The FMFS, or Mediterranean Film Festival Split, is where Split’s summer officially kicks off. At least, that was the case for the last sixteen years, since FMFS has been gathering movie art enthusiasts at Open Cinema Bačvice.

The festival’s program is expanding every year, and starting last year, they started an intriguing artistic collaboration with Split Nomad Gallery. The fusion of movies and visual art resulted in a unique experience – project NoMAD MOVIE ART, which had its second edition this year.

On this occasion, I spoke with Mirela Jusupović, founder of Split Nomad Gallery, who told me all about the second edition of NoMAD MOVIE ART, and provided me with information on where we can see and purchase posters if we missed them during the festival.

First of all, Mirela, thank you for finding time for me since I know your summer working schedule is pretty busy. This is the second year of NoMAD MOVIE ART. Even though many have already discovered this interesting part of FMFS, can you briefly introduce us to the idea of this concept?

“Split Nomad Gallery, in collaboration with the Mediterranean Film Festival Split, this year presented the 2nd edition of NoMAD MOVIE ART – Film classics through the eyes of Croatian authors.

While last year we focused on the local art scene, this year we gathered eight renowned authors from all over Croatia who interpreted film classics through their medium, from their own personal and unique perspective. Authors were given complete design freedom in creating new and original visuals of well-known classics.

The movie poster as an art form successfully resists the test of time, maintaining its cult value by combining film and fine art for audiences of all generations.

To interpret this year’s film classics, the authors have combined film, graphic design, illustration, typography, and photography elements. The festival audience recognized the uniqueness of the 1st NoMAD MOVIE ART last year, which is why together with new interpretations we also exhibited last year’s top six movie posters, chosen by our audience.

All 14 movie posters were exhibited in the Bačvice Open Air Cinema for the duration of the FMFS, where they could be viewed in the relaxed atmosphere of pine woods of the unique open-air cinema, with the addition of a Wine Bar and a newly added Chill out Zone.

Posters were available for purchase at promotional prices.”

So this concept is all about merging movie art and design. How did you choose movies for this year’s exhibition and was it hard to cast eight designers for this project? Was the collaboration as you suspect it to be?

“Just like last year, the movies were chosen from the Kino Mediteran’s program “Klasika al fresco”. In the selection, we made sure there is a variety from cult classics such as The Godfather and Big Lebowski to the ones for a more selective audience like Stalker and Il Postino.

The theme of cult movies itself touches such a wide range of audiences, and within the selection, we made sure there’s a variety from dramas to musicals so that everyone will find their favorite movie and poster.

Collaboration with authors was very dynamic!

We invited some of them to collaborate on the project, and some of them we’ve already worked with on previous projects, so it all came together quite organically and seamlessly in the end.

What’s special, and, I’d dare say, different about NoMAD MOVIE ART, is that even though it’s not a highly paid commission job, designers welcomed it with open arms, as they get to play through their creative process.

The only hard thing in casting the authors is that Croatia has a very strong art and design scene currently, and we’ve only scratched the surface, so we’re already getting excited about next year’s selection of movies and authors.”

Can you tell us about the designers who were a part of this year’s NoMAD MOVIE ART?

“Authors this year were graphic designers, and illustrators, with established careers in their fields, which reflected in top-quality artworks.

The second edition of NoMAD MOVIE ART presented the following authors with their interpretations: designer and illustrator Hana Tintor, freelance illustrator, 2D animator Goran Radošević, graphic designer, botanical and zoo illustrator Franka Tretinjak, designer, photographer, writer Vjeran Juhas, designer and art director Vanja Cuculić, graphic designer Mišo Komenda, illustrator Tea Jurišić, and designer Ivan Milas.”

What was the reaction of the audience to the exhibition?

“The audience was delighted, just like last year when we launched the first NoMAD MOVIE ART. Doing it as part of FMFS has made it accessible not only to their faithful audience of film lovers but also to a wide range of audiences, from movie buffs to visual art lovers.

The combination of cult movie topics with original interpretations in digital form left very few cold-hearted.

Everyone found a favorite movie, or they just loved the visual interpretation. Usually, true love is born when someone loves how the author interpreted their favorite movie of all time. But there were occasions when people simply reacted to the visual design.

Even though this is the second year we’re exhibiting as part of the festival, the movie posters still seem to bring the element of surprise to the festival, and I must say we were pleasantly surprised by not only the reaction of everyone that passed through the exhibition but also at how many people took their favorite poster home.

This only confirms the potential of doing these types of projects/exhibitions, designed to encourage and support artistic collaboration, production, and audience engagement, reaching different audiences – ensuring cultural diversity and encouraging dialogue.”

Was it challenging to hold this kind of exhibition?

“Absolutely, there is always an element of surprise. You’re dealing with open space, exposed to natural elements such as rain and wind, which we experience firsthand.

We didn’t exhibit the opening night of the festival due to rain, and our closing night was eventful.

During the movie projection, a strong gust of bura wind made half of our posters fall to the ground, so we had to quickly improvise, drill new holes into the poster stands, and hang them back up, just in time for the last couple of hours of the festival’s closing night. But, that is what makes it that much more exciting, interesting, and different.

Split Nomad Gallery’s main goal from the very beginning has been to promote art in a different, innovative way.

Exhibiting in alternative locations, gathering artists around specific projects, all with the goal to reach a wide range of audiences, and bridge the gap between the artist and their audience. This kind of approach requires thinking outside of the box and sometimes brings lots of unpredictable moments, situations, and uncontrolled conditions, but that is what makes the feeling of satisfaction even greater after a successfully executed project.”

Now that the festival is concluded, where can we see or buy posters?

“After the premiere at the 16th edition of FMFS, we have taken a week to gather impressions, plan out the next phase of NoMAD MOVIE ART, and of course go for a swim and recharge.

Starting the first week of July, just like last year, NoMAD MOVIE ART will be available for viewing and of course purchase at our second home Smartspace at the very heart of Split’s city center in Tončićeva 3, where it will be exhibited through this summer.

We are also planning to do pop-up appearances in Zagreb, Pula, and a couple of our beautiful islands before the year ends.”

And for the end of our lovely conversation, can you reveal to us Split Nomad Gallery’s plans for the future?

“Of course! Next NoMAD MOVIE ART is already in the beginning stages of planning. We’re also super happy to announce that starting next week, our fans will finally be able to purchase not only NoMAD MOVIE ART posters but also other artworks promoted by Split Nomad Gallery on our website.

Besides NoMAD MOVIE ART, we have a couple of new projects planned, so make sure you follow us for updates!”

Text by: Ivana Mikulić
All photos from this article are by Darko Škrobonja.