Ana Husman
	Ana Husman corresponded with us from her hometown of Zagreb, Croatia, to tell us about The Market, the food that's sold there, and where she's headed as a filmmaker. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Over how long a period of time did you shoot The Market? Had you had a relationship with the people and the place for long? ANA HUSMAN: It took me 3 months to film it. That market, Dolac, is main market in Zagreb where I was born so I know it since I was a kid. I got to know people better during the filming. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Why and how did you choose stop-motion? ANA HUSMAN: I have been using stop motion technique for a long time now. I find very exciting the possibility that you shoot still images and you are able to create a movement. LUMEN ECLIPSE: How did you build the soundtrack? Are the dialogues from conversations you had, or ones you overheard? ANA HUSMAN: They are from conversations and interviews I did with the women selling at the market. I recorded the sound after I finished filming and it took me quite a long time to find the right question to get what I was looking for. It helped a lot that we spend so much time on the market place and got to know all the people and the problems they had. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are markets like the one you filmed a thing of the past? Is film becoming a romantic medium? Are these things connected? ANA HUSMAN: Markets like this are changing because of EU regulations - for example to be allowed to sell cheese you have to have a refrigerator in the market place, and that changes the way it looks. But my main interest were not EU regulations but the way in which market shoppers use all of their senses when trying to ascertain whether the groceries are local or imported, this follows to lines of argument - that by buying Croatian produce they are supporting Croatian agriculture and that domestic produce is familiar and tastier, although it is not the origin of the goods but the method of its production that counts. They rather chose to buy local goods simply because it is “ours,” Croatian, local produce, and not some foreign, unfamiliar and alien foodstuff which is therefore deemed of lesser quality. Might be that a film is romantic medium but I love it. Of course it is not appropriate for every project. Also one could see a romantic connection between these two things - market and film - but I didn't mean it to be, at least not for that reason. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Is Zagreb a good place to be an artist? ANA HUSMAN: I think it is. It has quite a large independent cultural scene including non profit galleries, culture clubs, independent organizations and small productions. This scene has developed in the last ten years. It is very lively for such a small city (1 mil inhabitants). The art scene is still not completely commercialized, and the art market still doesn't dictate the rules, which I think opens some more space for experiments. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Would you call yourself a professional artist? An academic? Do divisions between art worlds matter to you personally? What kind of 'art world' will you be part of in ten years? ANA HUSMAN: That is always a problematic question. Some time during the day I am camera woman working for a national TV, some time I am working at the Academy and some time I am professional artist. I think I would call myself an artist, I think it is question of decision. LUMEN ECLIPSE: You've had success with this film at festivals; do you enjoy showing at festivals, and do you think they provide a productive community and space for discourse? ANA HUSMAN: I enjoy showing the film, but not always going to the festivals. For me that it is very time consuming. Some festivals can provide productive environment and some are places to see the films and party. Sometimes I think that for me it could be more productive if my producer would go instead. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are you happy to show this film online? Do you prefer a darkened movie theater, or a television? What kind of audience and venue did you imagine while you were making The Market? Have the people in it seen it? ANA HUSMAN: Well, it is always nice to see your own film in a nice theater on a big screen, but for me it is important to be available in all possible formats and media. In my view the most important thing for a film is to be seen. I didn't really imagine a specific audience -- I rather tried to make film readable on different levels. Some of the film’s subjects have seen it, some I don't know. Recently was shown on one of TV stations in Croatia. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are you very influenced by Croatian culture? ANA HUSMAN: I would say that I am using Croatian culture to do my work. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Have you done other experiments with time and duration in your time-based works? ANA HUSMAN: Yes, I did in older video works using different techniques. One of them is daily progress in which I filmed building during the whole day and then images were deconstructed digitally to create different time/space. Also in The Well – one shot 52 min long video of a well in which I threw in a stone and filmed the surface of the water until it becomes still again. LUMEN ECLIPSE: What is the role of the artist in contemporary society? ANA HUSMAN: To ask questions, to be responsible, not to hesitate, to think, to work!