Radivoje Andrić

Born in 1967, Radivoje Andric is a film and television director. His films have gained great popularity with audiences in the region and have been critically acclaimed and screened at numerous international festivals. His first feature THREE PALMS FOR TWO PUNKS AND A BABE (1998) had a regional audience of 280.000 and the film was internationally screened in Sofia, Moscow, Prague, London. His second feature, DUDES! (2002), was a low-budget youth film that exceeded all expectations. Seen in the region by more than 570.000 viewers in cinemas it was also in competition at international festivals like Raindance, Sofia International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival and Motovun International Film Festival where it won the Audience award as well as the Critics award. His third feature WHEN I GROW UP I’LL BE A KANGAROO was also a box-office hit and was awarded at the Sofia International Film Festival as well as Motovun International Film Festival. He is the acclaimed director of 40 episodes of the series MILE AGAINST TRANSITION (2003-2007) and the remake of the popular Serbian television series OPEN DOOR (2013). He is the author of the children’s book How to make a film which educates children on the complex process of filmmaking which was also published in Indonesia, China and Poland.

Director’s statement

“HOW I LEARNED TO FLY is the touching story of the pivotal and life-changing summer of 12-year-old Sofia, on the brink of teenhood, and her first experience with the Dalmatian coast and Croatia in general. Sofia, like every other girl her age, wants nothing more than to step into the world of adulthood, sure that all of her friends have already experienced first kisses, and that she is the only one that has been left behind. Of course, this devastates young Sofia who is sure that her chest will never grow, and she will never have a boyfriend….
At the same time, it is the story of the deeply complicated and emotional relationships within her grandmother Maria’s family. Her grandmother Maria got married and moved to Belgrade, Serbia, while her brother and sister stayed in Croatia on the island of Hvar. The family got through the civil war during the 90’s but remained in the end on two opposing sides. Maria is now returning to the island to visit her sister after a 25-year absence, but not her brother who refused to have any contact with her after his son died in the war.
For Sofia, in the beginning, Hvar is nothing more than a faraway destination she is forced to go to. Sofia would rather spend the summer back in Belgrade with her friends. For Maria, Hvar represents her past, the core of her being, her youth and happy childhood memories, but also the pain and suffering of the war.
Sofia discovers the relatives she never knew existed, their language and culture, as well as the world of her grandmother, unknown to her and filled with past memories. At the same time, she begins to create her own new world, unburdened by the past, ready for new love and new beginnings.
Generations come together, past stories get new resolutions and with Sofia in the leading role, new stories begin where old ones left off.
In my past three films, I have tackled the topic of adults who refuse to grow up (since this is also probably the way I am). Now, I am doing the complete opposite, and have made a film about a girl who wants to grow up as fast as she can (maybe my time has also arrived since I am 50 years old). I have had similar experiences as the main character of this story. Like Sofia, I had my first kiss in an open-air cinema on the island of Brac in Croatia, jumped from my first cliff into the turquoise sea, spent my summers on the Croatian coast…and I still do.”