ABOUT THE MOVIE
The Cove is a film shot in the locale of Slana Bay, which was the site of the first concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia. Located on the island of Pag, in the Barbat area, since antiquity until the present
day, this space has been marked by the activity of nature and human beings, who ultimately shaped the radical landscape of Slana – through logging, excessive grazing, the construction of the concentration camp and, more recently, exploitation for tourism. By connecting the landscape with its historical context, we highlight a complete contingency upon the effect of human beings. Simultaneously, the film examines the procedures of (historical) erasure and negation of a site of crime, which eternally inscribed itself into the rocky landscape in the summer of 1941. By traveling towards the past from today’s perspective, we urge for a perceptive commemoration and the re-examination of the political framework of the representation in which the absence of human life in fact signifies its enduring presence, while the empty space alludes to a site of crime.
Davor Konjikušić
Davor Konjikušić (1979) completed his BA studies in cinematography and his MA studies in photography at the Academy of Dramatic Art. In his artistic practice, he uses photography as a primary medium for articulating his concept in which he questions the relations between the personal and the public, the intimate and the socio-political.He uses photography with text, archive, found objects and video. He is interested in the role of the photographic medium in establishing the relationship of power and control. He is the author and cinematographer of several award-winning documentaries: 'Permanently Inhabited Stranger', 'Erased', 'Return'. He is the founder of the photography school Drugi Kadar. Since 2018 he works as an art assistant at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb.
Nika Petković
Nika Petković (1992) completed her undergraduate studies in Visual Arts, Theater and Music and her undergraduate studies in Film, Television and Multimedia Production at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bologna. In her artistic practice she uses photography, archives, found-footage material and video. She has worked as a researcher and editor of archival materials on several art projects and films, collaborating with film archives and film libraries (Cineteca di Bologna, Archivio Home Movies, RAI Television, Restart production, etc.) She has exhibited in several group and solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. Since 2019 she lives and works in Zagreb.
