Making of the video Adventure of a Lifetime
As part of a multimedia project that I’m working on with Bled Tourism, I’m writing a book about Bled (Bledology: Everything You Need to Know About Bled, Slovenia) and creating a new English-language podcast (The Bled Podcast: Is This the Most Beautiful Place on Earth?). But we also wanted to make a short video that would likewise encourage visitors to explore Bled, and not just the “big three” most famous sites in Bled (I’m looking at you, castle, island, and cream cake), but beyond, to really show what Bled has to offer.
But what sort of a video to make? As a TV presenter, I’ve already appeared in many a documentary-style video, with me walking around looking at things. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we wanted to do something different. We also wanted to work with Slovenia’s most successful filmmaker and photographer, Ciril Jazbec. He and I had worked together on a previous video, and we’re friends, but he’s hard to catch. He’ll be flying to the US to film for General Motors one week, and then he’s off for a month to Greenland or Peru. Through a little personal encouragement, Ciril agreed—he would take photos for Bledology and make a short video through Tent Productions, his film company.
© Ciril Jazbec
We brainstormed the subject of the video and got the idea to make something that wasn’t documentary at all, but was in fact a short story with a fairytale vibe. What could the theme be, that would allow us to film a character exploring various locations around Bled? Basketball phenom Luka Doncic had recently proposed to his girlfriend at Lake Bled, and posted the moment on Instagram. This gave us our idea. A group of friends would visit various sites around Bled looking for the perfect spot to propose.
In discussion with Ciril, his filmmaker sister Katarina, and comedian Rok Bohinc, we drafted a script, but it required three friends. Good thing I had a few to call on. We decided that I shouldn’t be the protagonist, but one of the buddies. I asked two of my expat friends, Mel and Jon, if they would appear with me, and they were all for it.
© Ciril Jazbec
We shot the video over two (very) long days. Ciril assembled a super squad of Slovenian all-star photographers and filmmakers, and we were on the go from dawn until late at night. We opted for a slightly surreal look, reminiscent of films by American director Wes Anderson, as Mel sought the perfect place to propose, while Jon and I, his friends, playfully tried to sabotage his efforts while just out there for a good time.
We included cameo appearances from several of the friends I’ve made over the years visiting Bled, including Bojana Pipan, who calls herself my “Slovenian grandmother” and is the world’s leading expert in cooking with snow pears (a specialty of the village of Zasip, near Bled), and Mateja Reš, who runs a beautiful organic garden, Vrt Okusov (Garden of Tastes).
© Ciril Jazbec
The saying goes that marriage is “the adventure of a lifetime,” but so too could be a holiday in Bled, Slovenia. So that was the title of our short film. I hope that you will enjoy it and perhaps be encouraged to come to Bled yourself, designing your own adventure of a lifetime—marriage proposal optional.
You can watch the video here >
About author
Dr. Noah Charney is a best-selling American author and professor of art history, living for many years in Slovenia. He grew up in New Haven, in the USA, and did his postgraduate studies at The Courtauld Institute, University of Cambridge and University of Ljubljana. He is the author of 13 books, including several international best-sellers, including Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World's Best Country, a book of essays about his adventures living in Slovenia, which he calls “the world’s best country,” which sold over 3000 copies in the first six months. His Eternal Architect: The Life and Art of Joze Plecnik, Modernist Mystic, came in second for the Slovenian Book Award and won Best Book at the Novi Sad Architecture Biennial. While he is a specialist in art history and art crime, he has become a specialist in Slovenia, writing about it frequently for major publications, like The Guardian and the Washington Post. Learn more about his work at noahcharney.com or join him on social media, where he reports on his adventures in "the world's best country.".
