HARVARD, BOSTON

February 16, 2023

First public showing. Small theater, almost full, or “half empty” -
trying to be funny I call it “emotional  counting” - and major
participants are in. John is nervous but trying to stay in the
shadows, seems less tense that way. During the long three years of
editing I understood, more and more, how difficult it must have been
for him to watch himself. That is exactly why he avoided to see any
rough cut before tonight’s showing

Good pacing, film runs pretty smoothly, good attention in the room.

Nice applause at the end, heartfelt handshakes and hugs. It meant a
lot to me to look in the eyes of the people that were in the film, I
really wanted to feel their reaction. It was good, actually better
than I expected. Now, Invincible Mind will start its own life out in
the wilderness of real competitors!

Martovski Festival, Belgrade

March 31, 2023

Uneasy feelings hard to explain, known but rarely felt, mixed with
curiosity, that’s a short hand how I felt before Invincible Mind was
to be shown in my native Belgrade.

It is not in official competition but they assigned the best slot for
the film, Friday, March 31, at 7 pm.

Relatively filled theater, good reception, unexpected laughter on
right spots, warm applause at the end. I thought it was not liked
enough, but later, talking to more than a dozen people, I got the
impression that the audience understood and followed the story, liked
John as a main character, his fighting spirit and his wisdom. At the
end, late at night, I noticed that mostly women expressed their view
about various aspects of the film. I was pleasantly surprised.

As I am leafing now, almost a year later, through the festival’s catalog,
there is a little misspelling trivia. Instead of Film Underdogs
Collective it reads Film Undergods Collective. Is that a sign, or
something?

Lordan Zafranović, famous film maker, with Zoran.