Scriptwriter
Born:
3.9.1991, Rijeka, Croatia
Education:
MA candidate in Screenwriting, Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
APP in Screenwriting, Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
BA in International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Place of Residence:
Prague (Czech Republic), Rijeka (Croatia)
Biography
Dora Šustić obtained her BA in political studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In 2012, she moved to Prague where she currently studies screenwriting for MA degree at FAMU. Her poems, fiction and non-fiction have been published in several international literary journals. In 2009, Society of Croatian Writers awarded her as one of the best young poets. In 2016, during a writing residency in Istanbul, she completed a poetry book Istanbul Streams. She wrote and directed several short films and is now working on feature film screenplays.
Sample of previous work
Projects in development
BOŽICE / VIRGINS OF POMEGRANATES
feature fiction
developed script
Unusual friendship between a virgin and a junkie in the aftermath of war.
Attached to the project: director
Looking for: producer, co-producer
Keywords: women, Catholicism, pomegranates, sexuality, heroin addiction, Croatian South
SEMANA SANTA
short fiction
developed script
The day Marie should take part in the first Holy Communion, a Catholic ritual, for her means the day when she gets to wear a gorgeous white gown; however, during the Holy Mass, while she awaits for her turn to take the Eucharist, Marie is perplexed by a strange sensation. She goes to the toilet and discovers blood on her panties – she got her first period. What to do?
Attached to the project: director, producer
Looking for: co-producer
Keywords: menstruation, Catholicism, puberty, innocence
POSLJEDNJI MUŠKARAC MARIJE PRAZER / THE LAST MAN OF MARIJA PRAZER
short fiction
first draft of the script
Old prostitute meets a young employee of the funeral company while organising her own funeral. As Maria is preparing to die, she is offered by the Universe one last spur of pleasure.
Based on the short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Attached to the project: producer
Looking for: director, co-producer
Keywords: death, solitude, romance, magic realism
VERONIKA, U PROLJEĆE / VERONIKA, IN SPRING
short fiction
developed script
Girlhood awakening disrupts the conventions in a family.
Attached to the project: director, producer
Looking for: co-producer
Keywords: puberty, alcohol, family, hunger
Filmography and Awards
2017 MAJDA’S POSES, short film, writer/director – Best Pitch Award, Kratki na brzinu Croatian Short Film Festival
2015 ŽENY/LADIES, short film, writer/director – Kastav Film Festival, Croatia; Chacun Son Court – Strasburg Short Film Festival, France
My five favourite films
- La teta asustada (2009)
by Claudia Llosa - Samo jednom se ljubi (1981)
by Rajko Grlić - A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
by John Cassavetes - Hiroshima, mon amour (1959)
by Alain Resnais - Cries & Whispers (1972)
by Ingmar Bergman
Favourite scene I wrote
INT. BOZICA’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Corpse of LUKA (33), tall boney man of decadent appearance, is lying on the floor dressed in a suit. Gentle FEMALE HANDS are washing his motionless arms covered with tattoos and stab wounds.
BOZICA (37), fragile tiny woman conservatively dressed, with hair twisted in a neat bun, soaks the cloth in a bucket of water. She is humming Catholic song, pleading God to save Luka’s soul. Her facial expression gives away an impression of calmness, blissfulness.
She is wiping his hands, feet, forehead, gently touching his closed eyes, nose, cheeks. She buttons up his white shirt. The living room is in darkness, only the candles keep flickering.
BOZICA stuffs Luka’s nostrils, ears and mouth with cotton. She ties his hands and feet with a thin red rope, and places a rosary between his palms.
BOZICA covers the mirror in the living room with a large black cloth.
Night vigil. Luke’s body is surrounded by tiny candles floating on olive oil in glasses, laid on the floor. Bozica lights the last of the candles.
BOZICA
For your soul to float lightly.
Bozica kneels down in front of Virgin Mary statue in the centre of the room. The Virgin is glorious, with small lamps around her crown, and flowers and pictures at the foot of the statue. Bozica stares at her meekly, dedicated.
BOZICA (CONT’D)
The souls of the just are in the
hand of God, and they shall not
suffer. To the ones who do not know
God it seems as if they are dying,
as if their departure is a matter
of misfortune; but we know they are
finally in peace.
My favourite film quote
“I thought that small talk was too small, I thought big talk was too pretentious, I thought music was noise, and I thought art was bullshit.”
–
Opening Night (1977)
