
00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,120
There's so much there.
89
00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,680
That's just incredible.
90
00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,120
I'm very big into nature and wellness and holistic living.
91
00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:37,080
And I think that the quality of living over there is very much aligned with all of the
92
00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,520
principles that I really like and admire and respect.
93
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,360
So I can see myself have this draw there.
94
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:50,760
But at the same time, because of my love of filmmaking, it's a lot harder.
95
00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,120
The industry is not as big over there.
96
00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,480
There's definitely a filmmaking industry.
97
00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:01,640
And I don't know the language as much as I wish I did.
98
00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:06,400
And I've really built up my career here in Canada.
99
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,840
Being in Canada, we have access to the film industry in America.
100
00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:13,320
And that's kind of really where a lot of the work is.
101
00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,760
So for me, I can see myself going back a lot and just travel there and stay there for a
102
00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:19,760
couple months.
103
00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:27,320
Yeah, there's a little bit of a pull, but then I've created such a strong career here
104
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,960
that it would be kind of hard.
105
00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:36,960
And another part of me being in this film industry is I want to create films in Croatia.
106
00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:43,080
I want to be able to go over there and actually expand the film industry in any little way
107
00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:44,080
that I can.
108
00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,680
I know that there is a thriving film industry within Croatia.
109
00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:57,080
If you think about it, there's not a lot of very well-known Croatian actors and filmmakers.
110
00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,360
And of course, we're a small country.
111
00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:05,960
And there's a lot of that to be said about why there isn't that much of a representation.
112
00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:12,680
But I would love to see more of that, especially in an American Canadian industry standpoint.
113
00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,480
Well, let's talk a little bit more about your career.
114
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:22,560
Of course, that's a big poll to stay there in Canada where you've carved this career
115
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,440
for yourself in the film industry.
116
00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,880
How did you get started in the film industry?
117
00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:32,560
Well, it was kind of in a winding road and definitely something that I didn't start off
118
00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:33,560
at.
119
00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:39,280
In the beginning, I think a lot of Croatians that grow up first generation or second generation
120
00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:44,440
can understand that our parents coming over to different countries and really having to
121
00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:51,360
work super hard to make a living and start new in a completely new place.
122
00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:57,520
It's all about safety in your career and really just like the traditional jobs and that's
123
00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,040
the thing that I was doing.
124
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,800
I actually went to school and have my degree in science.
125
00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,720
And I have a whole history of working in the medical industry.
126
00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:13,200
So for about 10 years from 16 to 26, I worked in the hospital.
127
00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:18,240
About three of those years, I worked in the ER as a unit clerk and definitely was like
128
00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:25,240
preparing myself to go into medicine, which would have been my parents dream of course,
129
00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,920
like any Croatian.
130
00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:34,720
They would love to have their children get into that field because, and I understand
131
00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:42,000
the reasoning behind it, that secure job, something that will be very beneficial in
132
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,080
the future.
133
00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:48,240
It's really respectable and all those things, which are amazing qualities.
134
00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:54,400
But forever, especially in high school, I had this like hold acting, I took drama class
135
00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:55,400
and all these things.
136
00:08:55,400 --> 00:09:00,680
But it always felt like this like secret love affair of the field world.
137
00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:05,640
And because like I was saying, it was it was hard to see anybody reflected in the film
138
00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:13,920
industry that was, you know, of Eastern European descent of specifically Croatian.
139
00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:18,120
So I didn't really have a lot of references to go off of and none of my friends were pursuing
140
00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:23,720
that and, you know, I grew up in a tight knit Croatian community in Oakville.
141
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:28,280
And it was just something that like kept on pulling at me.
142
00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:34,640
And then I, when I was in university, switched my majors to a communication science only
143
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:39,520
so that I could go do film classes and ending classes for photography.
144
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,360
And I've always had this like artistic side and then I've always had this scientific side
145
00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,000
or just the science came really naturally to me.
146
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:52,520
So it was like, you know, of course, that would make sense for me to pursue that.
147
00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,600
But then there's this artistic side of me that's always been there.
148
00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:02,160
And there was just a certain point where I couldn't deny it anymore.
149
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:09,560
Because I quit the hospital and, but before this, I got an internship at MTV in Canada,
150
00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:14,800
which was kind of amazing because I'm the science students doing an internship at MTV
151
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,200
doing like film production.
152
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,480
I don't even know how I got in because it didn't really make any sense, but that was
153
00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,520
the first moment where I got to see like, oh, this is possible for me.
154
00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,200
I can, I can pursue this.
155
00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,960
And it was just like little by little, I kept on coming out of my shell and making these
156
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,880
like small moves.
157
00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:43,040
And then I remember in the ER, I was studying acting, but I didn't tell anybody.
158
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,520
So I was doing these classes in Toronto.
159
00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,240
And I would like, I would always work the like the night shifts.
160
00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:55,120
And I remember like specifically, I'd be taking my breaks on these stretchers in these other
161
00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:00,960
rooms, reading scripts and like practicing for these acting classes that I was taking.
162
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:06,400
And it was like such a, a crazy difference to, to explore.
163
00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,440
But I really love my time working in the ER.
164
00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:17,680
And I really think that it like impacted who I am and who I am now and really crashed me
165
00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:23,000
for this kind of crazy film world because no job will ever be as hard as that.
166
00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:29,240
And at the same time, filmmaking is a really difficult pursuit and you have long hours
167
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:33,600
and kind of like craziness that goes along with it as well.
168
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,760
So it was a great training ground in a weird way.
169
00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:42,720
And then one day I just like, I quit it all and moved to the city and just started pursuing
170
00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,120
acting and filmmaking in various different aspects.
171
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:53,560
I got an agent, started going out for auditions and then I started writing because I really
172
00:11:53,560 --> 00:12:01,040
wanted to, like I said, start writing these characters that represented who I am and things
173
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,680
that I wasn't seeing in the industry.
174
00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:11,120
I was always getting these like Eastern European specific auditions that were just not representative
175
00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,600
of what they were very like cliched roles.
176
00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:24,120
And I wanted to start to see just who I was, you know, a first generation Croatian, just
177
00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,800
making their own way in Canada.
178
00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:32,720
And so that's why I started writing and getting into filmmaking in that aspect.
179
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:38,760
And then eventually, at the same time I was doing styling for many, many years, I've always
180
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,960
had a love for clothing and fashion and design.
181
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,600
It's something that just naturally comes through me.
182
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,400
And my mom has always been into fashion.
183
00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,040
I think that's where I get it from.
184
00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,040
She's been amazing.
185
00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:58,720
She has such a beautiful eye for design that I really feel like I got that from her.
186
00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:03,040
And then it was like one thing led to another and I have this kind of accidental costume
187
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:12,160
designing career, a good friend of mine who's an actress and director and really prolific
188
00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,440
here in Canada.
189
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:19,440
She was doing her feature film and she asked me to do costume design.
190
00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,760
This was a couple of years ago.
191
00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,080
And I never did it before.
192
00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:29,200
And you know, I have my styling background, but there were so many differences when it
193
00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,720
came to creating costumes for films.
194
00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:33,720
You have to think about the script.
195
00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:35,120
You have to think about continuity.
196
00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,120
You have to think about the characters and what they would wear.
197
00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:45,160
And I just kind of like threw myself in and learned as I went.
198
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:50,440
And I was really lucky because I was working with such incredible filmmakers in our industry.
199
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,360
I mean, these are like award-winning filmmakers.
200
00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:59,240
So many people on this film set were just like taught me so much.
201
00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:03,280
And I was just so, just grateful to have that experience.
202
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,280
So I learned as I went.
203
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:11,400
And from there, I've just been expanding my costume designing career.
204
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:21,160
Last year I did four films for, as a costume designer, they're all these like TV movies
205
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,600
that are thriller-based.
206
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,880
And just, yeah, so I've been working on many, many films now.
207
00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:30,720
And I love it.
208
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,560
I love the culture of it.
209
00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:39,240
I love the experience of it and just like being able to be on set and also learning
210
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,240
for future jobs that I want to have in my life.
211
00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,720
So I would love to get into directing and writing my own films, like I said.
212
00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,720
And this is just like, I'm being paid to be on set and do costume designing, but then
213
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:54,840
I can watch the directors.
214
00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,640
I can watch all these people around me.
215
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:04,160
And like I was saying, it took me a really long time to get to this position where I
216
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:11,840
don't feel the imposter syndrome anymore, especially coming from this culture where,
217
00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:18,920
like I said, there's not as much representation in the same way that I feel like there could
218
00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,800
be and seeing examples.
219
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:30,560
So it's just like slowly, little by little, just having the courage to go for this specific
220
00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:31,960
career aspiration.
221
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,280
And it's, yeah, I'm still working on it.
222
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:41,560
I'm still like getting to a place where I feel confident in my work, but it's such a
223
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:42,560
journey.
224
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,720
Well, I mean, sorry, that was a long answer.
225
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,360
Trying to think in my head, how do I unravel all this?
226
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:50,360
Yeah, I know.
227
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,920
But I want to first, I want to go back to what you said about sort of the representation
228
00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:59,480
and the fact that you're writing and that you felt like these characters were sort of
229
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,520
cliche Eastern European characters.
230
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:08,600
But have you been writing sort of characters that are close to yourself, a first generation
231
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:14,760
Croatian Canadian characters that you feel more of a connection with in your writing?
232
00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:15,760
I have.
233
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:17,000
I have.
234
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,040
Not with every single script that I've been writing.
235
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:26,040
I have a couple of scripts that I have that are still in the works.
236
00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,440
There's one script in particular that I wrote with a writing partner of mine who's an amazing
237
00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,600
cinematographer here in Canada.
238
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:38,640
And one of the lead characters, it's like a TV show concept, a pilot that we wrote.
239
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:43,920
One of the lead characters is very much based off of being a first generation Croatian
240
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:52,520
girl who has this amazing Bubba who like, you know, I wrote this incredible Bubba character
241
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:59,240
who just is living in Canada, but like has all the same qualities that you would imagine.
242
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:05,880
There's like a hilarious incredible, because there's so many funny things about all these
243
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:13,800
different generations and what it's like actually like living in Canada or a different country
244
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:18,280
and you're an older, you know, you're part of the older generation and you never learned
245
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:25,760
like, you know, you never learned English, you stick to your Croatian language and there's
246
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:34,720
just like so many funny things that only Croatians would like understand, you know what I mean?
247
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:38,520
So I try to incorporate a lot of those like funny scenarios that I remember from like
248
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,760
my grandparents and like, you know, every time I go over to their house, like my my
249
00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,560
Dita is like making wine in the basement or like, you know, my Bubba's in the garden
250
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:52,080
and like, you come into the house and you're like, you have to eat and like, you know,
251
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:57,360
there's like a feast at your table and it's like, you're they're offended if you don't
252
00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:02,360
eat and if you bring friends over, they're like, also offended if they don't eat and
253
00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:10,080
drink coffee and take a shot and all these amazing things that it just leads to such
254
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:11,080
incredible comedy.
255
00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,480
Yeah, in real life too.
256
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:19,320
I mean, yeah, yeah, that's why they say that that's awesome that you're able to pay tribute,
257
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,920
you know, not only to your Bubba but to the Croatian culture as well with that.
258
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,040
Is that something that you're working on now or that's something that in the past you had
259
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,040
written?
260
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,760
That was something in the past that I have written.
261
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:36,480
I know that in the future, I do want to write something that is like specific to like that
262
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:43,040
takes place in Croatia and very similar, you know, like with a lead character who maybe
263
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:51,520
grew up in a different country but still has those roots and that connection to her, her
264
00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:57,240
homeland and and kind of discovering that I've yet to see that like you kind of see
265
00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:02,160
that with some films like Under the Tuscan Sun or like my big factory wedding and all
266
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:08,120
of these, you know, that take place in different European countries but I haven't seen anything
267
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,200
like that for the American market in Croatia.
268
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,960
And I would like, because my, I guess my genres, I really love rom-coms, I really love kind
269
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:24,720
of like that type of those types of films and I know that it's like there and eventually
270
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:30,240
I'll get there but I also think that it's something like really personal and something
271
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,960
I don't want to like mess up is basically what I'm trying to say.
272
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:39,640
I really want to be authentic to it and and write the best thing that I can.
273
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:47,480
So I'm still in the process of working on that in the future but right now I'm working
274
00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:54,680
on scripts that are catered more to the Canadian American market just to break my
275
00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:02,200
self in and just to get kind of like my footing there but 100% one of my goals is to create
276
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:10,120
something that you know American Canadian audiences can enjoy but takes place over there
277
00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:16,520
and is something that yeah is really really would be really special.
278
00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:17,920
Yeah, that would be awesome.
279
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,960
I would love to see something like that.
280
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,120
And of course, yeah, that's not something you can just rush and you know try and get
281
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,920
out there and produce you know that's something that's you know the truth and and things that
282
00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,040
you know that's you know that takes a lot of time and yeah that's not something you
283
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,960
can just sort of oh let me write this and I'll write it and there it is yeah that's
284
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,960
I'm sure that's something that will take a while.
285
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,720
Yeah, because it's something like special when it comes to like your culture and your
286
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:48,480
heritage and all the experiences I've had growing up and there's so many like really
287
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,160
incredible experiences you probably have been through this too.
288
00:20:52,160 --> 00:21:01,080
Because you grew up in America right yeah so and I could something that comes to mind
289
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:06,640
which is so interesting is like there's these cultural phenomenons when it comes to living
290
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:11,520
outside of the country that your family is from that it's really hard to explain to anybody
291
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:17,360
else but you it's like such a special pivotal month like we used to have these things called
292
00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:25,600
Bash at the Beach and they were in this area called Hamilton and they were literally in
293
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:32,200
this like kind of barn gazebo on the beach and we would have like a Croatian band playing
294
00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:39,040
and like we were all like 18, 19, 20 like this young generation who would be so excited to
295
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:47,280
go dance to like you know, cologne music and drink and like it was we looked forward to
296
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:53,160
it every single summer it was always this kind of like wild party none of our like Canadian
297
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:58,240
friends understood you know and then they would get there and be like what is this and
298
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:04,320
it was just such a and it doesn't exist anymore like they turn this whole area into condos
299
00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:14,560
but for that time it was I like I look back so fondly on those times because we'll never
300
00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,560
experience something like that again and even people in Croatia wouldn't understand it like
301
00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:24,800
it's just so specific to where we're at at that time and celebrating our culture and
302
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:30,520
being with people are like our own age and it was like such a fun kind of wild time so
303
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,720
things like that I would love to like bring to the film world but they're really special
304
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:40,080
to me so yeah that would be awesome I would love to see that I know probably everyone
305
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:44,320
listening to all the diospora who are listening would love to see as well you know to feel
306
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,600
represented yeah yeah there's a lot of good as far as comedy goes I think there's a lot
307
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:55,040
of funny situations that you can have with that you said your favorite genre I think
308
00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:00,000
was like rom-coms but you've been acting in some horror movies right how was that yes
309
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:11,000
yes I have I'm super scared so I was I mean it's not like a scary horror movie but that
310
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:18,160
was one of my first kind of like I guess breaks in the industry and it was a it was a horror
311
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:24,680
film called anti-social and it was it's screened at many different places around the world
312
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:34,200
and was yeah it was a really fun experience I got to do a lot of stunts in that film yeah
313
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:43,000
it's that was a fun one that was a really interesting one yeah that was great I mean
314
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,720
I won't even ask what it's about or anything I guess I'm scared just thinking about things
315
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:53,560
like that just reading description it was it was kind of about how social media basically
316
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:59,400
turns people into zombies that's so it was ahead of its time you know it was really
317
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:05,360
what was it 10 years ago oh wow yeah it was 10 years ago yeah so I was very I was at
318
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:11,200
the beginning of my acting career and kind of jumped into this project last minute they
319
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:20,200
were looking for one more actor and yeah it was that it was quite the experience and
320
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:26,560
I I enjoy the horror genre to act in because you get to do so many crazy things like I
321
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:33,360
said I did so many stunts like in that I got to do my own stunt where I my character I
322
00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:37,200
don't know if I should give this away but I basically had to wear a harness and get
323
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:44,520
dropped from two floors which was pretty pretty fun to do you always want to get those roles
324
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:54,120
of an actor but another genre that I love to explore is sci-fi and kind of like mixing
325
00:24:54,120 --> 00:25:01,600
but making it very like how do I describe it kind of like the film Arrival something
326
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:09,240
that feels very just still of this world and scientific base I think this is where my science
327
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:16,600
comes in and merging those those two kind of loves science and art and I really want
328
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:26,880
to do like character driven relatable science fiction stories that have female leads and
329
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:33,560
just these incredible stories because I'm truly fascinated by the spiritual world that's the
330
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:39,080
kind of like the cosmic world and I'm sure we'll get into my my podcast but I've always
331
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:45,640
had a fascination with it and I would love to see more science fiction films based around
332
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:54,400
these incredible female characters and maybe some Croatian characters you know I won't
333
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,200
try and force you to write every character as a Croatian character but yeah that would
334
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:03,480
definitely be cool too yeah I like the sci-fi films that are like realistic that you can
335
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:09,120
at least make this really happen like how would people really react not like the over-the-top
336
00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:13,400
like Sharknado or something cheesy that it's just yeah like I want to see something that
337
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:18,280
like wow I can like what's I mean even something like iRobot you know at least that's an old
338
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:23,840
yeah I thought of that one as my first example yeah it's funny that you say Sharknado because
339
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:31,720
I auditioned for one of their sequels no way yeah I was like the third one I don't know
340
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:39,200
there's been so many but I didn't get it but it's just such a funny funny connection but
341
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:45,640
yeah well you you let us with a good segue into your podcast um well I won't even try
342
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,960
and preface it because I don't know anything you know sort of about that realm so to speak
343
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,880
so I'll let you you know go ahead and tell us you know what is aside from the film industry
344
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,440
you know what else are you interested in and doing and talk a little about the podcast
345
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:04,080
and what that's about I'm just gonna choose something right now because it's too sunny
346
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:10,520
sorry there we go um this one is finally coming out it hasn't been out in like the past three
347
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:18,840
weeks but now it's like glaring at me but um so the podcast I think really came from
348
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:25,920
my love of the of the wellness industry and holistic living like I said and that really
349
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:34,480
started back when I was working in the hospital and just seeing day to day like what it truly
350
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:41,400
means to be healthy and well and um taking care of yourself and a lot of that has to
351
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,520
do with like taking care of your mind and having this kind of like spiritual connection
352
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:51,000
and so a lot of that came from that time and I've always been interested in those topics
353
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:58,720
and the the podcast was just like a natural progression from from that and wanting to
354
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:04,760
explore these topics and wanting to talk to other experts in the fields of health and
355
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:12,360
wellness and and what it truly means to be healthy and well and diving into so many different
356
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:21,640
topics um I think that also being you know there's always this connection to um the
357
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,720
lifestyle in Croatia as well I think that they have such a people in Croatia have such
358
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:32,440
a balanced way of living they really like enjoy their life and it's not so much about
359
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:40,040
like you know they're hard workers but there is this beautiful balance and I love to explore
360
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:47,040
that on the podcast I really love to talk about spirituality and and get into that and
361
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:53,840
I also create these meditations on the podcast so you can um because I've found meditating
362
00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:59,520
and meditation to be a huge part of my life and and really helped me in all aspects of
363
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:05,080
my life um so the podcast is where that all happens where I explore these like trippy
364
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:11,160
topics and it's really interesting when I first started the podcast I was kind of like
365
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:16,960
a little nervous for the for my like Croatian peers and friends to discover it because I
366
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:23,800
feel like you don't hear it that much you know what I mean when it comes to our um community
367
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:32,240
and I remember I mean my best friend Natasha who recommended me for this podcast um when
368
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:37,840
she found out about it and I never like pushed on her anything she absolutely loved it and
369
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:44,800
then started telling everybody she knew about the podcast and that was a moment for me to
370
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:51,280
be like wow okay like when you pursue interests that you really have a love for that you're
371
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,800
passionate about um it doesn't matter what culture you come from there's so many people
372
00:29:55,800 --> 00:30:02,040
that can relate because you are creating something that comes from that deep place of love and
373
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:06,920
appreciation for something and um even though I was a little scared because like you know
374
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,760
getting into some rude topics and and and worrying about like what my family would say or anything
375
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:18,720
like that and it really has not been the case it's been like really embraced and um so that
376
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:24,400
was something that I didn't expect and also that I I just love that it happened that way
377
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,760
hmm that's pretty cool to hear I feel like you know that's obviously not that far away
378
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:34,120
from the Croatian culture like it you know maybe a part of as far as like wellness and
379
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:38,000
holistic approaches to things like I feel like that is a part of Croatian culture but maybe
380
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:44,880
not in those yeah in so many words but like I don't know the fact like you mentioned they're
381
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:50,280
hard workers and while they you know are hard workers they don't live to work it's you know
382
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:56,520
working to live and to other things and that therapy through hard work and things like
383
00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:01,120
that and I don't know I kind of lost myself when I was trying to explain it but I felt
384
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:06,760
like I had a good thought there of sort of like in bed being embedded in the culture
385
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:11,600
and sort of wellness and holistic approach approaches to things but I mean you know better
386
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:17,160
than I do maybe I know I think you're so right and I think that it's just like described
387
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:22,640
in different ways so like what you know when we talk about it here we talk about um our
388
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:27,320
meditation practices all these things but over there it's like it's already a part of
389
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:33,320
their daily practice like my parents go for walks in the in the fields and that's a meditation
390
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:39,000
practice you know or their everybody has a garden and like working with soil and your
391
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,440
hand is like one of the most amazing things that you can do for your mind and they really
392
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:52,600
care about the things that they're eating and eating like whole organic foods and respect
393
00:31:52,600 --> 00:32:00,040
and adapting just like all of that and coming together in community too is a big thing and
394
00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:05,400
and just like so it's like they're they're such a strong connection but it's just like
395
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,720
done in different ways because it's already they don't need to describe it it's just like
396
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:14,120
their way of life over there which is really amazing.
397
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:19,440
Yeah I think okay that's that's what I was trying to say.
398
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:25,040
Um you know Ana as we're sort of coming down to the end of the time here uh where can people
399
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,560
find you know first of all your podcast and then you know see other information about
400
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:33,360
you your other works your acting stuff directing you know costume designing work and they find
401
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:34,440
your information.
402
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:42,680
Well you find a lot of it on instagram and it's just Anna Alh and I also have a website
403
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:50,400
AnnaAlih.com that's where you'll see all of my film work and upcoming film work and I
404
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,880
think this year a lot of it will be costume designing so I'm continuously working with
405
00:32:54,880 --> 00:33:00,160
this one company and I'm expanding that but I have a couple writing projects kind of in
406
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:06,840
the works so I'm excited to pursue those and and get those off the ground because that's
407
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,680
really where my love is and what I want to continue doing.
408
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:18,160
And then Topanga Moon is my kind of wellness spiritually podcast you can find everything
409
00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:25,800
on Topanga underscore moon which is the instagram or the podcast if you just look up on Spotify
410
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,880
iTunes kind of everywhere where you find your podcast.
411
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,760
Awesome I'll drop links as well so people listening can go ahead and click in the description
412
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:38,400
um on those but Anna I want to thank you as we you know come down to the end here so much
413
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:43,400
for coming on all things Croatia podcast I'm really excited to see especially the the movie
414
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:48,560
you were talking about with the yeah that would be really awesome to see but everything
415
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:53,520
else that you're doing as well looking forward to seeing what the future brings for you.
416
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:59,280
Thank you so much and thank you for creating a platform like this because there's not a
417
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:05,600
lot of it you know and I think it's so amazing that you're connecting people who have this
418
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:10,680
strong love and appreciation for where they come and are doing such interesting things
419
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,280
in the world so it's really amazing that you're doing that thank you.
420
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,920
I really appreciate that you thank you for coming on the podcast.
421
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:36,600
Okay thanks so much.