Even under the strictest censorship, during times when every wrong frame or piece of props could, at worst, land the author in prison, or at best, keep the film in post-production for years, biographies of artists were filmed. Film authors easily resonated with poets and painters from the past, finding inspiration in their art and recognizing similar patterns in their fates. Safet Zec: The Master’s Path is a biography of an artist who is both an inspiration and finds his own inspiration in those who came before him, revealing an unbroken chain from the past to the future.
Trying to understand, and most likely at least partially utilize, the path his father took to become one of the most renowned living Bosnian and Herzegovinian and European artists, Gorčin Zec chronicles his father’s journey from a boy fascinated by Rembrandt to today, where his artworks adorn not only galleries, homes, and business spaces but also the “Cappella della Passione,” which features works by some of the most famous painters of the past.
Photographs, confessions, locations, and even the artworks themselves gradually create a mosaic from which we can sense the dilemmas, longings, and fears, as well as the objective obstacles the painter had to confront throughout his life as an artist, father, and husband. The director combines all these details without imposing his own opinions, leaving it to the audience to draw their own conclusions.
The intimate relationship between father and son subtly transfers to the audience, revealing the painter’s face not covered by a mask meant to shield from curious passers-by but from the perspective of a close family member. In this film, we see Safet Zec as he would like to be remembered by Gorčin. The rest of us are merely voyeurs participating in this family story.
Of course, this film is much more than that. In a country where most people cannot name three local artists from, such films offer the possibility and hope that in the end, we will learn to recognize and appreciate our own artistic heritage and its significance.
About The Film
Director: Gorčin Zec
Screenwriter: Merima Spahić
Director of Photography: Mustafa Mustafić
Editor: Damir Pirić
Music: Sergio Slatinac
Sound Designer: Adnan Žilić
Producers: Ivanka Zec, Mustafa Mustafić
Production Companies: Fondacija Ivanka i Safet Zec, Panglas
Contact: atelje.zec@gmail.com
