The Woman Who Talks to Animals
view in croatian- 2011
- 28'
- digibeta
- color
- part of the Changing the World documentary series
- Orig. Title: Ona koja priča sa životinjama
Hela has always dreamed of owning a farm of contented, happy animals. Three years ago she quit her job as a nurse, said goodbye to the comforts of an urban lifestyle, sold her apartment and began building a new life on a plot of land she had inherited from her grandmother. Today she lives with around fifty goats, two cows, two horses, a donkey and a pot-bellied pig. Hela knows each animal’s name and nature. On her magical farm there is no coercion or punishment. If animals are exhausted, old or sick, they are sent to dignified retirement. She calls her method emotional farming.
- Director
- Dana Budisavljević
- Screenplay
- Dana Budisavljević i Miljenka Čogelja
- Cinematography
- Eva Kraljević
- Editing
- Vanja Siruček
- Music
- Nenad Kovačić
- Sound Design
- Livada produkcija
- Producers
- Dana Budisavljević, Lidija Katarina Matančević Preradović
- Production
- Hulahop
- Co-production
- Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT)
Dana Budisavljević (1975, Zagreb) graduated in Film and TV Editing from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She has worked as an editor, production assistant, and film festival organiser. She made her directorial debut with the documentary Straight A’s (Factum, 2004), after which she went on to win wide acclaim with Family Meals (Hulahop, 2012), a documentary about coming out. She has produced the documentary series Slumbering Concrete, directed by Saša Ban, as well as films like I Like That Super Most the Best by Eva Kraljević and Then I See Tanja by Juraj Lerotić. The Diary of Diana B. is her debut feature film.
Selected Filmography – Dana Budisavljević (1975)
- The Diary of Diana B. (2019) – feature-length docufiction
- Family Meals (2012) – middle-length documentary
- Adriatic’s Deepest Secrets (2006, 2007) – documentary TV series
- Straight A’s (2004) – middle-length documentary
- Almost Equal (2003) – middle-length documentary
