'78 Days' filmmaker Emilija Gašić on docufiction and telling personal history through found footage

Filmmaker Emilija Gašić joins VIFF’s Vanguard series programmer Sonja Baksa to discuss 78 Days, a found-footage film that won the Vanguard Award at VIFF 2024. Shot on hi-8 tapes in her native Serbia, the film follows three sisters documenting their lives during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Inspired by her own childhood memories, Gašić’s decision to use analog tape lent to the "docufiction" quality of the film.

In this conversation, Sonja and Emilija unpack the film’s unconventional process and the Vanguard series’ focus on "films that are pushing the boundaries of cinema", and how Gašić’s journey from Lord of the Rings fan to NYU Tisch grad shaped her voice as a director.

This episode was recorded during the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. 

This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.