For 20 years, every morning, Aladdin sweeps his city. With the help of his magic broom and a bin he sweeps and sweeps and never feels tired. 

“Aladdin & The Magic Bin” was directed by Zikica Jovanovic and shot in Serbia. It was shown at the Cinephone International Smartphone Shortfilm Festival in Barcelona. The following interview takes us behind the scenes of Zikica’s remarkable documentary.

MMM: What equipment did you use to shoot your movie?

Zikica: We used both a Huawei Ascend P6 phone, and a Nikon D90.

MMM: Why did you use that combination?

Zikica: We live in a poor municipality. We managed to shoot with what we have. I love movies and I will always find a way to do what I love.

MMM: What gave you the idea for this movie?

Zikica: The aim is to raise awareness among people about the environment. We found a man who is engaged in cleaning the city for years and started shooting.

MMM: How much time went into the production?

Zikica: We shot for a full day. It took about a month to finish the movie.

MMM: Did you encounter any problems?

Zikica: Nothing major. Before I shoot anything , I plan on paper. That helps me avoid trouble.

MMM: How did you develop your moviemaking skills?

Zikica: I worked in local television and passed some seminars related to television work. The most I’ve learned is by reading books about film and watching other movies. I had the desire to finish film school, but I didn’t because of the economy. But my love of  film still holds.

MMM: Can you tell us what you’re working on now?

Zikica:  I love my city Prokuplje. I plan to record a promotional video for this city. Further, I always had a desire to shoot a feature film, and will try in the future. We’ll see how this will turn out with this equipment we have.