The Croatian film ’Good Times, Bad Times’ (Pamtim samo sretne dane), directed by Nevio Marasović, had its premiere as part of the FEST Gala 52 programme on 1 March 2024, and it received ovations in the Cultural Centre of Belgrade Movie Theatre.
Director Nevio Marasović, Croatian actor Zlatko Burić and assistant director Nikica Zdunić presented ’Good Times, Bad Times’, the last film of the late actor Radko Polič, before its premiere at the 52nd International Film Festival FEST.
According to Nevio Marasović, Radko was the first and only choice for this role. ‘He was very sick, but he was well enough to come to Zagreb to film. He sensed that this was his last film,
he was very enthusiastic. Everything that his character thinks about coincides to a large extent with what
he himself was thinking about,’ said Marasović.
According to director Marasović, the deceased actor saw part of the film before his death.
‘He saw the end that meant a lot to him. As he watched the film, his eyes showed that he liked it. It was
symbolically close to him. When I last heard from him, he was satisfied and calm,’ he said before the
accredited FEST journalists.
As he said, the film was shot only on Sundays in a restaurant in Zagreb, so that the already weakened
actor could keep up with the pace of filming.
One of the roles is played by Zlatko Burić, for whom working on this film was ‘carvings on the soul’.
‘With all that I was filming at the time, those days on the set were like an oasis for me, like a "bell" under
which we shared our intimacy, friendships, emotions... I was really excited and emotionally touched by
every moment next to Radko. I had great respect for him as a theatre actor, who opened up a different
approach to art. It was a great experience in terms of film, and personally - fine carvings on the soul. And
during the breaks, conversations and jokes of old guys...’, said Burić.
