We were lucky to catch up with Petar Arsić recently and have shared our conversation below.
Petar , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Since the early stages in life, I have faced some tragic and bad experiences. I was only 5 when we were forced to flee from our home city of Pristina, which is in southern province of Serbia called Kosovo and Metohija, with only couple of suitcases, and not a lot of money, because of unjustified war and bombing of Serbia by Nato. Later, I have felt wast consequences from those actions. My father used to work for country defence department, and he was most of the time away, and we couldn’t know at a time is he alive or what’s going on, while, my mother used to work 2 jobs at a time, my older brother was traumatised from it all and it was really hard for him to get over it. Sanctions, inflation, and all of that didn’t help at all, we were outcasts in our own country, in some morbid way, we were to be blamed for it all, without any real reason… We were even receiving help from Red Cross to survive and being hated for it. I had to adapt to many different places, people and dialects, until we finally ended up in Belgrade, where we got some sense of peace. Later in life, when ever I would be faced with any hardship, and I would get a lot of them, being an actor sure helps a life to become not easy at all, I would just remember what hard actually means, and I would smile, give my thanks to God that I am not faced to anything similar today. Optimism comes from inside of you. Even when you don’t know the outcome, and everything seems dark, you do know that there is a golden sky at end of it. And for real, what is the point of being a pessimist? Why do people even exist, if they are supposed to quit? We were made to try, and to be better every single day, no matter what!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a professional actor, and for almost a year now, I have a production company started with 3 of my closest friends. So far I have had some really big and nice roles in Serbian tv shows and theatre plays, also, I had 2 huge roles in two American movies. It is always a struggle for an actor to get into some projects, especially in Europe, you always get faced with rejection, and you have to develop a thick skin. It is a world where nepotism plays a huge role, also, you may not get a role, cause of the hairstyle you have or some stupid reason like that, most of the time, it’s not at all about your skill. So I couldn’t just sit and wait for an opportunity, firstly I started working on myself, developing and acquiring some skills that are necessary for my further growth as an actor and an artist. Then, when I saw that I can develop a great idea into a screenplay with friends, I decided to go on a path of becoming a producer. Nobody can write a role for us, or make a movie for us like we can, so why wait for an opportunity? Let’s make it ourselves! We managed to win some awards, and collected some equipment along the way. So soon, hopefully really soon, we’ll have couple of finished projects to talk about with you.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Persistence, self confidence, integrity. First of all, you have to get to know yourself, what and who are you, what are your strengths, and weaknesses, and to start working on it all. Then you need to deconstruct the problem, obstacle, or what ever that is you are facing. And see what are the steps you need to make in order to succeed. Learn everything you can about each and every step, and start going. Today, with so many informations at your disposal via internet, you can learn a lot, but ask people around you too, ask questions… But don’t wait for the ” Perfect moment to start” there is never a perfect moment. Just start doing it, and everything will align along the way.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m always looking for potential collaborators, like everyone should. At this moment, while developing 5 projects at once, I see more than ever how people that possesses quality are always needed. Now, I’m looking for potential co productions all around the globe, willing to work on some interesting international projects. Also we are always in need of investors, and distributors. A person with contacts in the industry is always valuable. If there is anyone willing to share some great story or a screenplay with us is mostly welcome. And so on… If there is anybody that is interested in collaboration with a young film production company, you can contact us via mail artclub.rs@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.slavicartists.com/actors/petar-arsic/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peramunja/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petar.arsic.395
Image Credits
Sasa Miric
